Chapter 105 105
ENZO
The silver forest glows under a sky that shouldn’t exist, trunks gleaming as if bleeding light, golden leaves falling slowly, caught in broken time. Aidan’s scent is here—ash and blood—a trail that’s guided me since I tasted that omega’s blood, Lois, and saw this place in my mind. Red runes, Aidan burning, the twins blurred. I don’t know what it means, but I’ll find out. I’ll hunt him down.
I feel him before I see him—a heat that doesn’t belong to wolves. He’s close. My eyes sweep the trees, and there he is: a shadow moving fast, hunched, darting between silver roots. Aidan.
Poor little rabbit, thinking he can outrun me. My legs move—faster than wind—and I follow, air slicing in my wake. He leaps over a root, breath ragged, but I’m on him in an instant, hand brushing his back before he spins, eyes wide with panic.
“Going to pull that trick again?” I ask, voice soft, mocking, stopping a few steps away. “Run like you can leave me behind? Burn again? Aidan… you’ve humiliated me. Not just with my people, but with everyone else. Fuck, a vampire I didn’t even know existed a short while ago slipped right through my fingers. A goddamn vampire! And you run off wreaking havoc among the humans. I don’t know how the hell you do it, but you’re slippery as fuck. Until now. All these years right under my nose, and the moment I had you—you slip away like that. In my entire life, no one has ever driven me this insane. But more importantly, no one has ever interested me this much. You have my full attention, Aidan.”
Aidan backs up, chest heaving, dried blood staining his broken arm, shirt in tatters. The collar on his chest pulses faintly—something I don’t understand but want. His legs tremble, but his eyes stay locked on mine—hard, fierce.
“Where exactly are you going to escape to?” I continue, taking a slow step forward, smile widening. “You look like a terrified little bunny, Aidan.”
He doesn’t answer, eyes darting for an exit, but I’m too close, the forest closing in around him. I lean in, fangs glinting under the silver light, and drop my voice to a whisper that slices the silence.
“Come with me… and I won’t tell anyone the omega is bound to you… and to the twins,” I say, words heavy, sharp. I watch his eyes widen—he realizes I know, that I already know. “What do you think will happen if Thorne finds out? Just look what he did to Ezequiel. Just look. And that’s his own son. What do you think he’ll do to you? Well… to her. Because you’ll be mine alone, but what will he do to her? Being tied to you puts her at a massive disadvantage. Do you know what Thorne thinks of vampires? Do you know that man lives to kill us? Oh, Aidan… Aidan. Anything connected to us and Thorne’s bloodline is simply impossible. Your bond with her extends to the twins too. And that is a complete abomination. He’ll kill her without hesitation. Clear the path for stronger she-wolves to mate with his sons. He doesn’t tolerate weakness, and Lois is exactly that. The only option is to kill her. One flick of his finger and it’ll be the easiest thing in the world.”
“She is not weak!” Aidan shouts, voice shattering the air, fists clenching. I smile, fangs flashing, and take another step—the ground crunching under my boots. His rage is delicious, pure, and it feeds me, a fire I want to break. “If you come any closer, I’ll burn you alive,” he hisses, body tensing, the collar glowing brighter.
I don’t give him time. I move—faster than his eyes can follow—and I’m behind him in a blink, hand closing around his throat, cold and merciless. I hurl him to the ground; the impact echoes through the forest, shaking golden leaves loose. A groan escapes his lips, then a raw, broken scream as my foot presses down on his injured arm. I feel the bone give—a dry crack under my weight—and Aidan writhes, face twisting in pain.
“Pathetic,” I whisper, crouching, hand reaching for the glowing collar on his chest.
But I don’t touch it. He reacts—fast—his leg slamming into my stomach, a blow that forces me back a step. He twists free, rolling across the dirt, and staggers to his feet, swaying, useless arm dangling, blood dripping. His breathing is ragged, but his eyes don’t yield. And then it happens. His body ignites—a heat rising—and the air scorches as blue and white flames erupt from his skin, wrapping around him.
Fuck! I thought he wouldn’t pull that trick again.
“Interesting,” I say, retreating a step, eyes fixed on him, fire reflecting across my skin and everything else in this damn place.
It’s because of them—because of the twins. Since he’s bound to Lois and they’re bound to her… I have zero doubt that’s what this is.
I know it!
Oh… delicious. A vampire with that kind of power—not only can he use it, but it doesn’t harm him.
It doesn’t harm him.
The forest trembles, runes on the ground glowing red, faint, as if answering him. Aidan burns, figure blurred behind the flames, collar pulsing like a living heart. I want that collar. I want his blood. I want to know what he is, why. The connection to the omega only makes him—and her—more fascinating. She’s mated to three: two alphas and a vampire.
But that doesn’t erase the collar, Aidan, that damn… I still don’t understand much. Before I can move, a deep, animal growl rumbles through the air, and the atmosphere thickens with a presence I recognize.
Can this get any worse?
Thorne emerges from the trees, massive frame filling the clearing, yellow eyes wide, mouth slightly open as he stares at Aidan. The not-quite-vampire, burning in flames, skin untouched beneath the fire. Thorne glances at me for a second—arms rising not in threat but in confusion—then back to Aidan. His voice cuts through the crackling flames.
“Aidan,” he says slowly, carefully, as though tasting the name.
Aidan doesn’t respond; his body trembles, fire growing, licking at the silver trees. Golden leaves fall faster, some igniting before they hit the ground, and the runes pulse brighter—a rhythm I feel in my veins. Thorne takes a step, gaze shifting from Aidan to me, eyes narrowing—hard, accusing.
“What have you done, Enzo?” he growls, voice a thunder that shakes the clearing.
“He’s the one on fire and you’re asking what I’ve done? I’m just hunting what’s mine,” I reply, smile intact, fangs gleaming. “But it seems my prey interests you too.”
“I didn’t give you permission to cross my territory this far. I didn’t say you could hunt Aidan here. He’s not your prey. And I think you’re only making things worse.”
“He needed to be found. I found him—what’s the problem?”
Aidan retreats, flames weakening, body shaking with exhaustion. His eyes flick from me to Thorne; I see the calculation, the desperation. He can’t fight both of us—he knows it. But he doesn’t surrender. He never surrenders. The collar flares once more, air heating, a new burst of flame threatening to erupt.
“Stay still, little rabbit,” I whisper, legs tensing, ready to pounce.
Thorne growls, advancing toward Aidan, and the forest seems to hold its breath—runes pulsing, fire crackling. And I, right in the center of it all, still feel Lois’s blood burning inside me.
Thorne’s body ignites like Aidan’s—but more dangerous. I leap back, putting distance between us, just in time to see Thorne lunge at Aidan.
I only hope he doesn’t kill him.
My existence would be unbearably boring if Aidan dies this quickly.