Chapter 14 TAKEN.

Chapter 14 TAKEN.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN.

Draven’s POV

Possession is a funny thing. It’s not just about owning someone; it’s about the bone-deep, soul-shattering terror that someone else might think they have the right to touch what is yours.

I watched Seren stand in the center of that scorched war room, and for a heartbeat, I forgot how to breathe. 

She was a vision of ethereal beauty. The emerald flames licked at her skin, and the black veins on her throat looked like lace made of shadows.

God, she was magnificent. And she was mine.

The Mages lay in heaps of charred meat around her feet, and my wolf was pacing behind my ribs, howling with  pride. Most men would be horrified to see their mate turn into a dealer of death.

I had never wanted her more.

"Draven." Her voice was a rasp, a broken  sound that made my blood catch fire.

I stepped toward her. I wanted to crush her against me until our heartbeats merged into a single beat. I wanted to mark every inch of her skin so the world knew exactly who she belonged to.

But I stopped. The memory of her screaming when I touched her earlier—the way the poison had turned my very presence into an assault was a blade twisted in my gut.

"I'm here, Seren," I said.

"They’re coming." She didn't look scared. She looked ready.

Then, i heard the sound of bombs.

I lunged for her, my wolf screaming protect, protect, protect.

But a net of shimmering, silver-blue  dropped from the ceiling. It wasn't a physical net; it was a soul-leash, woven from  void-magic. It hit Seren, and she collapsed.

My soul fucking tore into half.

"Seren!"

I went to shift, but a voice cut through the chaos like a bucket of ice water.

"One more inch, Draven, and I trigger the collapse."

Lord Thorne’s brother stepped through the mist, followed by a lot of Nullifiers. 

Their armor hummed with a frequency that dampened my wolf, making me feel like my power was being sucked into a vacuum. 

In the center of them stood my son, Aiden. He looked at me with a smirk that I promised myself I would carve off his face before the night was over.

"It’s a Void-net, Father," Aiden said, his voice dripping with  arrogance. "If you shift, the surge of your Alpha energy will cause the net to constrict. It won't just kill her. It will shred her essence until there’s nothing left to reincarnate."

I froze. My muscles were coiled, my claws half-extended.

I looked at Seren. She was pinned to the floor, the net glowing brighter every time she tried to move. Her eyes met mine—wide, defiant, and burning with a silent command.

Don’t you dare submit for me.

"What do you want?" I rasped. The words tasted like ash.

"The abdication," Thorne’s brother, Daniel said, stepping forward. "Surrender the King’s Blade. Come quietly to the North for 'purification.' We’ll take the girl, too and we will find a way to sever this... mistake of a bond."

"Sever it?" I let out a low, dark laugh  "You think you can sever what is etched into my very DNA? You’re a dead man walking, Daniel. You just haven't stopped breathing yet."

"I have the girl," he countered, his eyes cold. "And that makes me the King tonight."

I looked at Seren again. She was bleeding where the net bit into her skin. My blood turned to ice. 

Every drop of her blood was a debt I would collect in screams.

She gave me a little nod. A flash of the obsidian dagger hidden in her sleeve.

She didn't want a savior. She wanted an opening.

"Fine," I said, letting my shoulders drop.

I probably looked broken, defeated. 

But I was the greatest actor in the kingdom when the life of my woman was on the line. "I surrender. Just... don't hurt her."

Aiden laughed. "Look at the Great Alpha king now. Pathetic."

He stepped toward me to take my sword.

The moment he entered my personal space,  I moved fast.

I didn't go for Aiden. I went for the lead Nullifier.

My fist went through his chest plate like it was made of paper. The dampening field flickered—just for a microsecond.

It was all she needed.

Seren sliced through the net with a  stroke of her obsidian blade. She was up and moving before the net even hit the floor, taking the throat of the second Nullifier before he could even raise his staff.

"Kill them!" Daniel screamed, backing away. "Kill the girl!"

"Touch her," I roared, "and I will make sure your death lasts for a thousand years!"

I was a god of ruin, my hands tearing through armor and bone alike. I didn't use the King’s Blade. 

I wanted to feel their lives end against my skin.

But there were too many. A second iron gate, enchanted with  Northern wards, slammed down between us.

"Seren!"

I slammed my body against the iron,  but the magic held. On the other side, Daniel’s backup swarmed her. 

She fought but she was exhausted, the poison and the net finally taking their toll.

They dragged her away, her eyes locked on mine until the heavy stone door shut behind them.

I stood in the wreckage, my hands dripping with the blood of my enemies. 

"Daniel," I whispered to the empty room.

I didn't roar. I didn't scream. I just stood there while  the anger burned through me.

He thought he had taken my mate. He didn't realize he had just unchained the only thing keeping me from destroying the world.

I’m coming for you, Seren. And I’m bringing hell with me.