Chapter 91 91
Thorne
The air was thick with distrust, heavy like a storm about to break.
Enzo watched me with that expression of calculated indifference that fooled no one. His eyes betrayed him—a crack in his usual mask of superiority. I didn’t trust him. I never fully had, but now I had more reasons than ever not to.
A vampire in flames had crossed into human territory—at least that was the version Enzo was giving me, and one I struggled to believe.
A vampire in flames? It sounded like the typical horror stories told to children… all fiction. There couldn’t be a vampire in flames; the phrase itself was a contradiction—unless it was a vampire in flames… dying, not escaping.
And that problem—one I still didn’t fully understand—was now mine too.
“Take me to the border,” I ordered, voice firm, leaving no room for argument. I was tired of wasting time on this.
Enzo raised an eyebrow, his sly smile barely masking his irritation.
“Since when do wolves give orders in my territory?”
“Since your territory became a problem for mine.”
His smile faded a little, but his arrogance remained intact.
“Very well, come,” he said finally, turning on his heels with fluid grace. “But if you’re asking me for a favor, Thorne, at least pretend to drop that damned alpha attitude.”
I didn’t reply. It wasn’t worth arguing with him now.
We moved quickly through vampire territory. Breathing here felt different—the air heavier, saturated with the scent of metal and damp stone. Every shadow seemed longer here, as if darkness itself writhed in their presence, even though it was early morning.
But as we neared the border with the humans, the atmosphere changed.
The heat was felt before it was seen.
The flames.
And the moment I set foot on the edge of the territory, I knew this wasn’t normal.
The fire was still there—relentless, devouring the earth but not consuming it entirely. It didn’t die with the wind. It didn’t extinguish with moisture.
I knew this fire… it was power.
I stopped, taking in the disaster. It wasn’t ordinary fire. And I knew it the instant I saw it.
I felt Enzo shift behind me. I didn’t need to look to know he was studying my reaction.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” he murmured sarcastically.
I didn’t answer.
I stepped closer, feeling the heat on my skin. I didn’t look away. I didn’t retreat. This fire… it wasn’t unfamiliar to me.
I extended my hand toward the flames. The vibration in the air shifted the moment I touched them. I felt no pain. They didn’t burn me.
The flames moved around my fingers as if alive—as if they recognized me. They spread across my fingers, and I crushed them between my hands until they were consumed.
My jaw tightened. It was similar to the fire of my bloodline. But at the same time… different.
Far too different.
“That’s new,” Enzo said, evident interest in his voice. “Care to tell me what you’re thinking? You touch the fire—you seem… surprised, but not entirely. Does this have something to do with you?”
I remained silent.
What could I say?
A vampire in flames. Fire that didn’t burn my skin. Something that felt familiar and, at the same time, utterly alien.
I didn’t have a damned answer.
I was as surprised as he was.
I slowly closed my fingers, letting the fire slip through them before pulling my hand away.
“Thorne?” Enzo pressed, a hint of impatience in his voice. “What do you think this is?”
I looked at him.
He wanted an answer. One I couldn’t give him.
Because this made no sense.
I had no other son. Much less a vampire. It was impossible. I couldn’t even entertain the slightest suspicion—I knew it was impossible for multiple reasons.
And yet, there was that fire.
Alive. Persistent.
All this had left me so stunned that I hadn’t even thought about my sons. Those ungrateful brats.
“Say something,” Enzo pushed, crossing his arms.
I exhaled hard and looked at him seriously.
“It doesn’t matter what it is. What matters now is preventing a war.”
Enzo narrowed his eyes.
“That’s it? Don’t fuck with me, Thorne. This is bigger than some damned peace treaty.”
I turned, surveying the disaster surrounding us.
No, this wasn’t just about treaties. It was about the unknown.
About something that should never have happened. A vampire in human territory—a dangerous vampire.
We’d gone from knowing there was a vampire among the wolves to having a vampire with strange abilities now fleeing into human territory, with war on the horizon.
