No peace for the wicked

BLOOD OATH

Chapter Fourteen: Blood Oath

Rain poured endlessly across the runway.

The storm swallowed the city whole while flames from the fuel trucks painted the darkness orange behind the armed convoy.

And standing beneath the white airport floodlights—

Lucien Vale smiled like a ghost returning home.

Elena felt Alaric go completely still beside her.

Not fear.

Not shock.

Recognition.

The kind that exists between two men who once survived hell together.

Lucien wore a dark tailored coat untouched by panic despite the gunfire surrounding the runway. Rain slid slowly down his face while armed men spread carefully behind him in perfect formation.

Disciplined.

Professional.

Deadly.

“Elena,” Gabriel whispered sharply, “behind me.”

But she barely moved.

Because Alaric hadn’t blinked once since seeing Lucien.

The wound in his shoulder bled steadily beneath his soaked black shirt, yet he seemed not to feel it at all.

For several seconds nobody moved.

Then Lucien spread his arms slightly.

“Look at us,” he called through the storm. “Back where we belong.”

Alaric’s voice came cold and quiet.

“You burned civilians.”

Lucien tilted his head almost thoughtfully.

“And yet that’s the part that shocks you.”

Lightning flashed violently overhead.

Lucien’s smile widened slightly.

“That woman changed you more than I expected.”

Elena felt Alaric tense instantly.

Dangerous tension.

The kind that warned violence was seconds away.

“You say her name,” Alaric said quietly, “and I’ll remove your tongue personally.”

Several armed men shifted uneasily at the calmness in his tone.

Because rage was expected.

But Alaric sounded worse than angry.

He sounded focused.

Lucien laughed softly.

“There he is.”

Rain hammered against the tarmac while smoke drifted across the runway between them like a living thing.

“You know,” Lucien continued conversationally, “when they told me Alaric Kane had fallen in love, I almost didn’t believe it.”

Gabriel subtly repositioned closer to Elena.

The bodyguards surrounding them tightened formation immediately.

No one trusted how calm Lucien looked.

“Then I watched you,” Lucien said. “And suddenly everything made sense.”

Alaric said nothing.

But Elena noticed something terrifying.

His hand had stopped shaking.

The emotional conflict from earlier…

Gone.

Replaced by terrifying clarity.

Lucien noticed too.

And smiled wider.

“She calms the storm inside you,” he murmured. “That’s beautiful.”

His expression darkened slightly afterward.

“And tragic.”

Without warning—

Gunfire exploded again.

Everything erupted instantly.

Lucien’s men opened fire across the runway while Kane security returned shots violently through smoke and rain.

Gabriel grabbed Elena hard and forced her behind an armored SUV.

“Stay DOWN!”

Bullets tore through nearby glass and metal.

Airport alarms screamed somewhere in the darkness.

Alaric moved immediately.

Fast.

Precise.

Like his body remembered war too well.

He fired twice toward advancing shooters before pulling another wounded guard behind cover.

“Elena!” he shouted.

“I’m here!”

Another explosion thundered across the runway.

Lucien’s men pushed aggressively from both sides now.

This wasn’t intimidation anymore.

This was execution.

“Sir!” Gabriel shouted while firing. “They’re trapping us!”

Alaric already knew.

He studied the runway quickly through the chaos.

Calculating.

Searching.

Then suddenly—

His gaze locked onto the fuel lines near Hangar Three.

And Elena saw it happen.

The decision.

Cold strategy replacing emotion completely.

“Gabriel!” Alaric barked.

“Yes, sir!”

“Move the convoy east side. Now.”

Gabriel immediately understood.

His expression darkened.

“Sir, that’ll ignite the—”

“I know.”

Elena stared at him in disbelief.

“You’re going to blow the runway?”

His eyes found hers briefly.

Emotion flickered there.

Only briefly.

“Lucien came here expecting mercy.”

The words chilled her instantly.

Because suddenly—

Alaric sounded exactly like Lucien.

Gabriel cursed under his breath before shouting into comms.

“All units move east! MOVE!”

Security teams repositioned rapidly through the storm while gunfire intensified.

Lucien noticed immediately.

And smiled.

“Oh,” he called loudly across the chaos. “There you are.”

