Zareth stood still, his imposing fra silhouetted by the dim moonlight filtering through the floor-to-ceiling windows. The sheer curtains swayed as if whispering secrets from a ti long forgotten.
In his hand, a worn photograph.
Lunara.
Her soft features captured in ink and paper, her eyes filled with a gentleness that no longer existed in his world. His fingers traced the delicate curve of her face, his grip tightening as a storm of rage and longing raged within him.
Behind him, a presence.
A soft voice, filled with both reverence and venom.
"Father, everything is ready."
Zareth didn’t turn imdiately.
He knew who it was.
Nyx.
His daughter. His only child.
He lifted his gaze to the horizon, where the land stretched wild and endless, but his mind was trapped in a single mont of the past.
Finally, he spoke.
"Then it begins." His voice was low, dark, unyielding. "No matter what, we will get revenge for your mother."
Nyx stepped closer, her ethereal beauty almost unreal. Dark waves of hair cascaded down her back, her silver eyes glowing like the stars themselves.
But there was sothing in them....anger.
"She never wanted ," Nyx muttered, lowering her head. A single tear, quickly wiped away.
Zareth spun toward her, his fury imdiate.
"Nonsense!" he thundered, his power shaking the room.
Nyx flinched but didn’t back down.
"She abandoned ," she hissed, her hands clenched into fists. "She left behind like I was nothing."
Zareth’s jaw tightened, his nostrils flaring.
"No," he growled. "She was swayed. Manipulated. Controlled by that bastard Cerius."
The image of Lunara in his hands blurred into mory.
He saw her standing before him, wrapped in a flowing white dress, her hands trembling.
"Zareth... please." Her voice had been soft, desperate. "Don’t do this. Let go. Let our child go."
He had reached for her, his hand hesitant but full of love.
"Lunara, why are you fighting this?" His voice had cracked with pain. "I have given you everything. I have given you eternity. And you choose him?"
Her eyes had filled with tears.
"I never chose you, Zareth."
The words had shattered him.
He had gripped her wrists. "You are mine. You always will be. You carry my blood in your veins. And she...."
His free hand rested on her stomach.
"She will be ours."
Lunara had yanked away, her face filled with sothing he had never seen before....terror.
"You will never have her."
The mory snapped like glass.
Zareth inhaled sharply, shoving the picture into his pocket.
The Hunt Begins
Nyx watched him carefully.
She had always known that his love for Lunara was obsessive, consuming. But she also knew his rage was uncontrollable.
And now?
That rage had a target.
"I summoned Arthur," Nyx said, breaking the silence.
Zareth lifted an eyebrow.
"He will be here soon," she continued. "He’s desperate. Weak. Easy to control."
A slow smirk curled on Zareth’s lips.
"Good."
Nyx hesitated before speaking again.
"What about Haelyn?"
Zareth’s expression darkened.
"She is a problem."
Nyx tilted her head. "You an to kill her?"
Zareth exhaled sharply. "Killing her is... premature."
Nyx’s brows furrowed.
"But she is...."
Zareth lifted a hand, cutting her off.
"She is an asset. Not a mistake to be erased. Not yet." His eyes flickered with sothing calculating. "If we use her correctly, she could be the key to sothing even greater than revenge."
Nyx frowned. "You’re saying we keep her alive?"
"For now."
The door creaked open.
A familiar figure entered.
Arthur.
His presence reeked of desperation. His face was tense, eyes darting.
Nyx smirked.
"Right on ti."
Zareth clasped his hands behind his back, his stance imposing.
"Arthur," he greeted, his voice like oil and fire. "You’ve done well to co."
Arthur bowed his head slightly. "You called for . I assud it was important."
Zareth let out a slow chuckle.
"Oh, it is. More than you can possibly imagine."
Arthur straightened, his expression wary. "What do you need?"
Nyx stepped beside her father, her silver eyes piercing through Arthur.
"We need to discuss Haelyn."
Arthur stiffened but remained silent.
Zareth’s gaze sharpened.
"It’s ti to move."
A pause.
Then....
A slow, twisted smile spread across Arthur’s face.
Arthur sat stiffly in the lavish yet ominous chamber, his eyes flickering between Zareth and Nyx, the weight of their presence pressing on him like a heavy stone. The air felt thick, charged with a darkness he couldn’t quite understand, but it made his wolf uneasy.
Zareth leaned back in his chair, his silver eyes glinting like cold steel. He drumd his fingers against the polished wood, a slow, deliberate rhythm that sent chills down Arthur’s spine.
