After ten tense minutes, the heavy double doors to the chamber slammed open with a violent bang, the sound echoing off the stone walls like a gunshot.
Kraven strode in like a man already halfway through an argument, but the moment his eyes landed on Luke—standing casually beside Selene—his anger spiked into something darker.
His face twisted into that dangerous blend of jealousy and wounded pride. The kind of look you'd expect from someone who'd just discovered his most prized possession was slipping away. This wasn't simple rage. It was personal. Very personal.
Luke met Kraven's glare with calm indifference, the kind of perfectly neutral expression that somehow managed to make people even angrier. Inside, though, he was grinning. Right on time, he thought. Like a loyal, angry little puppy, rushing in to bark and bite.
"Selene! How dare you bring a hum—" Kraven started shouting, his voice rising like a spoiled brat throwing a tantrum. He didn't even finish the word "human" before Luke made his move.
"Stone Spike," Luke thought, narrowing his eyes as he lifted one leg and slammed his boot down hard against the marble floor.
The impact echoed through the chamber with a deep, grinding rumble, like the earth itself was annoyed. A split second later, the floor cracked, and right behind Kraven, a jagged spike of stone shot upward with violent force.
It wasn't razor sharp—Luke wasn't trying to impale him (yet)—but it didn't need to be.
With a satisfying thunk, the spike rammed squarely into Kraven's rear, lifting him off his feet and hurling him forward like a badly-thrown football.
The vampire leader—if you could even call him that—let out a startled grunt that was almost comical. The fury on his face vanished, replaced by sheer confusion and panic. He had no idea what was happening.
His mind hadn't caught up to the fact that, somehow, impossibly, he was flying through the air like a cheap stunt double.
Luke was ready. Oh, he was more than ready. He stepped forward, his right hand tightening into a fist, the skin hardening with the gritty, unyielding texture of Stone Skin. Muscles tensed, timing perfect, he swung with every ounce of strength he had.
CRACK!
The sound was sharp, clean, and satisfying. His knuckles smashed into Kraven's jaw with such force that Luke felt the vibration travel all the way up to his elbow. Kraven's head snapped back violently, his eyes rolling in different directions for a split second before momentum carried him sideways.
Then—smack!—his face slammed into the stone wall. The impact left a faint mark on the surface before his body slid down like a sack of wet laundry, crumpling into a heap on the floor.
Luke straightened up, flexing his fingers and shaking out the faint sting in his hand. "Yep… out cold," he muttered under his breath, a note of pride in his voice.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Selene watching. She wasn't smiling outright, but there was the faintest upward twitch at the corner of her lips, and her eyes carried a flicker of amusement she didn't bother hiding.
She had long wanted to do something about Kraven—ever since he'd made a habit of pestering her with his unwanted attention and constant attempts to assert authority he didn't deserve.
The man was like an annoying mosquito that refused to die no matter how many times you swatted at it.
And now, seeing him get spiked in the ass before being sent face-first into the wall and knocked out cold was… deeply satisfying. Even for her.
Selene watched, still unsure where Luke had even pulled the rope from—one moment his hands were empty, the next a thick coil was in his grip as if it had spawned out of thin air.
Well… not exactly thin air. Luke had actually grabbed it earlier from the house, figuring it might come in handy. And, as it turned out, tonight was definitely a "rope kind of night."
Without missing a beat, he knelt beside Kraven and got to work. Arms pinned tight, legs wrapped together, and knots so mercilessly secure even a snake would feel jealous. Luke worked with the calm precision of someone tying a parcel for delivery—only this package was an unconscious, pompous vampire.
In just one night, Luke thought, he'd done more insane things than he ever imagined—half of them borderline crazy, all of them strangely satisfying.
Five minutes later…
Slap! Slap! Slap!
Luke crouched in front of Kraven, giving his cheeks a steady left-right rhythm. Not hard enough to hurt, but just enough to be thoroughly annoying.
"Wake up, you weak excuse for a vampire," Luke drawled, like he was trying to rouse a lazy coworker.
"This guy's really weak. Is he really a vampire who's lived for centuries?" Luke asked, glancing over at Selene. "I mean, I knocked him out in one punch."
"Yes," Selene replied, her tone laced with disdain. "But he's wasted centuries indulging in pleasure, avoiding any real training. His strength faded long ago."
Kraven's eyes finally blinked open, sluggish and confused—until he realized he was trussed up like an oversized, furious caterpillar. His face twisted with rage.
"Selene! How dare you betray the coven for this human?!" he spat, his voice cracking with outrage.
"Shut up, you chihuahua," Luke interrupted, smacking him again for good measure. "You've got the same bark, same attitude, but no bite… and definitely no brain."
Selene stepped forward, her eyes narrowing into a cold, unforgiving stare. "Kraven, we can't talk about betrayal when you colluded with Lucian, the Lycan leader… and hid the fact that he's alive."
Kraven froze. That was his greatest secret—the lie that had built his entire position. He'd been celebrated for killing Lucian, and when Viktor went into deep sleep, that victory had cemented him as the one in charge.
That tiny flicker of shock in his eyes was all the confirmation Selene needed.
"Judging by your expression, I can take that as a yes," she said flatly. Her voice was ice, no hesitation, no mercy. She knew it now—Kraven was a traitor.
And though she was aware she had already committed her own sin by bringing a human into the most sacred chamber of the coven… what she was about to do next would mark her as a traitor too.
Luke grabbed Kraven by the hair and yanked his head up so their eyes met. His grip was firm, unyielding, and his gaze sharp enough to cut glass.
"Now," he said in a low, steady tone that carried no hint of bluff, "spill everything about who killed Selene's family."
There was no tremor in Luke's voice, no wasted words. He might joke and play around with others, but when it came to people like Kraven—self-serving parasites who trampled over anyone for their own gain—Luke's mercy simply didn't exist.
Kraven's eyes narrowed to slits, his voice laced with venom. "Her family was killed by Lycans," he spat, glaring at Luke as though hatred alone could kill.
Luke tilted his head slightly, his expression almost bored, before delivering a sharp smack to Kraven's face with his free hand. The sound echoed off the marble walls, followed by a tense silence.
"Don't glare at me," Luke said flatly, as if scolding a child who refused to behave.
Kraven swore to himself silently, his thoughts dark. If I get out of this, I'll make this human regret ever laying a hand on me… I'll show him what real torture feels like. His pride screamed at him to endure, to never give in to a mortal.
But then came the heat.
At first, it was just warmth against his scalp—a faint warning. But that warmth grew sharper, hungrier, until it bit into his skin like molten iron.
Luke's gloves glowed faintly, embers crawling over the knuckles gripping Kraven's hair. The air between them smelled faintly of singed leather and scorched flesh.
"You see," Luke continued, his voice calm but edged with steel, "I've got something important to do, and I don't have time for your games. So I'll ask one last time—who killed Selene's family?"
The heat spread, searing down to the roots of Kraven's hair. His jaw clenched, his body tensed, but the pain was relentless—sharp enough to cut through the wall of arrogance he'd built over centuries.
Finally, his voice cracked, the words spilling out with the desperation of a man cornered.
"It was Viktor!" Kraven shouted. "Viktor ordered the killing of her family!"