Chapter 2 The severed bond and the broken prince

LYRA

The glowing crest on the massive projector screens vanished. In its place high definition security footage illuminated the grand hall in a harsh white light. There was no audio. It was just the undeniable crystal clear visual of Kaelen naked on our suite’s mattress, with my best friend straddling his hips.

A collective gasp rose up among the crowd.

“Oh Goddess no!” My mom screamed, one hand flying to her mouth.

Ava went pale. She tried to step backward into the crowd, but two pack warriors shoved her forward. She hit the floor a few feet from Kaelen. Her silver dress tangled around her legs.

The silent video continued to play on loop above us, exposing their treason to everyone. Faces twisted in the harsh light. When I signaled the technician to cut the feed, the silence in the room was lethal.

Kaelen scrambled to his knees, spitting blood onto the marble. His lip was already swelling where I had struck him.

“Lyra I swear to you it is not what you think.”

“Even after I and everyone had seen it?. I stood outside that door Kaelen,” I said, my voice dropping to a deadly whisper that carried across the frozen room. “I heard exactly what you think of my bloodline. You said fate handed you a ladder. You said I was just a stepping stone to the top.”

“That was just talk. I did not mean it. Not really.”

“I trusted you. I loved you. I fought my father and every elder in the Dominion to keep you. And all that while you only saw me as a ladder.”

Tears streamed down his face. He started crawling toward me, hands outstretched. “Lyra please. We can fix this. Tell them it was a lie. Tell them anything.”

I shifted backward, putting distance between us. “Fix this? You think the insult is yours to repair?”

“Kaelen Aldric,” I declared. My eyes burned a predatory amber. The floorboards beneath my heels fractured under the weight of my aura. “I find your blood dishonorable and your soul unworthy. From this day henceforth I reject you as my mate.”

The bond detonated.

Kaelen screamed. The sound tore through the plaza like a slaughtered animal. He collapsed onto the altar clutching his chest as the bond was ripped from his soul. Dark blood spilled from his mouth, staining the ceremonial white carpet.

The backlash hit my own chest too. My lungs seized. A trickle of blood leaked from the corner of my mouth. I raised a finger and wiped it away. I did not flinch.

I looked down at Ava. She was trembling on the floor, her knees drawn tight to her chest. She would not meet my eyes.

“You wanted him?” I said. “Have a broken Beta who will never be a Lord. If you ever step within an inch of me again I will tear your throat out.”

I ripped the thick silk of my engagement gown tearing it down the seam so my legs were free. No use for ceremony now.

I turned my back on the stunned Council and the boy I had once chosen. The crowd scattered to let me through. No one spoke. No one touched me.

I walked out of the Silver Moon Plaza. The cold hit my skin instantly. I got into my car. My hands shook as I gripped the steering wheel. My chest ached where the bond had been severed. It felt lighter and hollow all at once.

I slammed the door shut. The engine roared to life. I sped out of the estate and into the blinding fog of the mountain roads. I drove fast with no clear destination. I just knew I could not stay there. Not for one more minute.

RAVNEHALL, OSLO

MALAKAI VON VOSS

The heavy bass of the nightclub vibrated through the asphalt beneath my boots.

Silas scrambled out of the driver’s seat and grabbed my arm before I could reach the doors. His grip was tight with fear.

“Lord Malakai please. Do not do this.”

As a driver assigned by Halloway the academy’s chief of security and my father’s most loyal servant Silas was paid to keep me out of exactly this kind of situation.

“Let go Silas.”

“Dmitri Volkov is the Winter Sovereign’s heir. If you go in there it will not end with words. Please let me call Halloway. Let him handle it.”

"I am not going to fight Silas"

“okay then,Just get Sienna and then we go”

“Noted. Wait by the car,” I said. My voice was flat. “I am just going to negotiate.”

I walked away from him and headed down the neon lit corridor. Two vampires stood guard outside the VIP double doors. Dmitri Volkov was inside. And he was expecting me.

The larger guard stepped forward uncoiling a heavy silver chain. “Lord Dmitri ordered you brought in chains.”

“Tell Dmitri I am here to talk. I do not want any problems.”

The guard laughed and lunged for me.

He never touched my jacket. I caught his wrist shattered the bone instantly and drove my palm up under his jaw. His neck snapped backward with a sickening crack. The second guard drew a gun but I crossed the space before he could level the barrel crushing his windpipe. He crumpled without a sound.

Both bodies hit the floor. I ripped the keycard from the leader’s jacket swiped the scanner and kicked the doors open.

The club music vanished behind heavy soundproofing. The suite was freezing.

Dmitri Volkov sat on the edge of a glass table. His fist was twisted brutally into Sienna’s dark hair. She was stripped to her underwear. Her face was bruised and tear stained. Blood had dried in a thin line down her temple.

“Finally,” Dmitri smirked pulling her head back until she gasped. “I was starting to think the untouchable London Prince would not show up.”

“Let her go Dmitri,” I said calmly. My eyes stayed on Sienna. “Whatever this is it has nothing to do with her. Name your price. I pay it and we walk out.”

Dmitri laughed and kicked Sienna hard in the ribs. She let out a sharp cry.

“We are not in London Malakai and we are not in Russia,” Dmitri spat. “This academy answers to no council and no treaty. Everyone here bows to me except you. I control the air they breathe and the blood they drink. I want to see the icy Prince break. Get on your knees.”

I looked at Sienna again. Her eyes found mine. She was not asking me to save her. She was begging me to run.

“I will never bow to you. Let her be and face me.”

“Wrong answer.”

Dmitri twisted his wrist. The sharp unmistakable crack of Sienna’s neck echoed through the silent room. He dropped her lifeless body onto the floorboards like a piece of garbage.

“Oops,” Dmitri mocked. “Guess you should have—”

The restraint inside me snapped.

I crossed the room faster than his eyes could track slamming him into the concrete wall. Before he could raise his hands I sank my fangs into his throat and tore his flesh out.

Blood sprayed across the glass table. Dmitri gasped his hands scrabbling uselessly against my grip. The arrogance vanished from his face replaced by raw terror. He opened his mouth to speak. I gripped his jaw and shattered it.

My hands were drenched in blood. Dmitri Volkov was dead.