Kai jolted upright in bed, heart hammering as if it had sensed the danger before his mind caught up. The soft sheets tangled around his waist were no longer comforting they felt like restraints. Adrian was already on his feet, bare chest heaving as he stood by the window, the curtain in his grip as he watched the shadows outside shift unnaturally.
"What is it?" Kai whispered, voice dry with leftover sleep and something else. Instinct.
Adrian didn't turn. "They're here."
That was all he needed to say.
Kai slipped out of bed, his small frame trembling slightly as he reached for his discarded clothes. Adrian was by his side in an instant, steadying him with a firm grip.
"No. Stay here. I'll deal with them."
Kai looked up, lips parted in protest, but Adrian's eyes deep crimson and dark with fury stopped him.
"I said stay."
And just like that, the Alpha in Adrian snapped to the surface. But Kai, even small and delicate, wasn't some fragile thing to be tucked away.
"Adrian"
"No," Adrian growled, backing him up against the wall with sudden heat. "I won't risk you. Not after what we just shared. Not after claiming you."
Kai's cheeks flushed. His body still ached from that claim still pulsed with the heat of Adrian's touch but he shoved down the wave of arousal. This wasn't the time.
"I'm not leaving you to face whatever the hell is out there alone," Kai snapped. "You want to protect me? Then fight beside me, not in front of me."
Adrian stared at him.
Then, gods help him, smirked.
"You're gonna be the death of me, wolf."
"Promise?"
A soft sound escaped Adrian half groan, half growl and he cupped Kai's jaw, kissing him with a kind of desperation that tasted like goodbye. And just when it threatened to tip back into something sinful, something devouring, the window shattered.
Glass rained like knives.
Adrian shoved Kai down and whirled toward the breach, baring his fangs as three dark-cloaked figures stormed into the room.
The smell hit first like old blood and rot. Vampires.
Kai scrambled to his feet and shifted mid-motion, bones snapping as fur erupted across his skin. His wolf wasn't big wasn't built for brute force but gods, it was fast. He lunged for one intruder while Adrian tackled another, sinking his fangs into the bastard's throat with a vicious snarl.
It wasn't a fight it was a message.
They know. They're watching. And they're coming.
Kai barely dodged a dagger meant for his side. It grazed him, drawing a thin line of crimson along his ribs. He yelped, more in surprise than pain, but that sound sent Adrian into a frenzy.
He tore the last intruder apart, blood splattering the walls and sheets like a macabre painting. His chest heaved, body tense, every muscle ready for the next strike.
But it didn't come.
The intruders were gone just mangled corpses and whispers of shadow left behind.
Adrian turned, eyes glowing.
"You're hurt."
Kai shifted back, trembling and naked, blood trailing from his side.
"It's nothing."
Adrian stalked toward him and dropped to his knees, pulling him close with gentle hands despite the carnage surrounding them. His tongue licked along the wound, the healing agent in his saliva already stitching Kai's flesh back together. Kai gripped his hair, breath stuttering at the intimacy of it.
"Next time," Adrian growled against his skin, "you stay behind me."
Kai didn't answer.
Because now, more than ever, he knew something terrifyingly true:
This wasn't just some forbidden love story.
It's war.
And their bond had painted a target on both their backs.
Kai's chest tightened with a growing sense of dread as the sound of footsteps echoed through the hall outside. It was like a countdown, each step inching closer to the chaos that loomed on the horizon.
Adrian's fangs were still glinting in the dim light, a predator in his element, but even his usually unshakable confidence was strained. His gaze flicked to the blood spattered room, the broken glass still scattered across the floor like shards of their fragile peace.
"They'll be back," Adrian murmured, voice low and rough, his fingers tightening around Kai's arm. "They were testing us. They know about our bond now."
Kai swallowed hard, his heart a constant drumbeat in his chest. "How do they know?"
"Doesn't matter," Adrian snapped, voice harsh. "What matters is they'll use it against us."
Kai pulled away from Adrian, stepping cautiously toward the window, his mind already racing with a thousand thoughts, none of them comforting. The city outside seemed deceptively calm, but he could feel the tension, like a storm gathering on the horizon.
"You said the council would come for us," Kai said, his voice barely a whisper, but the weight of his words hung heavy in the room. "You were right."
Adrian stood behind him, his presence like a silent fortress. "They'll come, and they won't stop. Not until they've torn us apart."
Kai turned to face him, eyes narrowing. "Then we tear them apart first."
Adrian's lips curled into a dark grin, but it didn't reach his eyes. "You sure about that, sweetheart?"
Kai's wolf growled low, a rumble deep in his chest. The shift from fear to fury was quick and brutal. "You think I'm not capable of fighting? That I'm some helpless little omega who needs to be protected?"
Adrian's eyes softened for a moment, the storm behind them flickering with something dangerous something primal. "I'm not underestimating you, Kai. But this isn't a fight we can win with rage alone."
Kai clenched his fists, his wolf scratching at the edges of his control. "Then we find another way."
Adrian watched him carefully, his gaze searching, weighing Kai's resolve. "You're stubborn."
"I'm not the only one," Kai shot back, stepping closer, his breath hot against Adrian's skin.
There was a spark between them it was sharp, electric and alive. Adrian's hand moved, brushing against Kai's cheek, and it was gentle, far too gentle for the moment they were in. But that's how Adrian was tender when it mattered most. The moments between the violence.
"I can't lose you," Adrian muttered, his voice thick with something raw. "You're not just a lover to me, Kai. You're a weakness. A crack in my armor."
Kai's pulse quickened, his throat tightening at the unexpected vulnerability. Adrian, the vampire who had never needed anyone, was breaking. Slowly. Quietly. But it was there. And Kai saw it.
"I'm not your weakness, Adrian," Kai whispered, stepping into Adrian's chest. "I'm your strength. We're in this together. All the way."
Adrian's gaze flickered with something unreadable, something fierce. He closed the distance between them, crushing their lips together in a kiss that was too desperate, too rough. It wasn't a kiss of love. It was a kiss of war a declaration of what they were willing to risk.
When they pulled apart, both of them were breathless, on the edge of something too dangerous to name.
"I'm not letting them take you," Adrian growled, his voice barely above a whisper, as if saying it out loud would make the threat real.
Kai met his gaze head on, unflinching. "Then we fight together. No more hiding, no more running."
Adrian's lips twisted into a smile dark and deadly. "I knew you were trouble."
But as his hand gripped the back of Kai's neck, drawing him in for another kiss, there was no doubt in either of them. This was only the beginning. Whatever storm was coming, they would face it together.
But the battle was far from over. And the hardest part had yet to come.