Chapter 9 : The Enforcers Vow
The library had become a war zone—shattered glass, overturned furniture, the sound of snarling Alphas colliding—but I couldn’t stay to watch Caspian tear through his father’s enforcers. I had to move.
If Caspian was the shield and Kael was the map, then I needed a blade.
I needed the brother who didn’t care about politics or inheritance.
I needed the Enforcer.
I ran.
The corridors blurred as I sprinted through the manor, lungs burning, pulse roaring in my ears. The silver locket bounced heavily against my chest, cold and solid, a reminder of everything I was and everything Lord Thorne intended to take from me.
I didn’t head for the attic.
I went down.
The basement sub-level was all iron and concrete, the air sharp with industrial coolant and sweat. Rune’s gym.
The steel door stood slightly ajar. Inside, the deep, bone-shaking thud of fists slamming into a heavy bag echoed like a war drum.
I pushed the door open.
One fluorescent bulb flickered overhead. Rune stood beneath it, shirtless, his broad back marked with scars—old ones, new ones, bruises still dark from Lord Thorne’s “correction.” He hit the bag with brutal precision, each strike a controlled explosion. The chains rattled, screaming under the force.
“Get out, Lyra,” he growled without turning. Thud. “I’m not in the mood to babysit.”
“I’m not looking for a babysitter,” I said, forcing my voice steady. “I’m looking for an Alpha who isn’t a liar.”
The bag swung. Rune stopped.
He turned slowly, sweat glistening on his skin, eyes dark and feral. “Then you’re in the wrong house.”
“You bled for me,” I said, stepping closer. “In the study. You took his beating for a piece of paper you hadn’t even read. Why?”
Rune wiped his face with his taped hand. “Because he was out of line. Because I don’t like bullies.”
“No,” I pressed. “Because you have a code. Kael wants to use me. Caspian wants to cage me and pretend he doesn’t want to claim me. But you? You just want to do what’s right.”
Rune exhaled sharply. “Right doesn’t exist here. Only survival.”
“Then survive this.”
I reached into my collar and pulled out the silver locket. I snapped it open and held the tarnished teardrop in my palm.
“Kael told me the truth. Caspian found proof. I’m not an orphan, Rune. I’m the Luna of the Silver Territory. My blood is the key to the seal your father is building. He’s going to drain me to fuel his empire.”
Rune froze.
His gaze dropped to the locket. Then to my eyes.
“Luna,” he whispered. The word sounded like both a vow and a curse.
“I don’t want to be a battery,” I said. “I don’t want to be a sacrifice. He’s killing my people right now. That purge dishonors everything a warrior is supposed to stand for.”
I swallowed hard.
“Guard me. Not him. Guard your Luna.”
Rune’s jaw tightened. I watched loyalty and instinct collide behind his eyes. He glanced at the bruises on his arms. At the scars his father had carved into him.
He nodded once.
A silent act of treason.
“If I guard you,” Rune said, voice low, “you learn to guard yourself. An Alpha’s strength means nothing if his target is weak.”
He crossed to a workbench and picked up a small, shimmering object, pressing it into my palm. A jagged silver charm shaped like a wolf’s tooth.
“Pure silver,” he said. “Won’t kill an Alpha, but it’ll burn. If anyone tries to claim you—anyone—you drive this under the jaw. Don’t hesitate.”
“I won’t.”
“Good. Hit me.”
“What?”
“Strike me. Solar plexus. Hard.”
I didn’t argue. I swung.
Pain shot up my arm as my fist hit him like stone.
“Pathetic,” Rune grunted. “You’re swinging like a human. Use the heat. Again.”
We trained in a brutal blur—balance, pressure points, momentum. No ceremony. No mercy.
“Why are you doing this?” I gasped.
“Because he knows,” Rune said quietly. “He’s been watching. Listening. Your room isn’t safe.”
Cold fear snapped through me.
“Go,” Rune ordered. “Find the eyes.”
I ran back to my wing.
I didn’t turn on the lights. Moonlight showed me everything I needed. I tore through the room, searching—until I smelled it again.
Ozone.
I reached into the fireplace ledge and pulled out a coin-sized device. Red light pulsing.
Click.
The transmission ended.
“Looking for that?”
I spun.
A man stood in my doorway—silver-haired, polished, scentless. A Beta.
“I’m Vance,” he said calmly. “And Lord Thorne wants his asset.”
He lunged.
I moved like Rune taught me.
Elbow. Silver. Pain.
He screamed.
Pinned me.
Raised the injector—
The door ripped off its hinges.
“Get off her.”
Seraphina stood there, eyes glowing blue, three girls behind her.
“The Silver Line doesn’t answer to Alphas anymore,” she said.
The air vibrated.
Vance screamed.
Silver light exploded.
And I realized, with bone-deep terror, that I wasn’t the only one hiding a secret.