"You have ambition, Arthur," Zareth mused. "But ambition without power is simply desperation."
Arthur swallowed, his pride clashing with the truth of those words. He hated being looked down on, but right now, he needed Zareth.
"I’m not desperate," Arthur replied, forcing his voice to stay steady. "I simply want what’s rightfully mine. Haelyn is mine. Her power...her child....they should belong to ."
Nyx laughed softly, a cruel and knowing sound.
"Yours?" she echoed, tilting her head. "You treat her like property. And yet, she slipped right through your fingers."
Arthur clenched his jaw. "That was because of Cerius and Archer. They’re protecting her....shielding her like she’s sothing sacred."
Zareth smirked. "And perhaps she is."
Arthur narrowed his eyes. "What do you want from ?"
Zareth leaned forward, his gaze predatory.
"I want Haelyn."
Arthur stiffened. "To kill her?"
Zareth chuckled. "That would be wasteful. No... I want her alive. I want to shape her. Use her. Break her."
Arthur’s wolf growled within him, sensing sothing wrong. He knew he should be wary, but greed....greed for power, for vengeance, for control....clouded his judgnt.
"If I give her to you," Arthur said slowly, "what do I get in return?"
Zareth’s smile widened, revealing sothing sinister.
"Strength beyond anything you’ve ever known," he murmured. "You wish to control your daughter? I can make her bow to you. You wish to bring Archer and Cerius to their knees? I will hand them to you, broken. You wish for power? I will grant you power the likes of which even Alphas can’t dream of."
Arthur’s breath hitched.
It was everything he wanted.
And yet...
"What’s the cost?" he asked cautiously.
Nyx smirked. "Everything cos at a cost, Arthur. But yours? Yours will be light."
Arthur’s eyes flickered between them. "Explain."
Zareth’s expression darkened, shadows creeping into his voice.
"I will require blood."
Arthur hesitated. "Whose blood?"
Zareth’s silver gaze bore into him.
"Yours, for now. A bond must be made. A deal must be sealed."
Arthur tensed, but before he could object, Nyx stepped forward, drawing a silver dagger from her waist.
"You wanted power, Arthur," she said sweetly, "but power requires sacrifice."
She took his wrist in a firm, unrelenting grip. The dagger glead as she dragged the blade across his palm.
Arthur hissed in pain, but he did not flinch.
Zareth reached out, pressing his own scarred palm against Arthur’s, their blood mixing together in a swirl of dark energy.
The mont their blood touched—
A pulse of darkness erupted through the room.
Arthur’s wolf howled inside him, writhing, struggling as sothing foreign, sothing ancient latched onto his soul.
His breath ca short, his head spinning.
Pain.
Power.
A binding force stronger than anything he had ever felt before.
His veins burned, his vision darkened, and for a brief mont, he felt as if his very existence had been rewritten.
Then, silence.
Zareth sat back, satisfied.
"It is done."
Arthur gasped, his chest heaving. "What... what have you done to ?"
Nyx smiled. "We’ve given you exactly what you wanted."
Arthur clenched his fists. He could feel it.
Sothing dark was now inside him.
Sothing alive.
And yet, it felt good.
"Haelyn," Zareth murmured, his voice dripping with anticipation. "Bring her to , Arthur. And your rule will begin."
Arthur nodded slowly, a dangerous smirk curling on his lips.
"It won’t be long now."
Haelyn stood by the window, her hands trembling.
Sothing was wrong.
Sothing in the air felt off, unnatural.
She turned to Cerius, Seraphis, and Marlyil, their faces unusually tense.
"You feel it too, don’t you?" she whispered.
Seraphis’s lips pressed into a thin line.
"Sothing dark has moved," she confird.
Cerius’s jaw clenched. "We need to prepare."
Haelyn exhaled shakily, her hand resting over her stomach.
For so reason, her wolf was restless.
Her instincts scread danger.
And deep in her soul, she knew....
Arthur was coming for her.
Arthur staggered slightly as the dark power settled inside him. His wolf felt different, sharper, almost... twisted.
Nyx watched him, amusent dancing in her silver eyes.
"You feel it, don’t you?" she whispered.
Arthur clenched his jaw. "What is it?"
Zareth chuckled darkly.
"Strength," he said simply. "A gift... and a curse. One that you must learn to control before it consus you."
Arthur’s gaze flickered. "It won’t consu . I’ll control it."
Nyx smirked. "We’ll see."
Arthur turned toward the door. His steps were heavier, but his power was undeniable.
He would claim Haelyn.
He would end Archer.
And now?
Nothing could stop him.
Reviews
All reviews (0)