Chapter 9 #2
The words hit like a thunderclap, echoing off the stone walls around us. His grip loosened, but the look in his eyes didn’t soften. Fury and fear warred there, tangled with something deeper, something that looked almost like pain.
We stared at each other for a long, breathless moment. Then he exhaled, long and heavy, dragging a hand down his face. “You’re impossible.”
“You’re controlling.”
“You’re reckless.”
“You’re terrified,” I shot back before I could stop myself. That froze him.
For a second, something in his gaze flickered…raw, unguarded. Then, with a quiet curse, he stepped closer, his forehead brushing mine, his voice rougher now. “You have no idea what that word means to me.”
Silence stretched between us, charged and fragile.
Finally, he sighed, tension bleeding out of him in slow waves. “Fine,” he said, his voice quieter, lower. “You want to know what we’re doing? You’ll hear it. But you’re not running into danger blind, not again.”
My breath caught. “You’ll take me?”
“I’ll take you,” he said, eyes sharp as steel. “For a drive. I’ll show you what we know, what we’re planning. But after that, you do as I say.”
I hesitated, studying his face…the hard lines, the exhaustion beneath the fury, the unspoken worry that clung to him like a second skin.
Finally, I nodded. “Deal.”
He made a low sound that wasn’t quite a growl, wasn’t quite a sigh. “You’ll be the death of me, Runa.”
I managed a faint, shaky smile. “You say that like I haven’t already tried.”
That earned a flicker of a grin…brief, reluctant, but it was enough to break the storm between us.
He took my hand, his fingers threading through mine as he turned toward the waiting SUV.
“Come on,” he muttered, his voice softer now. “If we’re doing this, we’re doing it my way.”
I didn’t argue. Not because I’d given in but because, I believed him when he said we.
The tension between us lingered, thick as smoke, as we made our way to the black Escalade idling at the edge of the courtyard.
The engine purred low, headlights casting pale light over the gravel.
Volken opened the rear door for me without a word, his hand brushing lightly against my back as I climbed inside.
Colt, his personal guard was behind the wheel. A broad-shouldered vampire with close-cropped hair and an expression that could have been carved from granite. He gave me a polite nod before shifting the car into gear.
Volken slid in beside me, his thigh brushing mine as the doors shut with a heavy click. The cabin filled with the soft hum of the engine, the muted glow of the dashboard lights casting blue shadows over his face.
For a few minutes, neither of us spoke. The silence pulsed with unspoken things…anger, worry, something dangerously close to tenderness.
Finally, Volken exhaled, his gaze fixed on the dark stretch of forest rolling past the windows.
“We’ve been tracking the demons’ movements for months now,” he said quietly.
“Since before Malakai resurfaced. They’re organized now, more than we’ve ever seen.
Smarter. It’s not random raids anymore…it’s strategy. ”
I turned toward him, heart thudding. “Strategy for what?”
His jaw tightened. “They want control, of everything. The human trafficking, the black markets, the blood trade. They’re building something, and your father’s disappearance might be part of it.”
My stomach dropped. “Part of it how?”
He hesitated, his thumb tapping idly against his knee, the only sign of agitation.
“When we raided one of the Irish warehouses, where Sorcha was found, we uncovered documents tied to another chain of facilities. Smaller, more hidden. Your father’s name came up on a list we intercepted a few months later. ”
I froze. “My father’s name?”
He nodded once. “He wasn’t just caught in the crossfire. He was looking for something, or someone, that led him straight into demon territory.”
My chest felt like it was being squeezed in a vice. “So, he’s alive?”
Volken’s eyes flicked to me then, sharp and assessing. “We don’t know yet. But if he is, we’ll find him.”
We. That word again, steady and dangerous, like a promise he’d die to keep.
I swallowed hard. “What about Malakai?”
At the name, something dark flashed through his expression. “He’s tied to the trafficking operations. He’s recruiting changelings and humans to do his dirty work. Your father was getting too close. That’s why he vanished.”
I stared out the window, the trees blurring past, a cold pit opening in my stomach. “So, all this time, all those leads I followed…”
“Weren’t wrong,” Volken cut in. “You were just playing without armour in a war you didn’t even know existed.”
My throat tightened. “You sound like you’re angry that I survived.”
He turned his head sharply, eyes flashing silver in the passing light. “I’m angry that you had to. Alone.” That shut me up.
The silence that followed wasn’t empty this time, it was full, charged. His hand brushed mine where it rested on the seat, a small movement, but it sent warmth curling through my chest all the same.
Colt cleared his throat from the front, the first sound he’d made since we’d left the mansion. “Boss,” he said, glancing in the rearview mirror, “the perimeter sweeps are clear. No tails.”
Volken gave a short nod, his voice clipped. “Keep us moving. Slow loop around the west side, then head toward the southern ridge.”
“Yes, sir.”
The SUV turned down a narrower road, the mansion’s lights fading behind us. Volken leaned back, studying me with that unnerving intensity again like he was trying to memorize every reaction, every flicker of thought.
Finally, he spoke again, softer this time. “You shouldn’t have had to do this on your own, Runa. You don’t have to anymore.”
I met his gaze. “You really think I can just sit back while you handle everything?”
The corner of his mouth twitched, the faintest hint of a smirk. “I think you’ll try. And I think I’ll have to stop you.”
That earned him a glare, but I couldn’t stop the small smile tugging at my lips. “You’re infuriating.”
“So I’ve been told.”
He reached over, his fingers brushing against my jaw, tilting my chin toward him. His voice dropped low enough that it vibrated against my skin. “But you’ll come to see it’s only because I’d burn the world down before I let it take you too.”
For a second, I forgot how to breathe.
