BLOOD AND INSTINCT
1032 Words
The summit hall exploded into motion.
The assassins moved first.
Five vampires rushed forward with unnatural speed, their black execution blades flashing under the cold morning light.
Aria didn’t hesitate.
Her sword left its sheath with a sharp metallic scream.
“Well,” she muttered, stepping in front of Lucien, “this meeting is officially over.”
Kaelen was already moving.
The moment the assassins crossed the threshold, his wolf surged to the surface.
Gold flooded his eyes.
Claws tore through the tips of his fingers.
The lead assassin lunged straight for Lucien.
Kaelen intercepted him before the blade could fall.
Steel crashed against claw.
The sound echoed through the hall like thunder.
The assassin’s eyes widened slightly.
“Alpha.”
Kaelen’s voice dropped into a low growl.
“You picked the wrong target.”
With a violent shove, he sent the vampire sliding across the stone floor.
But the others kept coming.
Two assassins split off toward Aria.
Another circled behind Kaelen.
The last one aimed directly for Lucien again.
Aria cursed.
“Oh no you don’t.”
Her blade met the first attacker with a flash of silver.
The impact rattled her arms, but she pushed back hard, forcing the vampire to retreat a step.
The second assassin attacked immediately after.
Aria spun, steel slicing through the air.
“Next time,” she grunted, “I’m skipping diplomacy.”
Across the hall, Kaelen fought like a storm.
The vampire behind him tried to strike while his back was turned.
Bad idea.
Kaelen moved faster than instinct.
He grabbed the assassin’s wrist mid-swing.
Bones cracked.
The vampire hissed in pain.
Kaelen slammed him into a pillar hard enough to splinter the stone.
The assassin collapsed.
Unmoving.
Three left.
The lead assassin recovered quickly.
He wiped blood from the corner of his mouth and smiled faintly.
“You are strong.”
Kaelen didn’t respond.
The vampire’s gaze shifted past him.
To Lucien.
“Unfortunately,” he continued, “you cannot protect him from everything.”
Lucien stood exactly where he had been since the attack began.
Calm.
Still.
Watching.
Kaelen noticed.
“Move,” he ordered.
Lucien raised a brow.
“I am perfectly fine here.”
Kaelen growled.
“This is not a debate.”
Before Lucien could answer—
The assassin charged again.
Kaelen met him head-on.
Claw against blade.
The impact sent a shockwave through the air.
But this time the assassin wasn’t trying to win.
He was stalling.
Kaelen realized it a second too late.
The remaining assassin slipped past him.
Straight toward Lucien.
Aria shouted across the room.
“Lucien!”
The assassin’s blade lifted.
Lucien sighed softly.
Then he moved.
It was subtle.
Almost graceful.
He stepped aside just as the blade cut through the space where his neck had been.
The assassin blinked in surprise.
Lucien caught his wrist.
Not violently.
Just precisely.
Then he twisted.
A sharp crack echoed through the hall.
The vampire screamed.
Lucien released him immediately.
The assassin collapsed to his knees, clutching his broken arm.
Lucien brushed imaginary dust from his sleeve.
“You really should not underestimate me.”
Across the room, Aria stared.
“…I take back everything I assumed about vampire Omegas.”
Kaelen barely had time to process what he’d just seen.
Because the bond exploded.
Heat surged violently through his chest.
Lucien inhaled sharply.
The connection between them flared like fire.
Too strong.
Too sudden.
Kaelen staggered slightly.
The lead assassin noticed immediately.
His smile returned.
“There it is.”
Kaelen’s gaze snapped to him.
“The bond.”
The assassin stepped forward slowly.
“You feel it, don’t you?”
Kaelen didn’t answer.
The vampire’s eyes gleamed.
“Your instincts are tearing you apart.”
The bond pulsed again.
Kaelen’s wolf roared beneath his skin.
Protect.
Protect.
Protect.
Lucien felt it too.
The pull was overwhelming now.
His breathing slowed deliberately.
“Kaelen,” he said quietly.
The Alpha turned toward him instantly.
Lucien held his gaze.
“Focus.”
The single word cut through the chaos.
Kaelen’s wolf steadied slightly.
Lucien continued calmly.
“There are still enemies in the room.”
Aria laughed breathlessly while blocking another strike.
“He’s right!”
The lead assassin sighed.
“Disappointing.”
Then he lunged again.
But this time Kaelen was ready.
He caught the blade in his clawed hand.
Steel scraped against bone.
The assassin’s eyes widened.
Kaelen’s voice was deadly quiet.
“You came here to kill him.”
The vampire didn’t deny it.
“Yes.”
Kaelen leaned closer.
“That was your last mistake.”
The next moment happened too fast to see clearly.
Kaelen moved.
A blur of claws and fury.
The assassin crashed into the far wall with bone-breaking force.
Silence fell across the hall.
The last conscious attacker looked around at the fallen bodies.
Then at Kaelen.
Then at Lucien.
His expression changed.
“...this isn’t over.”
He vanished through the broken doors.
Aria lowered her sword slowly.
“Well.”
She glanced at the wrecked hall.
“That went terribly.”
Kaelen ignored her.
His eyes were fixed on Lucien.
The bond still burned between them.
Lucien noticed.
“You’re staring.”
Kaelen stepped closer.
The distance between them closed instinctively.
“You fought.”
Lucien tilted his head slightly.
“You seemed surprised.”
“I was.”
Lucien’s lips curved faintly.
“I told you.”
Aria groaned loudly.
“I cannot deal with whatever this tension is right now.”
Kaelen didn’t look away from Lucien.
“The Court will send more.”
Lucien nodded.
“Of course they will.”
The Alpha studied him carefully.
“You knew that would happen.”
Lucien met his gaze without hesitation.
“Yes.”
Kaelen frowned.
“Why come to the summit knowing that?”
Lucien’s expression softened slightly.
“Because sometimes the only way to change the world…”
His crimson eyes flicked briefly to the bond mark glowing faintly beneath Kaelen’s collar.
“…is to break the rules that built it.”
The hall fell quiet again.
But far beyond the valley—
Something else was already moving.
Watching.
Waiting.
And smiling.
- Writer
