The golden nib of my fountain pen scratched against the heavy parchment, the only sound filling the oppressive silence of my study. I stared at the lines of tax codes and border disputes, but for the first time in a century, the words refused to make sense.
I set the pen down, the click echoing off the marble walls.
Where was she?
Lukas should have returned with my "little pet" hours ago. I had sent him to keep an eye on her, to ensure her "wildcat" tendencies didn't get her swallowed whole by the forest, yet the manor felt disturbingly empty without her sharp tongue and defiant glare.
A dark thought coiled in my gut. Did Lukas finally snap? Had he decided to keep her for himself, hiding her away in some corner of the estate? No. Lukas was loyal to a fault. He would never go behind my back... then again, he was old enough to know what he wanted. I couldn't shelter him from his own desires forever, but if he had touched what belonged to me...
I shoved the paperwork aside, the mahogany chair screeching against the floor as I stood. The coldness that usually defined my soul was being replaced by a low, simmering heat. I walked out into the gardens, the moonlight casting long, jagged shadows across the rosebushes. That's when I saw it. A single slip of parchment, pinned to a stone bench by a thorn.
I picked it up cautiously, my eyes narrowing as I read the elegant, mocking script:
Come alone tonight if you want your wildcat back.
I didn't need a signature. I knew that flowery, arrogant handwriting anywhere. My grip tightened until the note turned to ash in my palm. My restraint snapped. I didn't care about rules, and I certainly wasn't going to "come alone" like a submissive mutt.
I moved.
I didn't bother with the subtle art of teleportation. I wanted them to hear me coming. I arrived at the hidden border of the Elven domain not as a diplomat but as a raging hurricane.
The pearly white gates that Kyra prided himself on stood in my way. I didn't knock. I reached out, my vampire strength surging through my veins, and wrenched the reinforced metal from its hinges with a deafening screech of protesting steel. I tossed the gates aside like they were made of toothpicks and stepped into the hidden city, crushing the pristine white pavement beneath my boots.
"Kyra!" my voice boomed, vibrating with a lethal fury that sent the local elves scurrying into the shadows. "Step out before I level this entire pathetic illusion!"
A shimmer of green light appeared, and the Elf Lord stepped out from the shadows of his palace. He looked as if he had been expecting me, his face wearing that same punchable, playful smirk.
"Dracarus! You really haven't learned any manners, have you?" Kyra chuckled, stepping forward with an air of fake bravado. He actually had the audacity to swing an arm over my shoulder as if we were old pals sharing a drink. "You look stressed, Prince. Is the paperwork getting to you? Or is it... a certain someone you're missing?"
I didn't even look at him. I caught his wrist, the bone creaking under my grip, and shoved him back.
It's none of your goddamn business.
"I'm not here for a rematch, Kyra," I growled, my eyes glowing a dangerous crimson. "I'm here for Hina. Hand her over now, and I might leave this city standing in one piece."
But my words held no effect as Kyra's friendly tone didn't just drop—it evaporated into thin air. His eyes turned cold, flickering with a psychotic edge that matched the dark history between us; his boldness began to rise at a higher level of arrogance.
"Not a chance. She's a guest of the forest now. Besides, she seemed much more comfortable in my lap than she ever did in your dungeon. She really is a fine specimen; I can see why you like her so much... headstrong, brave, not afraid of anyone or anything, and that body... if you could see what's underneath those clothes."
so sexy.
I didn't wait for him, this creepy man, to finish his sentence. My fist connected with his jaw with the force of a falling meteor. The impact sent Kyra flying backward, his body crashing through a stone pillar and disappearing under a pile of rubble.
Your mouth is filthy; dont defile my pet with such nasty words. I know my pet would never give you the time of day.
I didn't spare him a second glance after. I stormed into the palace, my senses locked onto her scent... vanilla and defiance. I found her in the dining hall, staring at maps with that clever brain of hers already working.
"We're leaving," I stated. She was about to say something, but I never gave her that chance.
Before she could utter a single word of protest, I hauled her over my shoulder like a sack of grain. She kicked and shouted, her fists drumming against my back, but I ignored it. My only goal was getting her back and finding where the hell Lukas had gone.
As I walked back through the wreckage of the front gates, a cough sounded from the ruins. Kyra crawled out from under the broken marble, blood trickling down his perfect face, his expression twisted in a mask of pure hatred.
"You'll see, you rat prince!" Kyra spat, clutching his side as he watched me walk away. "That's the hundredth time you've looked down on me... but I'll get stronger. One day, I'll make you pay for what your kind did to my mother... for what you did to my entire clan!"
I didn't stop. I didn't look back. His threats were nothing but wind against the mountain. I had my wildcat back, and heaven help the elf lord for when i see him again, it's a takedown