CHAPTER 46: THE MISTAKE

Vera’s POV

I knew something was wrong before I even saw him.

Not because the house was quiet, it never really was, but because the usual rhythm was gone. Men weren’t relaxed. They weren’t leaning against walls or casually talking under their breath, they were prepared.

That alone told me this wasn’t routine.

I stepped further into the hallway, my gaze sweeping over the space before landing on Kael.

He stood at the far end, speaking to Lucian and Aaron, his tone low and controlled, the kind that didn’t invite interruption. There was no trace of the man who had been playing games with me yesterday. This version of him was colder, dangerous in a way that had nothing to do with teasing.

“…we move now,” he was saying.

Lucian nodded once, already turning to signal the others. Aaron didn’t look as calm, but he wasn’t arguing either, which said enough.

I walked closer.

Kael noticed immediately. His eyes flicked to me for a second, then back to the discussion like I wasn’t important enough to pause for.

Yeah. That wasn’t going to work.

“Where are you going?” I asked.

That got their attention.

Lucian’s gaze shifted between us, mildly interested. Aaron sighed under his breath like he already knew this was about to become a problem.

Kael didn’t answer.

I tilted my head slightly. “Are you planning to pretend I’m not here again, or is this part of your new personality?”

Still nothing.

I smiled faintly. “Because it’s not attractive.”

That made him look at me.

“You’re staying,” he said.

Straight to the point.

I let out a quiet laugh. “Emmm… no. I’m definitely not.”

Aaron muttered something that sounded like here we go.

Kael’s expression didn’t change. “This isn’t a discussion.”

“It is if I’m involved.”

“You’re not.”

“Then why am I here?”

Silence.

For a second, it looked like he might ignore me again.

I stepped closer, lowering my voice just enough to keep it between us. “You think I haven’t noticed something’s off?”

His gaze sharpened slightly.

“I don’t need you to explain everything,” I continued, “but don’t stand there and tell me this has nothing to do with me.”

Lucian leaned back against the wall, watching now with open interest. Aaron looked between us like he was deciding whether to stay or leave.

Kael stepped forward.

Close enough to shut out everything else.

“You don’t understand what you’re walking into,” he said quietly.

I held his gaze, steady and unflinching. “You’re not the only one who knows how to read situations, Kael. You move like someone who already expects trouble. Your men are positioned like they’re walking into something planned, not reacting to it.”

Lucian’s expression shifted slightly. Aaron straightened.

“And?” Kael asked.

“And that means whoever you’re going to meet isn’t the problem,” I said. “It’s what’s waiting after.”

That did it.

He studied me for a long second before exhaling quietly.

“Fine.”

“You’re coming.”

Aaron blinked. “Wait… seriously?”

“Stay out of it,” Kael said without looking at him.

Lucian just smiled faintly.

Kael’s attention returned to me. “You stay with me. You don’t wander. You don’t improvise. And you listen.”

I raised a brow. “You really enjoy repeating that.”

His hand came up, gripping my jaw just enough to hold me still.

“You listen or I won’t have any problem locking you downstairs. Choose one.”

“…Fine,” I said.

He let go immediately. “We leave in five.”

---

The convoy was bigger than I expected.

Not just one car. Not just a small team.

Multiple vehicles. Armed. Organized. Moving like a unit that had done this too many times to make mistakes.

I slid into the passenger seat beside Kael, watching as the rest of his men took position. Lucian’s car pulled in behind us. Aaron’s was two vehicles back.

This wasn’t a visit.

This was an operation.

“You always travel like this?” I asked.

“Only when it matters.”

I leaned back slightly. “So this matters.”

He didn’t answer.

Which was answer enough.

The cars moved almost at the same time, engines low and controlled. No rush. No panic. Just precision.

I watched the road ahead, then glanced at him. “You’re not going to tell me anything, are you?”

“No.”

I sighed. “You’re predictable.”

“And you talk too much.”

“Someone has to, since you’ve decided silence is your personality now.”

That almost got a reaction.

Almost.

I shifted slightly in my seat, letting my gaze move over the mirrors, the road, the positioning of the cars behind us.

Something about it felt off.

“Slow down,” I said suddenly.

Kael didn’t.

“Kael.”

“What?”

“The fifth car behind us, has it been there since we left?”

His eyes flicked to the mirror for a fraction of a second.

Then forward again.

“…No,” he said quietly.

My chest tightened.

“Don’t react,” he added.

Too late for that.

“Are we being followed?”

“No.”

That answer came too fast.