“We’ll call a meeting with the humans. I won’t allow this to be taken as an act of war.”
“And what do you plan to tell them? That a vampire turned into the sun and crossed their border?”
“I’ll say whatever is necessary to keep this from escalating. We’ll provide Aidan’s details and start the search to bring him back.”
Enzo clicked his tongue, visibly frustrated.
“The humans aren’t the problem right now, Thorne. What Aidan did… I’ve never seen it before. He’s a kid—not a common vampire, or… an adult one. He was scared; it seemed like a surprise to him, as much as to us. He fled—he could have taken out half of those present, but he ran. We need to find him and… bring him back. I can’t sense him—it’s that damned collar he’s wearing—so he’ll only be in human hands unless they let us in to handle it.”
I looked at him coldly.
“After what you did? If you didn’t take this lightly, Enzo, we could resolve it faster.”
“And if I wasn’t taking it lightly?” he shot back, his red gaze flashing with something more than mere annoyance. “What if I want answers too?”
Silence fell between us—heavy, thick with tension.
Two leaders. Two men too proud to yield first. But this time, we both knew it wasn’t just about us.
This went further.
Finally, Enzo sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
“Fine. Call the meeting. Start the search as soon as possible to avoid more chaos and blah, blah, blah. I’m out. I have to find answers to all this.”
I watched Enzo walk away, his silhouette blurring into the shadows of his territory. His stride was fluid—almost arrogant—as if none of what had happened truly affected him. As if everything were under his control.
It never was.
And yet, he always acted as if the world bent to his will.
It didn’t surprise me that he refused to join the meeting with the humans. He was never a man of diplomacy—but of chaos. A dangerous strategist when it suited him, an indifferent spectator when he saw no advantage in acting.
A snort escaped my lips. I had no time to keep thinking about him.
But I had my warning.
I turned on my heels and headed back to my border. The forest rose imposingly around me, tall trees blocking the sunlight with their long shadows.
Darius and Morgana were waiting. Standing like two statues in the dimness, their gazes fixed on me the moment I approached.
My beta. My Luna.
Two of the few I truly trusted.
“Any news?” I asked, voice firm, without stopping.
Darius exchanged a glance with Morgana before answering.
“There’s another problem.”
I let out a snort.
Of course.
“Speak,” I ordered.
Darius squared his shoulders. His expression—always stoic—seemed even tenser. A bad feeling crawled up my spine.
“Your sons have returned.”
My foot—already raised for the next step—hung in the air before landing on the earth with heavier weight than necessary.
Darius didn’t look away. He knew what he was saying. He knew what it meant.
Morgana, on the other hand, remained still—but I felt her attention locked on me. Her posture was impassive, but I knew her too well. She was waiting for my reaction.
“They’re home,” Darius continued, without beating around the bush. “Waiting for you.”
Waiting for me.
A slow, dangerous smile spread across my face.
Those boys have caused enough problems.
They ran.
They defied me.
They dared to stand against me.
And if they think they can return without consequences, they’re sorely mistaken.
My jaw tightened as a cold, lethal sensation settled in my chest. It didn’t matter that my blood ran in their veins. Here, in my pack, loyalty was proven by actions. And they had made a choice they would now have to pay for.
I drew a deep breath, exhaling hard before continuing to walk. One problem after another.
Darius and Morgana followed in silence. They knew it wasn’t the time to speak.
Aidan’s fire still burned in my mind.
But now I had to figure out what the hell it was. I had to start by finding out where he was.
“Darius,” I said, my voice cutting the silence, “gather the council. There’s much to discuss.”
“Yes, Alpha.”
The council needed to be informed.
But not just them. Ryder. I had to contact Ryder, Alpha of the Dawn Light Pack. The only one who might give me answers. So far, the tortures had yielded nothing. But I didn’t know if he had managed to get anything.
It was crucial to know who we were dealing with—and where he had come from.