Alaric ignored him completely.

“Elena,” he ordered coldly, “with Gabriel.”

“No.”

His eyes snapped toward her instantly.

“This is not the time.”

“I’m not leaving you again!”

A bullet slammed into the SUV beside them violently.

Gabriel fired back instantly.

“We’re running out of time!”

Alaric grabbed Elena suddenly and pulled her hard against him.

Rain soaked both of them completely.

His voice lowered dangerously.

“If you stay near me right now…”

Thunder cracked violently overhead.

“…you are going to see things you cannot unsee.”

Fear crawled slowly through her chest.

Not because she doubted him.

Because she believed him completely.

“You’re hurt,” she whispered shakily.

“I’ve been worse.”

Blood continued running steadily down his arm into the rainwater below.

Yet somehow he still looked terrifyingly composed.

Lucien’s voice echoed again through the smoke.

“You know what I missed most about you, Alaric?”

Another burst of gunfire exploded.

“The honesty.”

Alaric’s jaw flexed hard.

Lucien stepped farther into the open runway lights, completely fearless despite bullets flying nearby.

“Love stripped away the mask,” Lucien continued calmly. “Now everyone finally sees what you really are.”

Elena felt Alaric’s breathing slow beside her.

Dangerously slow.

“He wants you angry,” she whispered quickly.

“No.”

His gaze never left Lucien.

“He wants me guilty.”

And suddenly she understood.

Lucien wasn’t trying to destroy Alaric physically.

He was trying to force him into becoming the old Alaric again.

Because if redemption failed—

Lucien would win even if he died.

“Sir!” Gabriel shouted suddenly.

Two armored vehicles were approaching fast from the south gate.

Not Kane security.

Unknown.

Lucien smiled immediately.

“Perfect timing.”

The vehicles skidded violently across the rain-soaked runway before stopping near Lucien’s position.

Doors opened.

More armed men emerged.

Then finally—

A woman stepped out slowly.

Tall.

Elegant.

Dressed entirely in black despite the storm.

Her eyes locked instantly onto Alaric.

And for the first time all night—

He looked genuinely shocked.

“Elise,” he said quietly.

Elena’s stomach twisted immediately.

The woman smiled faintly.

“It’s been a long time.”

Lucien looked amused beside her.

“You remember Elise Laurent.”

Gabriel swore softly under his breath.

Elena noticed instantly.

“You know her?”

Gabriel’s expression tightened dangerously.

“She used to work for Blackwood.”

Fear crept deeper into Elena’s chest.

Used to.

Meaning Alaric knew her personally.

Very personally.

Elise’s gaze shifted slowly toward Elena.

Measured.

Coldly curious.

“So this is her.”

Alaric stepped forward immediately despite gunfire still erupting around them.

“You stay away from Elena.”

Elise raised one eyebrow slightly.

“That protective already?”

Lucien laughed softly nearby.

“Elise always said love would ruin you eventually.”

Elena looked between them carefully.

Something old and ugly existed here.

History.

The kind soaked in betrayal.

“Elise disappeared three years ago,” Gabriel muttered quietly to Elena. “We thought she was dead.”

“I was busy,” Elise replied smoothly, overhearing him.

Lightning flashed again across the runway.

And suddenly Elena saw it clearly.

The way Elise looked at Alaric.

Not affection.

Not love.

Something darker.

Resentment.

“You left us,” Elise said calmly to Alaric.

His face hardened immediately.

“You murdered civilians.”

Lucien sighed theatrically.

“You really keep returning to that.”

“They were innocent.”

“No one connected to power is innocent,” Lucien answered coldly.

Elena felt the atmosphere shift dangerously again.

Because Alaric’s restraint was slipping fast now.

Especially with Elise here.

Especially with old ghosts reopening.

“You should’ve stayed buried,” Alaric told her quietly.

Elise smiled sadly.

“You taught me survival yourself.”

That line hit harder than bullets.

Because Elena suddenly realized something terrifying:

Alaric had created monsters before he ever tried becoming better.

And now they were all returning at once.

Gunfire slowed briefly as both sides repositioned cautiously in the rain.

The storm intensified overhead.

Lucien glanced toward the burning fuel trucks before speaking again.