I turned slightly. “That didn’t sound convincing.”

“It’s not a tail,” he said. “It’s a marker.”

That was worse.

“What does that mean?”

“It means they know we’re coming.”

I let out a quiet breath. “So this is a trap.”

“Yes.”

“And we’re still going.”

“Yes.”

I stared at him. “You’re insane.”

“Probably.”

He didn’t sound like he cared.

---

The location looked empty.

The kind of place that should have had something, guards, movement, noise, but didn’t.

The cars slowed to a stop, positioning themselves carefully.

Men stepped out immediately, spreading out with practiced ease. Weapons ready, eyes scanning.

Lucian approached first. “This is too clean.”

“I know,” Kael said.

Aaron joined them, already checking his surroundings. “No visible entry points. No heat signatures from here.”

“They’re inside,” I said.

All three of them looked at me.

I shrugged slightly. “If they know we’re coming, they’re not going to greet you outside.”

Lucian smiled faintly. “I like her.”

“Focus,” Kael said.

We moved in.

---

The moment we stepped inside, I felt it.

Like the place remembered something I didn’t want to.

My steps slowed slightly as my gaze moved over the space.

Old equipment. Metal tables. Wires.

Something twisted in my chest.

“Vera.”

Kael’s voice pulled me back.

I hadn’t realized I stopped.

“I’m fine,” I said.

He didn’t look convinced.

We moved deeper.

Men spreading out. Checking rooms. Clearing corners.

Everything controlled.

Everything careful.

Until—

The lights cut.

Not fully. Just enough.

A flicker.

Then—

Gunfire.

---

It didn’t explode into chaos.

It was controlled, like they knew exactly where to aim, where to move, who to isolate.

Kael pulled me back instantly, positioning himself between me and the direction of fire.

“Stay behind me.”

“You know I got trained with you, right?” I muttered.

Still, I stayed close.

I moved with him, keeping low, watching angles, tracking movement.

One of his men went down.

Another shouted something over comms.

Lucian’s voice cut through next, sharp and controlled. “Left side! They’re pushing—”

“They’re splitting us,” I said.

Kael didn’t answer.

But I knew he saw it too.

Groups were being separated.

I moved to the side, catching a glimpse of movement and reacting on instinct. The man coming at me didn’t expect it. I drove my elbow into his throat hard enough to throw him off, then twisted out of his reach.

But that only lasted a second.

Because another one was already there.

Hands grabbed me, one, then two.

I fought.

Hard.

Kicked, twisted, bit when I had to.

I broke free once.

Just enough to turn.

“Kael—!”

A hand clamped over my mouth, cutting me off as they dragged me back.

My heart slammed violently as I struggled, trying to get free, trying to see him.

And I did.

For a second.

He was moving toward me.

Then something sharp hit my neck.

Pain.

Cold.

Everything slowed.

My grip weakened.

Darkness closed in.

And I was gone.

---

Kael’s POV

Everything shifted the moment she disappeared.

“She’s gone!” Aaron’s voice came through, strained.

I already knew.

This wasn’t an ambush.

It was a separation.

Every move they made had one goal.

Take her.

“Kael, we need to pull back,” Lucian said, stepping closer. “This is controlled. They’re not trying to wipe us out.”

I looked at him.

Then at the empty space where she had been.

Gone.

“Take him,” I said, nodding toward Aaron.

Lucian’s expression hardened. “No.”

“Get him out.”

“And you?”

I didn’t answer.

Didn’t need to.

“Don’t,” Lucian said flatly. “This is exactly what they want.”

“I know. But I trust you. Call the doctor, he knows what to do.”

Lucian froze for a second.

“Kael— don’t you dare give it to them.”

Too late.

I was already moving.

They were waiting.

Of course they were.

And this time—

I didn’t stop.

---

The fight was brutal.

I took down as many as I could, pushed forward, ignored the rest.

But numbers mattered.

Positioning mattered.

And they had both.

By the time I realized it fully—

Something sharp hit my neck.

My vision blurred.

My body slowed.

And for the first time—

Control slipped.

---

Outside, Lucian stood still, his jaw tight, his mind already running through everything that went wrong.

Aaron leaned against the car, blood staining his side, breathing uneven.

“This doesn’t make sense,” Aaron muttered. “We were clean.”

Lucian didn’t respond.

Because it didn’t matter.

Inside that building—

Kael was gone.

Vera was gone.

And the one thing that stayed in his mind was what Kael had said before walking into that trap.

The doctor.

And whatever role he played in this—

Was about to matter more than anything else.