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Author: IBRA
last update publish date: 2026-05-19 02:15:28

I thought you’d never stop working, Cassius," Selah said, her voice dropping into that rehearsed, sultry lilt as she set the silver tray on my mahogany desk. "I’ve prepared a vintage blend and some small bites. You’ve been staring at those blueprints for thirty-six hours. Even a Sire needs to breathe."

I didn't look up. My eyes were burning, tracking the logistics of the Ashfang Dominion’s new ports. Selah moved like she owned the air in the room, her silk slip dress shimmering—a far cry from t
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  • Claiming the RUNT   45

    The concrete blocks have been cleared from the transit line, Boss," Tavian Blake reported, stepping into the armored vehicle's briefing space as the dawn light finally broke through the heavy smog. "The entire convoy is conducting a final inventory of the remaining crates before we cover the final miles to the center of the Ashfang Dominion.""Tell the enforcers to burn whatever frames can’t be towed," I commanded, my hand rubbing against the exhaustion settling deep into my temples. "We don't leave assets for the Yellow Teeth syndicate to salvage from the mud. Malakai, ensure the rear guard keeps their weapons hot until we breach the city perimeter.""Most of the luxury sedans are completely written off, Sire," Malakai Reed stated, his voice flat as he wiped carbon grease from his tactical gloves. "The security details are going to have to make the final approach on foot to keep the perimeter secure. Only the frontline captains are taking the utility bikes.""We move within ten minut

  • Claiming the RUNT   44

    "The compound is completely artificial, Sire," Elder Nnamdi Vale shouted against the gale, his ancient hands trembling as he checked the child's pulse on the freezing rock floor. "The mercenary syndicates are using black-market neurotoxins from the eastern borders. This isn't a standard blade laceration; the poison is shutting down his respiratory system from the inside out.""Can your medical team stabilize the paralysis?" Cassius Okoye demanded, his jaw tight as he stared down at the convulsing boy."The field kits are entirely depleted of chemical antitoxins," Elder Nnamdi replied, his cracked voice laced with regret as the freezing rain washed over his face. "If we had the baseline synthetic serum from the central Ashfang Dominion labs, we could neutralize the spread, but we left the medical reserves in the primary cargo vans when the barricade was breached.""This is entirely your fault, Obi Ashford!" Aria roared, breaking through the perimeter ring of enforcers, her silk trench

  • Claiming the RUNT   43

    Drop the weapons or I will empty this magazine into your skull, kid!" one of the mercenaries barked, his face covered in grease and soot as he yanked me upward by my leather collar."Get your hands off the young master!" Amira Cole screamed, abandoning all tactical restraint as she lunged at the closest soldier, utilizing a hidden ceramic blade to slice across his forearm before the other two operatives pinned her against the chassis of the overturned vehicle.The sheer velocity of the collision had left my skull ringing, the bitter taste of chemical smoke and fuel filling my throat as I was dragged through the gravel. This wasn't a standard territory dispute; it was a targeted, lethal raid executed by the frontline enforcers of the Yellow Teeth gang. They had deployed heavy technical trucks and modified armor to split our convoy clean down the middle, separating the security details from the primary asset transport."Hold him down!" the lead attacker shouted, his boot coming down har

  • Claiming the RUNT   42

    Get the armored trucks secured or we will lose the entire shipment before the border," I yelled, my voice cracking under the pressure of the downpour as I watched the logistics crew struggle with the tarpaulins."The tactical line is completely fractured, Obi," Amira Cole shouted back, her fingers digging into my shoulder as she yanked me toward the transport vehicle. "There are over eight hundred armed operatives from the Yellow Teeth faction mobilizing through the quarry pass right now, and if we don't move this convoy immediately, the entire Black Eagle asset list will be confiscated by the border guards."The chaos in the staging courtyard was absolute. Adjusting to a massive tactical relocation involving nearly a thousand syndicate soldiers and their families was proving to be a logistical nightmare. For my personal transport, the underboss had assigned two heavy cargo vans to relocate the remaining Ashford family documentation, while I was ordered to occupy the principal armored

  • Claiming the RUNT   41

    "Can you even stand up on your own, Obi?" Tavian Blake asked, his shadow lengthening across the mahogany floorboards as he cast his heavy wool coat over my blood-streaked, shivering frame.My entire nervous system was failing under the weight of the physical trauma. Every square inch of my flesh radiated an excruciating, deep-seated agony that made it impossible to formulate a coherent response. My mind was completely engulfed by a toxic mixture of suffocating rage, profound humiliation, and absolute helplessness. I couldn't comprehend how Cassius Okoye could treat me with such systematic, calculated barbarism when he possessed full knowledge that I had absolutely no hand in the historical sins committed by my father.Out of all the syndicate soldiers and lower-tier distribution runners who had expressed genuine gratitude for my silence during the asset audits, I had desperately needed the Sire himself to validate my compliance. He had given me a definitive, binding guarantee in the s

  • Claiming the RUNT   40

    "Who gave you authorization to look through those distribution manifests?" Cassius Okoye’s voice shattered the midnight quiet of the executive library before I even heard his boots cross the threshold.I froze on the floorboards, a heavy leather-bound folder resting open across my lap. The Blackfang Enforcers stationed at the lower doors hadn't stopped me when I left the Silver Chamber; their cold, predatory indifference had softened over the last fortnight into a quiet, formal respect that had almost allowed me to forget I was still an Ashford prisoner inside my family's conquered mansion. I had lit three low candles to keep the darkness at bay, but the shadows stretching across the high bookshelves only made my pulse hammer faster against my throat.I didn't try to close the ledger. I simply pressed my spine flat against the mahogany woodwork, my breathing turning shallow as the shadow of the syndicate Sire eclipsed the dim candlelight."You're tracking the pharmaceutical supply cha

  • Claiming the RUNT   39

    "You will stay right here until you pull a clean shipment out of these crates," Cassius Okoye said, slamming his hand down on the edge of the industrial processing table. "Only the high-purity water-refined chemical blocks. I won't accept anything less."We were standing completely isolated in the

  • Claiming the RUNT   38

    Wake up, little brother, you’re missing the whole ride!" Draven shook my shoulders with the frantic, clumsy force of a seven-year-old. "Move it, Obi! You always sleep when things get interesting!""Leave him be, Draven," Amira Cole murmured from the opposite leather bench, trying to pull her twin b

  • Claiming the RUNT   37

    "You need to get to that giant iron oak," I said, pointing toward the solitary timber silhouette piercing the skyline at the absolute crest of the bluff.Cassius Okoye slowed his steps, his heavy leather coat catching the rising wind. He lifted his chin, his dark eyes scanning the empty gray horizo

  • Claiming the RUNT   36

    "You got what you wanted, Redmond," I said, leaning my back against the locked library doors, my hands slid deep into my suit pockets. "The signatures are dry. But don't think for a single second that this tiny scrap of leverage makes you untouchable in my house."Redmond stared at me across the po

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