“You know what the problem with redemption is?”

Nobody answered.

“It requires witnesses.”

His gaze shifted deliberately toward Elena.

“And witnesses die very easily.”

Alaric moved before thought could stop him.

A gunshot exploded instantly from his side.

Lucien barely avoided it.

Chaos erupted again.

Everyone opened fire simultaneously.

“Elena DOWN!” Gabriel roared.

Bullets ripped through the runway while security pushed Elena toward cover again.

But this time—

Alaric advanced.

Not retreating.

Not protecting.

Hunting.

The sight terrified her completely.

Because he moved through violence like memory.

Cold efficiency.

No hesitation.

One attacker dropped instantly beside the cargo crates.

Another collapsed near the runway lights.

Alaric barely slowed.

“Elena!” Gabriel shouted urgently. “We have to move now!”

But she couldn’t stop staring.

Because the man moving through smoke and gunfire…

Barely resembled the man who held her gently hours ago.

This version was older.

Colder.

Sharper.

And heartbreakingly familiar to Lucien.

“You see it now?” Elise called toward Elena through the storm. “You finally see what he really is!”

“No!” Elena shouted back immediately.

But doubt hit her anyway.

Not because Alaric was evil.

Because violence fit him too naturally.

Lucien fired twice toward advancing security before laughing again.

“Tell me something, Elena!”

Rain streamed down his face while bullets screamed across the runway.

“When he wakes up screaming at night…”

Alaric froze instantly.

Only for half a second.

But Lucien saw it.

And smiled viciously.

“…does he tell you how many people begged him for mercy?”

“Elena don’t listen to him!” Gabriel barked.

But the damage was already done.

Because Alaric’s silence said enough.

Lucien noticed the hesitation in her expression instantly.

And attacked it immediately.

“He never told you what Blackwood used to be, did he?”

Another explosion thundered nearby.

“Elena!” Alaric shouted sharply.

But Lucien kept talking.

“He built graves long before he built charities!”

“SHUT UP!”

The fury in Alaric’s voice shook the runway.

And suddenly—

Everyone went still.

Because for the first time tonight…

Alaric truly lost control.

His breathing turned uneven.

His injured shoulder bled heavily.

And the storm inside him finally surfaced openly.

Lucien smiled softly.

“There he is.”

Elena stared at Alaric painfully.

Not afraid.

Heartbroken.

Because she finally understood why he feared himself so much.

Not because he enjoyed darkness.

Because darkness answered him too easily.

“Elena,” Alaric said roughly, “come here.”

She moved instantly toward him despite Gabriel trying to stop her.

Rain soaked her completely as she reached him.

And for one suspended moment—

The chaos around them disappeared.

Only the two of them remained.

Alaric touched her face carefully with bloodstained fingers.

His voice dropped lower.

“You should hate me a little.”

Tears mixed with rainwater instantly on her cheeks.

“I don’t.”

“You should.”

“No.”

His eyes closed briefly.

Like her forgiveness physically hurt him.

Then suddenly he pulled her against him tightly.

And whispered something that shattered her completely.

“I don’t know how to lose you without becoming a monster again.”

The confession broke whatever anger remained inside her.

Because beneath all the violence…

He was terrified.

Not of death.

Of himself.

Gunfire erupted again nearby.

Gabriel shouted something urgent into comms.

Lucien’s forces were advancing.

Fast.

“Elena,” Gabriel yelled, “we HAVE to leave!”

Alaric slowly released her.

Then looked toward Lucien again.

And Elena saw it clearly.

Decision.

Cold.

Final.

“You’re taking her,” he told Gabriel quietly.

“No—”

“This is not negotiable.”

Gabriel nodded once reluctantly.

“Yes, sir.”

Elena grabbed Alaric’s arm immediately.

“You’re coming with us.”

His expression softened painfully.

“I can’t.”

“Yes you can!”

He looked toward Lucien.

Then toward Elise.

Then finally back to Elena.

“No,” he said quietly. “I really can’t.”

Fear slammed violently into her chest.

Because suddenly she understood what he intended.

He wasn’t planning escape anymore.

He was planning sacrifice.

And somewhere across the burning runway—

Lucien Vale smiled like a man finally getting exactly what he wanted.