Chapter 6
529words
The tension between us felt like a bubble about to burst.
One quiet evening, after reviewing messages from his secret network, Cael reclined on the sofa, eyes closed.
He thought I'd gone to bed.
But I crept silently from my bedroom.
In the soft lamplight, his sleeping face looked younger, the hard edges and constant vigilance melted away.
His long lashes cast delicate shadows on his cheeks, his lips slightly parted in rest.
As if drawn by some magnetic force, I leaned closer, my heart hammering against my ribs.
I just wanted to… be closer, just for a moment.
Gathering every ounce of courage, I brushed my lips against his in the lightest of kisses.
My face burning with embarrassment, I fled back to my room like a thief, mortified by my own boldness.
I buried myself under the covers, heart still pounding wildly in my chest.
What I didn't know was that Cael had awakened the instant I approached.
Even with his powers sealed, his vampire senses remained far sharper than any human's.
He'd heard my racing heartbeat, felt my warm breath, and the gentle pressure of my lips against his.
Yet he'd kept his eyes closed.
Women had thrown themselves at him for centuries, but this innocent kiss affected him differently—stirring something both foreign and addictive.
To research breaking the seal, Cael needed access to New Sea City's supernatural black market.
As luck would have it, a major underground auction was approaching, and my pack had received an invitation.
Cael accompanied me under the guise of being my bodyguard.
The auction was held in an abandoned opera house, where creatures from all supernatural factions gathered under an uneasy truce.
There, we ran into the Steel Claw gang again.
Their young alpha heir—an arrogant pup with more attitude than sense.
Spotting the seemingly human Cael beside me, he sneered: "Layla, is your pathetic pack so desperate you're hiring humans for protection now?"
Mocking laughter rippled through the nearby crowd.
My cheeks burned with humiliation as my nails dug into my palms.
Cael smoothly stepped between us, regarding the young alpha with cool detachment. "I understand your pack is bidding on that eastern district property—planning a new training facility?"
The young wolf's smirk faltered—this was privileged information.
"That particular property," Cael continued, his quiet voice somehow carrying throughout the room, "was contaminated with industrial waste three years ago. Despite the cleanup, the residual radiation would cause any werewolf regularly training there to lose thirty percent of their strength within a decade. This information was documented in Environmental Assessment Report #73—which mysteriously vanished from city records."
The room erupted in shocked murmurs.
The young alpha's face drained of all color.
"You're—you're lying!" he sputtered.
"Verify it yourself," Cael replied dismissively, guiding me to our seats as if the matter were of no consequence.
I stared at him in amazement.
With a few sentences, he'd not only humiliated our enemies but potentially saved dozens of werewolves from slow poisoning.
Even stripped of his power, this man wielded knowledge and authority like the king he truly was.
