Chapter 7 The Vorago hit.
“No sight of him at all?” Elena asked, rising quickly.
“Nothing.” Vane snarled as he paced towards the window and stared out at the rising moon. “I had one hundred wolves tearing this city apart by scent and sight. The vampire vanished without a single trace. No blood trail. No body to recover.”
“Maybe he crawled off somewhere and died,” Elena offered.
“Vampires do not just die quietly, Elena.” Vane’s jaw tightened. “Not the ones with enough strength left to break a window.”
He turned back to face them.
Lyra stared down at her lap, keeping her expression blank. Beneath her ribs, her wolf let out a soft, inexplicable hum of relief.
“All this madness started because of that Beta,” Vane said, his voice dropping to a register so calm it made the hair on Lyra’s arms stand up. “I will deal with Kaelen and his father personally. I will strip their bloodline until there is nothing left to salvage. I will ensure the name Aldric is synonymous with filth across the Dominions.”
He paused, turning his gaze towards her.
“But you, get ready. You are done with Norway.”
“You are taking me back to London?” The words slipped out before Lyra could stop them.
“Yes. London.” Vane's declaration carried absolute finality. “You dragged my name through the mud, forced me to sanction an engagement in foreign territory and almost died. you think I will simply leave you here to wallow on that?”
A pin-drop silence settled over the room. Neither Lyra nor her mother could answer.
“The High Council convenes in five days for the Covenant renewal. Every major bloodline will be watching us. Vampires. Witches. Elves. One wrong move, and every rival species will smell weakness.”
He turned fully towards Lyra.
“I will not let you give them a reason to presume we are weak. Neither will I allow my family to be scattered around Europe during this sensitive period. You will return to London. You will finish your studies where I can keep a strict leash on you.”
The thought of returning to the Thorne Chen pack estate made Lyra physically sick.
Three years ago, she had marched out through those iron gates with her head held high, fighting for Kaelen. Returning now meant facing the entire elite class as the Alpha’s daughter who had publicly humiliated herself over a boy who only wanted her crown.
“Dad, please.” A sudden strength flooded her voice. “If I have to go to London, let me transfer to Thornewood Academy.”
Vane turned slowly. Shock briefly flashed across his features before hardening into disgust.
“Thornewood? Why in the name of the Goddess would I send my heir to a sanctuary filled with half-breeds and outcasts?”
“Because no one knows me there,” Lyra argued, throwing the covers off her legs and standing to face him. “In the North, I am a scandal. At Thornewood, I can just be a student. I need a fresh start away from the whispers.”
Vane let out a short, bitter laugh.
“A fresh start? You really think you can hide from the shame you brought upon this family by mingling with lesser bloodlines?” he asked.
Elena stepped forward, placing a gentle hand on Vane's arm. She leaned closer, her voice a soothing murmur.
"Vane, listen to her. If she attends Thornewood, she will be entirely out of the public eye during the sensitive treaty negotiations. It keeps the scandal out of the Council's immediate view."
Vane went still.
The tension in the room became a physical barrier pressing against Lyra's chest as she waited for his judgement.
"Fine," he finally growled.
His amber eyes locked onto hers like a sniper's scope.
"You have three days to finalise your transfer and pack your life. Your mother and I will return to the capital tonight."
He took one step closer.
"This is your final chance, Lyra. You have disgraced the Thorne Chen name enough for one lifetime. If you fail at Thornewood, or if you bring even a whisper of shame to this family again, you will be struck from my lineage and I am not bluffing."
The words hit Lyra like a physical blow.
"You will be made a Rogue," Vane added. His voice held no paternal warmth. "No name. No pack. No protection. Do you understand?"
"I understand," Lyra replied, bowing her head so he would not see the pain beneath her expression.
"Say it properly."
"I understand, Alpha." She replied her head still down.
---
+LONDON AIRPORT - MALAKAI
The wheels of the jet hit the London tarmac, but the impact did nothing to settle the ache in Malakai's chest.
Halloway had procured clean clothes and blood to accelerate his healing. He wanted Malakai presentable for whatever awaited him at home. But the fresh fabric felt like sandpaper against his ribs.
When the terminal doors slid open, his sister was leaning against a sleek black car, waiting with her hands folded together.
She did not wave. She did not smile.
She simply watched him walk towards her.
"What have you done now that Father is terrorising everyone at the Manor?" That was the first thing Mina said to him.
Typical Mina. She never sugar-coated anything.
"Has there ever been a time he doesn't terrorise people?" Malakai replied, forcing out a smile.
It drew one from her too. She quickly unfolded her arms and hugged him.
His body remained perfectly stiff, catching the feverish heat radiating through her coat. Vampires were never this warm. His mind was too distracted by his own agony to question it.
"This one seems different, though," she added, pulling away from the embrace and pushing herself off the car. Her stormy grey eyes scanned his face with intense focus.
"I am really happy to see you, Mina," he muttered.
She simply smiled and opened the car door for him. He climbed inside.
Their bodies brushed again. Her playfulness vanished, replaced by a sharp, calculating gaze.
"You have made your first kill. Who did you kill in Norway, brother?"
Malakai's eyes flashed.
Mina could smell a lie before someone finished telling it. when it comes to scents her nose does wonders which Malakai find really disturbing at times. Apparently, blood was no different. Despite his efforts to conceal the scent from her, she had still worked it out.
"I did not kill anyone."
"You never used to have secrets from me." She retorted.
"I never used to have anything worth keeping secret."
Mina held his gaze for a moment, searching his eyes. Then she looked away.
"One thing you should know is that, I love you, brother. That is why I am worried. I know this is somehow connected to why Father is acting so cruel at home. If there is ever a need to start running, just give me a head start." She said all serious without an atom of laugh.
"Why is your skin burning up?" Malakai asked trying to change the topic.
"I don't know." Mina quickly deflected, turning to look out of the window. "This is just my normal temperature now. I am fine."
"Since when?"
"Since you also need to drop it," she replied too quickly. "You are the one who came home smelling like a corpse and refused to talk about it."
Malakai let her be and turned his gaze towards the window.
The car had already started moving. He watched the streets blur past, focusing on the passing streetlights as a fragile anchor against the sensation suddenly tearing through his body.
The further they drove from the airport, the more the Vorago intensified.
It began as a dull throb in his jaw. The pressure quickly moved downwards, locking around his chest like an invisible hook trying to collapse his lungs from the inside.
"Mina," he gasped.
Both hands flew to his throat in a desperate attempt to pry his airway open.
"Malakai? What is wrong?" Her voice cracked, all its earlier sharpness gone.
Answering her was impossible.
His fangs dropped so violently that they pierced his lower lip. The taste of his own blood coated his tongue, but it was useless.
His heart began beating erratically against his ribs again. He lunged forward, his claws sinking deep into the back of the driver's seat.
The driver slammed on the brakes, bringing the car to a sudden stop.
"My Lord, what is—"
"Blood," Malakai choked out. The word tore from his throat like a growl. "Now."
