Il a effacé notre amour de ses propres mains pour elle

CHAPTER ONE — THE ALPHA OF THE EMPIRE OF NIGHT

The first scream came before dawn.

Adrian Valtori opened his eyes.

He did not move immediately.

The room remained dark, illuminated only by the faint silver light of the moon filtering through the enormous windows of Valtori Tower. Beyond the glass, the capital of the Empire of Night stretched beneath a sky heavy with storm clouds.

Then the scream came again.

Adrian rose.

He crossed the room and stepped onto the balcony.

Cold wind struck his face.

He immediately smelled smoke.

Then blood.

Then magic.

His expression hardened.

Far below, fire burned along the eastern cliffs surrounding Valtoris. Dark figures moved between the flames.

The Ravagers had attacked again.

Adrian's fingers closed around the stone railing.

A crack appeared beneath his palm.

Seven attacks in three months.

They had never attempted to conquer the capital. They struck the borders, tested his defenses, killed soldiers, and disappeared before his army could destroy them.

That wasn't normal warfare.

They were searching for something.

Or someone.

The balcony doors opened behind him.

"Another patrol was attacked."

Cassian entered.

Adrian's Beta was still dressed in his black military uniform. Blood marked his sleeve.

"How many?" Adrian asked.

"Twelve dead. Thirty-seven wounded."

Adrian's jaw tightened.

"Where?"

"Eastern perimeter."

"How did they get through?"

"We don't know."

Adrian turned.

Cassian immediately lowered his eyes.

"Find out."

"We're already investigating."

"I didn't ask whether you were investigating."

His voice was quiet.

That made it worse.

"I asked how they got through."

Cassian nodded.

"We'll find the answer."

Adrian looked toward the battlefield.

The Ravagers had retreated.

Again.

He hated their discipline.

They attacked only where they needed to, withdrew before being surrounded, and left behind almost no magical traces.

They weren't trying to win a war.

They were buying time.

Adrian's wolf stirred.

Then something strange happened.

A scent drifted through the wind.

Honey.

Rain.

And something warm.

Ancient.

His entire body went still.

Cassian noticed immediately.

"Alpha?"

Adrian said nothing.

The scent disappeared.

Then returned.

Stronger.

His wolf slammed against his ribs.

Mate.

The word echoed through his mind.

Adrian had spent his entire life believing the ancient mate bond had abandoned his bloodline.

His ancestors had searched for their mates for generations.

None had found them.

Adrian had never cared.

He had seen love destroy rulers.

He had watched attachment become weakness.

He had sworn that he would never allow another person to possess that kind of power over him.

Yet now his wolf was certain.

His mate was alive.

And she was close.

Cassian stared at him.

"You felt it."

Adrian finally looked at him.

"Yes."

"The bond?"

Adrian nodded.

Cassian's expression changed.

"Do you know who she is?"

"No."

"Do you want us to search?"

Adrian looked toward the city.

"Find her."

"Alive?"

Adrian's eyes flashed silver.

"Protect her."

Cassian nodded.

"Understood."

Before he could leave, the temperature dropped.

The shadows beside the balcony twisted.

Ancient magic gathered in the air.

Cassian immediately reached for his weapon.

Adrian raised a hand.

"Stand down."

A woman stepped through the distortion.

Her midnight-blue hair moved in the wind.

Silver runes covered her black cloak.

Seraphine.

The High Oracle of the Lunar Court.

Adrian's expression hardened.

"You chose an inconvenient time."

"The stars rarely concern themselves with your convenience."

"Then speak."

Seraphine looked toward the burning battlefield.

"The Ravagers are no longer searching blindly."

Adrian's eyes narrowed.

"What are they searching for?"

She looked at him.

"The Phoenix."

Silence.

Cassian frowned.

Adrian's expression remained unreadable.

"The Phoenix is a legend."

"No."

Seraphine's voice was calm.

"It is a bloodline."

Adrian stepped closer.

"The Phoenix bloodline disappeared centuries ago."

"It disappeared from history."

"Same thing."

"No."

Seraphine shook her head.

"The Phoenix is reborn."

Adrian's wolf growled.

"When?"

"Now."

A strange pressure filled the balcony.

Adrian stared at her.

"Explain."

"The vessel has awakened."

"Where?"

"Within your territory."

His heart beat once, hard.

The scent returned.

Honey.

Rain.

Fire.

His mate.

Seraphine continued.

"The Ravager Clan knows she has returned."

Adrian's expression changed.

"What do they want?"

"They need her."

"For what?"

"The Dark Moon Convergence."

Cassian went pale.

Adrian knew the name.

Every supernatural ruler did.

The Convergence was an ancient ritual designed to open the Gate of Iron—a prison created centuries ago to contain creatures too dangerous to exist in the mortal world.

Seraphine's voice lowered.

"If the Ravagers obtain the Phoenix's blood during the Convergence, the Gate will open."

Adrian's claws emerged.

"And the creatures?"

"They will destroy the Empire of Night."

The wind howled.

Adrian looked toward the city.

Somewhere below, his mate was living her life without knowing that an entire supernatural clan had begun hunting her.

"What's her name?"

Seraphine hesitated.

"Names possess power."

"I didn't ask for a lesson."

"I don't know her full identity."

Adrian's eyes narrowed.

"But you know where she is."

"Within Valtoris."

Adrian inhaled.

There.

The scent again.

Closer.

His wolf surged.

He closed his eyes.

For the first time in his life, Adrian Valtori felt something dangerously close to fear.

Not for himself.

For a woman he had never spoken to.

When he opened his eyes, they glowed silver.

"Find her before the Ravagers do."

Cassian bowed.

"Yes, Alpha."

Adrian looked toward the city.

The Empire of Night had survived wars, curses, rebellions, and bloodshed.

But none of those threats had frightened him like the knowledge that somewhere beneath the same sky, his mate was walking unaware into a war that had already begun.

The hunt had started.

And Adrian intended to reach her first.