Chapter 10
499words
They surrounded our territory with their entire force—a show of overwhelming power.
Their alpha approached me directly, forcing my hand.
"Time's up, Layla. Either you're mine and your pack serves us, or you all disappear from this city—permanently."
I clutched my silver dagger, prepared to go down fighting.
Suddenly, the screech of tires cut through the tension.
A fleet of luxury black vehicles materialized from the darkness, surrounding the Steel Claw pack in a perfect formation.
The doors opened in perfect synchronization, revealing vampire enforcers in immaculate suits. Their coordinated movements and overwhelming aura sent instinctive fear through every werewolf present.
From the lead car emerged a single figure.
He wore an impeccably tailored camel coat, his posture regal, his face unchanged—but those blood-red eyes held three years of frozen longing.
No longer the broken man who'd hidden in my apartment, but the Dark Emperor who commanded the supernatural world—Cael.
He had come for me.
The Steel Claw alpha's knees visibly buckled when he recognized Cael.
Even his arrogance couldn't withstand the terror of recognizing who stood before him.
The Vampire King who'd purged his entire court in a week and made every supernatural faction in the city tremble.
"Get lost." Cael didn't even look at him—just one quiet word that carried absolute authority.
The Steel Claw members scattered like roaches in light, practically falling over themselves to escape.
The power gap was too vast to challenge, no matter how much they hated retreating.
Just like that, the crisis ended.
My pack members stared at the legendary vampire king with a mixture of terror and hatred.
Cael's eyes never left mine. He walked through the crowd as if they didn't exist, coming straight to me.
I stared back, lips trembling, words failing me completely.
Without warning, he swept me into his arms and carried me to his car, ignoring the shocked gasps from my pack.
"A vampire with a werewolf? They're both insane!" someone whispered in horror.
Shocked whispers followed us.
The motorcade sped toward downtown, heading for the tallest skyscraper in the city—his headquarters.
Vampires had long since integrated into human society—many celebrities and business leaders were vampires hiding in plain sight.
In the penthouse suite, he finally set me down.
"Why did you run?" His voice was rough with emotion.
I remained silent, meeting his gaze defiantly.
From inside his coat, he withdrew my silver wolf pendant, warm from being carried against his body.
"For three years, I've survived each night by holding this—clinging to your fading scent."
His words cracked my carefully constructed walls.
Tears spilled down my cheeks.
"Why did you LIE to me?" I finally screamed.
He crushed me against his chest, holding me so tightly it almost hurt. "I never wanted to deceive you!"
He silenced my protests with a desperate kiss that made our previous ones seem tame by comparison.
This kiss contained everything—relief at finding me, three years of longing, and the bitter taste of regret.
