Lior –
The great hall echoed with bloodthirsty celebration.
Crystal goblets clinked together, filled with the spoils of their raid—both the literal blood they'd taken and the vintage reserves brought up from the fortress cellars. Vampires lounged on obsidian thrones and velvet cushions, their pale faces flushed with the intoxication of violence successfully executed. The assault on the wolf den was being hailed as a masterpiece of tactical warfare.
But Lior sat apart from the revelry, his own goblet untouched on the marble table beside him. His hands remained clenched in his lap, knuckles white with tension, because he couldn't escape the memory of that crucial moment. The blade raised above Kael's throat. The golden eyes that had looked up at him with something between resignation and trust. The way his entire body had betrayed him at the instant that mattered most.
He should have struck. Should have ended the Alpha's life and claimed his place among the clan's greatest warriors. Instead, he had frozen like a novice facing his first kill.
The taste of wolf blood still lingered on his tongue from their previous encounter, calling to parts of his nature he didn't understand. The mate bond thrummed beneath his skin like poison, making every breath a reminder of the impossible choice he faced.
"Magnificent work tonight."
The voice slid through the shadows beside him, smooth as silk over steel. Lior's shoulders tensed as Selric materialized from the darkness between pillars, ice-blue eyes gleaming with predatory interest. The vampire lieutenant moved with the calculated grace of a born assassin, each step designed to project threat.
"The wolves will think twice before challenging our territorial claims again," Selric continued, settling into the chair across from Lior with fluid elegance. His pale fingers drummed against the armrest in a rhythm that set Lior's nerves on edge.
"Indeed," Lior replied carefully, keeping his voice neutral. Around them, the celebration continued—laughter rising from fanged mouths, stories of the night's victories growing more elaborate with each telling.
Selric leaned forward, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper that wouldn't carry to the Elder's table. "Though I did notice something... interesting during the assault."
Lior's blood turned to ice in his veins. He forced himself to meet Selric's gaze directly, projecting the cold confidence expected of a clan warrior. "Oh?"
"You had a clear shot at the Alpha." Selric's smile revealed fangs like ivory needles. "Perfect positioning, silver blade ready, the target completely exposed. And yet..."
The pause stretched between them like a garrote wire. Lior could feel the weight of observation, the careful calculation behind those icy eyes. Selric had always been ambitious, always watching for opportunities to advance his position within the clan hierarchy.
"You hesitated," Selric finished, his tone carrying the satisfaction of a hunter who had cornered his prey. "For just a moment, but I saw it. The way you looked at him—not like an enemy to be eliminated, but like something else entirely."
Lior's hand moved instinctively toward the blade at his hip, but he caught himself before the gesture could be completed. Showing aggression now would only confirm Selric's suspicions. Instead, he forced a laugh that sounded hollow even to his own ears.
"You mistake tactical assessment for hesitation," he said, injecting steel into his voice. "The Alpha was surrounded by his pack. A rushed kill would have meant my death as well."
"Would it?" Selric tilted his head, studying Lior like a particularly fascinating specimen. "Because from where I stood, it looked like you were having second thoughts about spilling wolf blood."
The accusation hung in the air between them, poisonous and deadly. Around them, the celebration continued, but Lior felt as if he stood alone in a spotlight of scrutiny. His wolf stirred restlessly in his chest, recognizing the threat to its mate even through layers of vampire conditioning.
"Careful," Lior warned, allowing a hint of his true nature to bleed through his controlled facade. "You mistake imagination for observation."
Selric's smile widened, revealing more fang. "Do I? Because I've been watching you since that first encounter with the Alpha. You've been... different. Distracted. Almost as if something has divided your loyalties."
The torches guttered in their sconces, casting dancing shadows across the stone walls. The scent of blood and wine filled the air, but underneath it Lior caught something else—the lingering trace of forest and wild power that still clung to his clothes from the raid.
Kael's scent. A reminder of everything he stood to lose.
Selric leaned closer, his voice dropping to a blade-edge whisper that carried the weight of absolute certainty. "I don't know what hold that wolf has over you, but I'll be watching. And if you betray this clan for him—if you put your twisted feelings above our survival—I'll end you both."
His pale hand settled over the hilt of his silver dagger, the gesture casual but unmistakably threatening. "Slowly. Painfully. And I'll make sure you watch each other die."