Made me hungry for blood

“Alex!”

Flora’s breath hitched. She stared at him, paralyzed by a reality that defied everything she knew. Alex was dead, he had been gone for months. Yet here he was, standing unscathed before her.

“Did I surprise you?” Alex smirked, his eyes devoid of any warmth.

Panic finally surged, and Flora lunged forward to run, but Alex was faster than her. Before she could even scream, he caught her wrist and threw her violently toward the ground. Her purse hit the pavement first, spilling her phone and the audit file across the dirt.

Before she could scramble away, he grabbed a fistful of her hair, yanking her head back. Flora cried out in pain, her eyes darting around wildly, only to find the city streets had vanished. She was in a place that looked like dark, damp, and utterly isolated. She couldn’t understand how he had moved her so fast, or where this hidden strength had come from.

“I see you living a normal life, Flora. How dare you?” Alex hissed, looking down at her with pure disdain. “Shouldn’t you be rotting in a prison cell? Did Amelie show you kindness while she refused it to me? To the man who is the father of her son?”

“Noah is not yours!” Flora screamed with rage.

“Keep your voice down before I cut your tongue in half,” Alex warned, his grip tightening until she screamed again. “You are going to help me take back what belongs to me.”

“In your dreams,” Flora spat even though she was trembling. She shoved him with her entire strength, making Alex stumble back until he hit the damp stone wall.

His eyes flared, the color shifting from a predatory red to a dark, murky brown before he lunged. His hand clamped around her throat, pinning her against the wall.

“Say it one more time. Tell me again that you won’t help me,” Alex hissed, his fingers tightening.

“I won’t,” Flora gasped, struggling for air but refusing to look away. “Even if you kill me… I will not help you. You destroyed everything!” Her eyes burned with hatred that seemed to catch him off guard for a split second.

Alex snorted a laugh before slamming her head back against the wall. The impact was brutal as a pain exploded behind her eyes, and the world began to blur for a second.

“I will kill Samyra and David,” he whispered, his face inches away from hers. “I will rip their hearts out right in front of you. Resurrecting from death has made me hungry for blood, Flora, and I’ll start with your parents. Then, I’ll move on to that fucker you’ve been dreaming of a life with, Zander, my ’dear best’ friend.”

He leaned in closer. “You have until evening to think about this. You will take me to Amelie and my son. Tell Gabriel about it and you’ll see your parents lying in the pool of blood.”

He released his grip abruptly, and Flora slumped to the ground, gasping for breath. By the time she managed to blink her vision back into focus, he was gone, vanishing into the shadows as if he had never been there at all.

Tears rolled down Flora’s cheeks. With trembling hands, she crawled across the cold ground to gather her scattered items, shoving the crumpled envelope and her phone back into her purse. Every muscle in her body trembled with terror she had never known, not even during her darkest days in prison.

“If I tell Amelie, she will inform Gabriel,” Flora whispered, her voice cracking as she leaned against the damp wall for support. “But Alex… He’s dangerously powerful now.”

She choked back a sob. “What if I trigger something that shall not happen? What if he kills my parents before Gabriel can even react? What if he kills Amelie too?”

The thought of her parents’ hearts being ripped away made her stomach churn with nausea. She stood up on shaky legs, her vision still swimming from the impact against the wall. She was trapped in a nightmare where every choice felt like a death sentence. To protect Amelie and her son, she had to sacrifice her family; to save her family, she had to betray the sister who had given her a second chance.

Wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, she decided to deliver the report to the person she was supposed to.

~~~~~

“The person who killed Theo wasn’t a shifter at all, but a man who held a long-standing grudge against him,” Casaio announced, meeting his father’s gaze.

“And who is this man?” Raidan asked.

Instead of answering immediately, Casaio gestured toward Estelle. She offered a bow and exited the chamber.

“Until yesterday, the report stated an unknown shifter was responsible,” one of the council members countered, leaning forward with a skeptical frown. “How could a mere Omega overpower a man as physically imposing as Theo? How did he lure him into the forest, and what of the mysterious call Theo received just before his disappearance?”

“All of your questions will be answered shortly,” Casaio stated calmly. “I ask only for your patience.”

While the Alpha King and the council members remained gripped by the unfolding mystery, Gabriel stood apart from the group. His phone vibrated in his palm. He scrolled through a message from Louis, which caused his expression to harden instantly. Without a word, he stood up.

“Your Majesty, an urgent matter demands my immediate attention. I must take my leave,” Gabriel said. He didn’t wait for a royal dismissal or a response from his father; he turned and strode out of the hall.

“Prince Gabriel still behaves as though he is beholden to no one,” the oldest council member remarked, his voice dripping with disapproval.

Raidan remained silent, his eyes fixed on the door. Moments later, Estelle returned, leading a man bound in heavy iron shackles. A ripple of shock passed through the room, the prisoner was strikingly young, his frame appeared thinner compared to the warriors of the palace.

“Your Majesty, this young man is also named Gabriel,” Casaio announced, his gaze shifting to the shackled Omega. “He is here to confess the intentions behind his kill.”

“Speak. Why did you call Theo that night and what’s your intention behind his murder?” Raidan demanded.

The young man lifted his head. “Theo sexually assaulted my sister before he killed her,” he said. “My name is Gabriel Harty. I am an Omega of no standing, unlike the powerful Alphas and Betas who fill this palace, this country. My parents had taken a small loan from Theo to get by. I was away in another city for my studies when I received word that my sister had committed suicide.”

He paused, a bitter scowl twisting his lips. “But it was a lie. She didn’t take her own life; she was murdered by Theo after he had his way with her. Because the authorities refused to even file a complaint against a man of his influence, I took the law into my own hands. I lured him out, I ended him, and I brought my sister the justice this country’s system denied her.”

The room fell into a silence as the young Omega looked the Alpha King directly in the eye. “Your Majesty, I am prepared to accept whatever punishment you deem fit, but I will never say I regret what I did.”