Chapter 6 : The Enforcers Price

The air in the study didn’t just feel heavy—it felt like it was actively trying to crush my lungs. Lord Thorne stood in the center of the splintered doorway, his shadow stretching across the floor like a living predator. His Alpha scent was so thick it burned, tasting of copper and ozone on the back of my tongue.

Rune didn’t move.

He stood between me and his father, his massive frame a solid wall of muscle and restraint. Granite-still. Unyielding. Even as Lord Thorne’s dominance pressed down on him like a crushing force, Rune held his ground.

“I’ll ask you one more time, Rune.” Lord Thorne’s voice was low, controlled, terrifying. “What were you doing in here? Why is the lock engaged? And why is this… orphan… anywhere near my private files?”

I clutched the Purge List behind my back, my fingers trembling so badly I was sure the paper would give me away. My gaze stayed fixed on the back of Rune’s head. I waited for him to break. Waited for him to step aside and hand me over.

“She was stealing, Father,” Rune said.

His voice was steady. Flat. The voice of a soldier reporting to his commanding officer.

Lord Thorne’s eyes flicked to me for half a second before returning to his son. “Stealing? In my study?”

“The ornamental blade,” Rune replied, lifting a scarred finger toward the display case near the window. The glass was untouched, the silver-hilted dagger resting neatly inside. “She believed it was valuable. I caught her trying to access the casing. I locked the door to prevent her escape before I could search her.”

It was a lie.

A clean, deliberate lie.

My heart slammed against my ribs. Rune was protecting me. Protecting the paper burning against my skin.

“A blade?” Lord Thorne stepped closer, his boots clicking sharply against the hardwood. “You expect me to believe this scentless wretch had the audacity to rob me?”

“Greed makes even the weak bold,” Rune answered calmly. “I’ve already recovered what she took from the desk. She’s a common thief chasing a payday.”

Lord Thorne stopped inches from Rune. Their height difference was negligible, but the power imbalance was vast.

“And why,” Lord Thorne said quietly, “did you not report this immediately? Why the silence?”

“I was handling it,” Rune replied. “As you trained me to.”

The crack echoed through the room before I could process it.

Lord Thorne’s fist struck Rune’s jaw with brutal speed. Rune’s head snapped sideways, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth—but he didn’t fall. He didn’t even make a sound. He simply shifted his stance and met his father’s gaze again.

“You handled nothing,” Lord Thorne hissed. “You defied my order of confinement. You allowed a human to breach this room. You’ve grown lax, Rune. Your instincts are compromised.”

“I am the Enforcer,” Rune said through clenched teeth. “I do what is necessary for the pack.”

“Then you will accept correction for your failure.”

Lord Thorne didn’t reach for a weapon. He used his hands.

The first blow to Rune’s ribs sounded like wood snapping. The second landed in his stomach. Rune absorbed every strike, his body jerking with impact, but he stayed upright—stayed between Lord Thorne and me.

“Stop it!” I screamed.

The words tore from my throat before I could stop them.

Lord Thorne froze mid-strike. His gaze snapped to me, sharp and cold, as if I’d just reminded him I existed.

“Silence, girl,” he said. “You are fortunate I don’t snap your neck where you stand.”

“He didn’t do anything wrong!” I shouted, stepping forward. The Purge List remained hidden against my back. “He caught me. He was doing his job!”

Rune’s eyes cut to mine, dark and warning. “Stay back, Lyra.”

“No.” Heat surged through my chest—hot, volatile, uncontrollable. It wasn’t the fever. It was rage. “You’re hurting him for no reason!”

The air shifted.

It didn’t just grow heavier—it vibrated.

A low hum rattled my teeth. The floor shuddered beneath my feet. A glass decanter on the side table trembled, then shattered, amber liquid spilling across the lace runner.

Lord Thorne froze. “What is that?”

The tremor vanished as quickly as it came, leaving me dizzy and gasping. A flare of power—wild and untrained—had burst free.

Lord Thorne inhaled sharply, his nostrils flaring. “Your presence is a toxin, Lyra. You destabilize this house.” He turned back to Rune, his disappointment cold and absolute. “You will take her to the East Wing cells. You will remain there until sunrise. If she speaks, silence her. If she moves, break her. Am I clear?”

“Yes, Father,” Rune rasped.

Lord Thorne turned and walked away.

Only then did I notice Caspian and Kael standing in the hallway, half-hidden by shadow. They had watched everything. Caspian’s face was carved from ice, his fists clenched white at his sides. Kael’s gaze flicked between the blood on the floor and the paper I was hiding.

Neither spoke.

Neither intervened.

Rune wiped the blood from his mouth and turned to me. He didn’t ask if I was hurt. He grabbed my hand.

His grip was iron—painful, bruising. His skin was hot, slick with blood. Electricity surged through me as his fingers closed around mine. This wasn’t restraint. It was possession.

“Come,” he said.

He didn’t take me to the cells.

He dragged me back to the shared suite, shoved me inside, and locked the door with finality.

Blood dripped from his lip onto his shirt.

“Rune, I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I didn’t mean for—”

“Don’t.” His voice was a warning.

“You have the list?”

“Yes.”

He turned toward his wing. “If he knew you had it, you’d already be dead. And I’m not ready for that.”

The door slammed. The lock turned.

I sat on the bed, the Purge List heavy in my lap.

Hours passed.

Near midnight, the lock clicked again.

Kael stepped inside.

“You’re awake,” he observed.

“Hard to sleep,” I snapped, “when you’re waiting to be executed.”

He placed a leather folio on the table. “You think that list will save you.”

“It proves what your father plans to do.”

Kael laughed softly and tossed another paper beside me. A second list. Different names.

“I swapped them,” he said. “Before he entered the study.”

“Why?”

“Because I prefer my assets useful.”

He leaned closer. “Rune isn’t protecting you out of duty. His wolf is responding.”

“I’m human.”

“Are you?” Kael asked softly. “Humans don’t make rooms shake.”

He reached the door. “Be ready, Luna.”

The door closed.

I stared at the list. At the lock. At the truth settling into my bones.

The wolves were already waiting.