Outside, the night stretched endless and quiet. Inside, the bond hummed between us…alive, electric and undeniable. It thrummed in the space between heartbeats, in every breath, every glance, as if the very air inside the SUV was charged with something I couldn’t name.
Volken’s hand was still on mine, his thumb brushing the inside of my wrist where my pulse beat wild beneath my skin. When he finally spoke again, his tone had shifted, less rough, but firm. Decided.
“From now on,” he said, voice low but leaving no room for debate, “Colt stays with you. Always.”
I blinked, pulling back just enough to look at him. “What?”
He didn’t flinch, didn’t look away. “He’ll be your guard. Wherever you go, if I can’t be there, he will. No arguments.”
I sat back, crossing my arms. “You’re joking.”
Colt’s eyes flicked up in the rearview mirror, a ghost of a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “He’s not.”
I shot him a glare. “I don’t need a babysitter.”
Volken’s gaze darkened slightly, the faintest glint of fang catching in the dashboard light. “No, you need protection. There’s a difference.”
“I can protect myself,” I muttered, heat rising in my voice. “I’ve been doing it just fine until…”
“Until you nearly got yourself killed!” he snapped, voice sharp enough to make the air vibrate. The SUV went silent except for the steady rumble of the engine.
His chest rose and fell, hard, once. Then he exhaled, forcing his tone softer, steadier.
“You don’t understand yet, Runa. When I can’t be with you, I feel it.
It’s like a blade twisting under my ribs.
If anything happened to you while I slept, I…
” He shook his head once, jaw tight. “I wouldn’t survive it. ”
The confession was raw, unexpected, it hit somewhere deep inside me. My anger faltered, replaced by a pulse of something dangerously close to tenderness.
He reached out, brushing a loose strand of hair behind my ear, his touch careful, reverent. “During the day, you’ll have a changeling assigned. They’re half-human, half-shifter, immune to daylight, strong enough to protect you from most threats. Gideon trained yours personally.”
My brows furrowed. “You already arranged that?”
“Of course.” His eyes met mine, steel and shadow, unwavering. “I plan ahead, especially where you’re concerned.”
I huffed, crossing my arms tighter. “So, I get a vampire guard at night and a shapeshifter babysitter during the day. Great.”
Colt’s laugh was low and amused. “Sounds like royal treatment to me.”
Volken ignored him, his focus entirely on me. “It’s not a cage, Runa. It’s a safeguard. I won’t clip your wings, but I’ll make damn sure no one tears them off, either.”
The words should’ve annoyed me. They should’ve sounded possessive, controlling.
But instead, they wrapped around me like armour.
The bond between us thrummed again, deep and warm, as if responding to his promise.
I sighed, glancing out the window at the stretch of forest beyond. “Fine. But I’m not promising to make it easy for either of them.”
Volken’s mouth curved into a dangerous smile, his voice dropping to that dark, smoky tone that always seemed to melt my defences. “I wouldn’t want you any other way.”
Colt chuckled quietly from the front. “You sure about that, boss? Sounds like you’ve got your hands full.”
Volken leaned back in his seat, still watching me with that unreadable mix of heat and danger. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
And even as I rolled my eyes, even as I tried to pretend his protectiveness irritated me, I couldn’t ignore the pulse of warmth that spread through me, because deep down, I knew, he wasn’t just protecting me, he was anchoring me.
And for someone who’d been alone for far too long, that terrified me more than anything.
The drive didn’t take long. The Escalade rolled to a stop outside one of the Dragic warehouses a broad, steel structure crouched at the edge of the industrial district, lit only by the cold wash of moonlight and the soft glow of security lights.
Runa looked out the tinted window, brow furrowing. “You keep your plans in a warehouse?”
Volken’s lips twitched. “We keep everything in warehouses.”
When Colt opened the back door, the sharp scent of oil and concrete hit the air. Volken stepped out first, scanning the perimeter, before reaching back for Runa’s hand.
“Stay close,” he murmured.
“I always am,” she said, but her fingers slid into his anyway.
Inside, the warehouse stretched vast and cold, the echo of their footsteps bouncing off the high ceiling.
At the far end, a table was set up beneath a bank of low lights.
Maps covered every inch of it, hand-drawn overlays of districts, red markings across ports and highways, photographs clipped to the corners with rough notes scrawled in ink.
Runa’s breath caught. “This is what you’ve been working on?”
Volken nodded, stepping closer to the table.
“Every sighting. Every transaction we’ve traced back to the demons or Malakai’s human partners.
Your father’s last known location was near the southern docks, here.
” He pointed to a red X circled twice in black.
“We raided that site two weeks ago and found evidence of movement, but they’d already cleared it out. ”
Runa moved closer, her honey-coloured eyes sharp in the dim light. “So, they’re still one step ahead.”
“Not for long,” Volken said, his tone dark and steady. “They’re getting sloppy. Tonight’s run will tell us which route they’re using to move supplies. Once we find that, we’ll find where they’re keeping the humans.”
Her throat tightened. “Where they might be keeping him.”
Volken’s jaw flexed. He reached out, brushing his knuckles against her cheek, a rare tenderness cutting through the steel in his voice. “We’ll find him, Runa. One way or another you have my word.”
For a heartbeat, everything was quiet. The hum of electricity from the overhead lights. The slow rhythm of their breathing. The unspoken bond between them, pulsing with trust and fear and something dangerously close to hope.
Volken turned toward Colt. “We’re done here. Lock everything down.”
Colt nodded, moving to the side door, his hand instinctively resting near the gun at his thigh. The air outside had shifted it was thicker now, colder.
They walked toward the exit, Runa pressed close to Volken’s side. He didn’t let go of her hand once, his gaze sweeping the dark edges of the lot.
That’s when I saw him turn his heard as if he heard something.