{VAL}
Valerius sighed theatrically, dragging one pale hand through his hair as though the entire situation bored him.
"Relax," he said with a lazy grin. "We weren’t really going to do anything to her."
A lie.
I heard it imdiately.
It lingered beneath his voice—too smooth, too amused. Valerius only sounded that way when he was monts away from cruelty. His crimson eyes glead with vicious curiosity, and I knew exactly what he had intended.
They would have broken Iris slowly.
Played with her.
Tested her limits rely to satisfy their endless hunger for entertainnt.
That was the nature of vampires.
Sadistic to the core.
Especially toward creatures they deed beneath them.
And werewolves—shifted or otherwise—had always been considered our natural enemies.
"So," Valerius continued, spreading his arms slightly, "you can hand over that little she-wolf now, Vladimir." His grin widened. "She’s nothing important, right?"
The air around darkened.
Shadows stirred beneath my skin, restless and alive.
Slowly, I lifted my gaze to et his.
"Say that again."
For the briefest mont, his smile faltered.
"She’s expendable," he repeated carefully. "You keep your precious human. We keep the wolf. Fair trade."
My jaw tightened.
They truly believed Iris ant nothing to .
Fools.
Though perhaps that was my own doing. From the very beginning, I had encouraged that belief. It was safer this way—for her and for .
"She is Caroline’s friend. And she’s under my protection," I said quietly. "And anything under my protection is untouchable."
Valerius chuckled low beneath his breath, amusent curling through the sound like poison.
"Since when," he drawled, tilting his head, "did you beco sentintal?"
His gaze drifted toward the fading trail of blood across the cobblestones.
"And that," he added slowly, "is a she-wolf, Vlad. Are you truly protecting our mortal enemy now?"
The question settled heavily between us.
For a mont, I said nothing.
My eyes followed the blood staining the ancient stones where Iris had stood monts ago. It had already begun to disappear into the cracks, swallowed by the hungry darkness beneath the courtyard.
It left no sll because of the Blood Veil potion. But just to make sure, I would erase every trace of it later.
Yet the image refused to leave my mind.
I had acted without thought.
Without calculation.
An instinct older than reason itself had taken hold of the mont I saw her bleeding.
And now I was forced to confront the consequences of that weakness.
Because I did want to protect Iris.
That much was becoming impossible to deny.
But showing attachnt openly would only doom her faster.
Predators noticed affection.
Especially among our kind.
And worse than any predator lurking within the Night Court... was Daimon.
If his attention ever settled upon Iris—
No sanctuary in this world would be able to hide her.
I forced my expression back into sothing cold and detached.
"She is nothing more than my human blood bank’s acquaintance," I said evenly. "And I will decide how I amuse myself—with her or with the human girl. Stay out of it."
My gaze sharpened as it shifted between Valerius and Morgana.
"Find your own she-wolf. Find your own human. Do not interfere with what belongs to ."
Valerius burst into laughter.
The sound echoed through the corridor, sharp and mocking.
Morgana, anwhile, pouted like a disappointed child.
She stepped forward slowly, the heels of her boots clicking softly against the stone floor. "Vlad," she murmured, her tone falsely sweet, "aren’t you being unusually kind to them?"
Her eyes glittered with dangerous curiosity.
"This is the first ti you’ve shown interest in a human and a wolf," she continued. "I always thought you were like Sol. Serious. Detached. Uninterested in indulgences."
Her lips curved faintly.
"But even Sol seed intrigued by that she-wolf. I wonder what makes her so . . . special?"
At the ntion of Sol, irritation coiled quietly within .
I remained calm outwardly, though I disliked knowing his attention had shifted toward Iris as well.
I exhaled slowly.
They were beginning to irritate beyond asure.
"That," I replied, my tone dropping several degrees colder, "is none of your concern."
I t Morgana’s gaze directly, allowing just enough power to bleed into my eyes for her to feel the warning beneath it.
"This is your final warning," I said softly. "Do not touch what belongs to ."
Silence followed instantly.
Abrupt.
Heavy.
Even Valerius stopped smiling.
And then, without another word, I vanished.
There was no point explaining further.
Questions only bred curiosity.
And curiosity led immortals toward obsession.
For now, all I could do was hope my warning would deter them from harming Iris—or Caroline.
Still, the true problem remained.
I had shown interest.
And among our kind, interest was never ignored.
====
{VAL}
The Nightborne mansion lood against the night like a cathedral built for ghosts.
Ancient.
Silent.
Endlessly watching.
The wrought-iron gates opened soundlessly at my approach, recognizing my presence without need for command. Shadows curled along the towering walls while pale moonlight bled across black marble pathways slick with rain.
It was fortunate that the academy remained closed for the weekend.
My absence would raise no suspicion.
Nor would my return.
The manor welcod like an old curse.
Sebastian was already waiting inside the grand entrance hall.
"My Lord," he greeted, bowing deeply the mont I stepped through the doors. His eyes flickered briefly toward the unconscious figure in my arms before his expression tightened. "Is that... Lady Iris? Did sothing happen to her?"
I did not look at him.
"Nothing," I replied shortly. "She is unhard. I will return her to her room."
Sebastian hesitated for only a fraction of a second before bowing once more.
"As you wish, my Lord."
It was unlike him to concern himself with anyone outside the Nightborne bloodline.
Sebastian had served this house for centuries. He had witnessed witches, demons, fallen hunters, and creatures too ancient to na pass through these halls.
Yet his gaze lingered on Iris.
A she-wolf.
That alone told more than I cared to acknowledge.
Inside her chamber, darkness and warmth intertwined softly.
The curtains remained drawn. Firelight flickered faintly within the hearth, casting gold against the shadowed walls.
Carefully, I laid Iris upon the bed.
The motion felt strangely gentle.
Unfamiliar.
I adjusted the blanket over her before stepping back, studying her in silence.
For several monts, I simply sat in the chair beside her bed.
The quiet pressed heavily around the room, broken only by the steady rhythm of her breathing.
I leaned back slowly and stared toward the ceiling.
Sothing had happened tonight.
There was no denying it anymore.
She had manifested arcane magic.
Only for a brief instant—so fleeting most beings would have overlooked it entirely—but I had seen it clearly.
The pulse of power beneath her skin.
It flickered like a dying star struggling desperately to reignite itself.
My jaw tightened.
At this rate, it was only a matter of ti before others noticed as well.
Her eyelids fluttered faintly in her sleep.
And not before long, the moon stared back at .
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