Chapter 79 Together shall we destroy?
Lord Casaain Voss:
The hunger in my gut twisted sharper at the sight—not for their loss, but for what it meant.
Power came at a cost, and I was willing to pay with anyone else's blood but my own.
Vuk would laugh if he saw this—his court full of loyal dogs who died for him out of fear or devotion.
Mine died because they were disposable.
But soon, that would change.
With these eyes, I'd have something he didn't: a seer bound to me, visions that could topple empires.
The thought fueled me, turned the pain in my shoulder to a dull throb.
I jumped into the SUV, the door slamming like a gunshot in the quiet dawn.
Engine roared to life, tires spinning mud as I peeled out west, leaving the corpses to rot.
The drive back was a blur of gray highways and rising sun, pain fading to fresh scars that itched under my torn shirt.
Triumph burned in my chest, hot and fierce, like infernal wine.
Every mile, my mind raced with the hunger—the pure, bottomless kind that had defined me for centuries.
It wasn't just Vuk anymore, though he was the face of it.
That devil alpha with his mate, his knot, his endless seed.
He represented everything I lacked: absolute dominance, a legacy that echoed through the North.
But my hunger was bigger than envy.
It was a void, carved from years of scheming in shadows, killing to climb, only to hit ceilings built by stronger wolves.
Gold stolen? That was a symptom.
The real disease was weakness.
I craved power like a starving man craves flesh—not to survive, but to devour.
To make the Dominion mine, to crush rivals under my boot, to breed fear in every pack.
These eyes were the key.
Celeste would see for me, prophesy my rise.
And if she failed? I'd carve out her new eyes and find another way.
Nothing stopped this hunger.
Nothing.
Home loomed ahead as the sun crested the hills—my fortress, still reeking of the earlier slaughter.
I pulled into the driveway, gravel crunching under tires.
The house was silent now, servants probably hiding after the finger-chopping frenzy.
Good. Fear kept them in line.
I stripped in the entryway, clothes hitting the floor in a bloody heap.
Shower scalding hot, steam filling the bathroom like marsh fog.
Blood swirled down the drain—mine, the demon's, mixing in red rivers.
I scrubbed hard, nails digging into scars that were already fading to pink lines.
Clean clothes: black pants, shirt unbuttoned at the collar.
Felt like armor.
Felt ready.
"Riven," I called, voice echoing through the halls.
He appeared like a shadow—silent, bruised face from my slaps, eyes down.
No words. Just obedience.
"Get Celeste."
He nodded once, disappeared.
I paced the vault room—still empty, shelves mocking me.
The heart I placed on a silver tray, pulsing faintly.
A trophy. A tool for later rituals.
Minutes ticked by, my hunger sharpening.
What if the eyes didn't work?
What if she lied?
I'd kill her slow, make her beg.
But deep down, I knew this was it.
The turning point.
The door creaked.
Celeste shuffled in, head bowed, bruises from earlier darkening her pale skin.
She looked smaller, broken—until she saw me.
"My lord," she whispered, kneeling.
"You... you got them? The eyes?"
I smirked, pulling the vial from my pocket.
It glowed faintly green in the torchlight.
"Yeah. I got them. Ripped from a nine-tail bitch who thought she could seduce me."
I let the words hang, watching her tremble.
Not too fast.
I wanted her to feel the weight, the debt.
"Thank you, my lord," she breathed, voice cracking with awe or fear.
"I... I don't deserve—"
"Shut up."
I stepped closer, towering over her.
"Before you get these, blood oath. Can't have you turning bitch on me."
She nodded frantically, milky eyes wide.
I drew my knife—sharp silver, etched with wards.
Sliced my palm first, blood welling hot.
Then hers—she winced but didn't pull away.
I pressed our hands together, blood mixing sticky and warm.
"Swear loyalty. Swear truth. Be a bitch and get diced—boil from inside, skin flay itself off. Betray me, and this bond kills you slow."
"I swear," she gasped, pain twisting her face.
"On my blood, my visions, my life."
Good enough.
I pulled back, wiping my hand on my pants.
The cut healed fast—immortal perk.
Hers bled longer, dripping on the stone.
I popped the vial open, the eyes plopping into my palm—squishy, wet, still warm.
She reached out, trembling.
She took them, fingers shaking.
Pressed one to her left socket, then the right.
A low moan escaped her lips—part pain, part something darker, like ecstasy.
The eyes sucked in with a wet pop, veins connecting like roots in soil.
She cried out—sharp, agonized.
Fell to her knees, hands clawing at her face.
"It burns! Gods, it burns!"
Tears mixed with blood streamed down her cheeks.
She writhed on the floor, body convulsing, screams echoing off the walls.
Minutes dragged—five, ten—her cries turning to sobs, then whimpers.
I watched, fascinated.
The hunger stirred; this was power manifesting.
Then her body changed.
Skin glowed faint green, like fox fire.
Hair—once dirty blonde and limp—shifted, strands lengthening, color bleeding to fiery red, cascading like the demon's mane.
Long, wild, flowing to her waist.
Her frame filled out—slender but stronger, curves sharpening, like the fox's seductive form bleeding into hers.
Yes, the eyes could change her—supernatural graft, demon essence seeping in.
She wasn't just seeing; she was becoming.
I stepped nearer, shocked but thrilled.
The air hummed with magic.
"What the hell..."
She rose slowly, body uncoiling like a predator.
Her new eyes—sharp green, slanted—locked on mine.
No more milkiness.
Pure, piercing hunger mirrored my own.
"Lord Cassian," she said, voice deeper, silkier, laced with power.
"I, Celeste, will serve you with my soul, body, and power."
She turned away, a low laugh bubbling up.
At first, I thought she was mad—broken by the pain.
The laugh grew, echoing maniacal.
"I can see! I can see!"
She spun back, laughing loud, head thrown back.
A dangerous smile split her face—sharp, fanged almost, eyes gleaming with feral joy.
She turned to me, that smile promising chaos.
"You want to know how to defeat Vuk?" she purred, stepping closer.
"I will tell you..."
The hunger in me roared.
This was it.
My villainess, born from blood and demon eyes.
Together, we'd devour the North.