Chapter 5

Xander’s pov

Disgust.

That was the first thing I felt after that night.

Disgust at him……Disgust at myself.

Watching my mate pleasure himself like some needy human boy should have repulsed me. Instead, I had joined him. I had lost control and let the bond twist my body into wanting what I should never want.

I had come harder than I had in years.

The shame burned so I called Helena and she arrived within the hour, like she always did. Helena had never denied me. She is a tall, lethal, insatiable wolf who understood hunger and never questioned mine. I took her to bed and buried myself in her until dawn.

It should have cleansed me.

It didn’t.

No matter how many times I drove into her, no matter how she clawed at my back and begged for more, it didn’t erase the image of indigo eyes staring into the camera as if he could see me through it.

Helena finally slept, satisfied…….I didn’t.

—-

I had tried to kill the stupid human again this week.

That is the part that burns the most.

I, Xander Nightfall, heir to the Nightfall pack, trained from adolescence in the art of silent death, failed.

Not once, multiple times.

I had follow him as usual through the week. Not that there was much places, apart from his place of work and his parents place, the boy rarely has a social life. The first attempt came at the farmers market. He went every Friday morning. Same time, Same route……Predictable.

The market was loud and bright, filled with canvas tents, wooden crates, and rows of produce stacked in careful pyramids. Vendors shouting about fresh tomatoes, organic honey, wildflowers wrapped in brown paper. The scent of earth, fruit, and humanity thick in the air.

I couldn’t just kill him at his home, which would be easier, but which will scream targeted execution and attract attention. A clean public hit keeps suspicion at bay.

I disguised myself easily. Baseball cap, Sunglasses, Neutral jacket, making sure every inch of my tattoos and markings are covered. They weren’t normal markings and tattoos, each was a representation of the lives I had taken.

The human walked through the market smiling.

Smiling.

Chatting with vendors like they were old friends. Laughing when an old woman teased him about still being single. He bought apples, bread, fresh herbs and flowers.

Flowers.

For who?

He lingered near a nearly empty stall selling handmade soaps and candles. Perfect. The fabric canopy fluttered in the breeze, minimal witnesses. I moved behind a hanging rack of woven scarves, Invisible. My silenced pistol rose smoothly in my hand.

One clean shot to the heart…….No struggle.

Just an unfortunate tragedy in a crowded city.

I aimed and he stepped left, straight into another stall.

“What the hell,” I muttered under my breath.

He began talking to a vendor, then disappeared into the back of the booth.

Fine. I could wait.

I entered the stall casually and took a seat near a stack of storage crates, pretending to check my phone. Minutes passed and then I saw him outside, walking past, humming.

He had taken another exit.

My teeth ground together as I rose and followed.

Another opportunity presented itself when he stepped into a small clothing stall. The makeshift changing room was nothing more than a cotton curtain pulled across a corner.

I entered seconds later and saw his scarf and the flowers he bought were on the floor near the curtain and two legs visible behind it.

Perfect.

I lifted the gun and delivered two shots. The body slumped. I stepped forward, pushing the curtain aside—And froze.

It wasn’t him.

Some other human male lay crumpled, blood spreading across cheap wooden flooring.

My mate was outside walking away…..Alive.

“How?” I snarled under my breath.

It was getting too hot and a few people were beginning to glance toward the stall. I exited calmly and disappeared into the crowd.

And now, hours later, I was on the rooftop across from the hotel he is staying at for his conference. I lay prone behind the low concrete wall, my rifle assembled, it’s scope adjusted.

Below, I watched him check in and then I watched her.

The sassy female.

Mara.

Even from here, I could see the way she leaned into him, touched his arm, smiled like she knew exactly what effect she had.

She was using him for something……It was obvious.

The entire interaction amused me. A woman like that trying to flirt with a man who could barely form a sentence around her. The boy was still a virgin. I would stake my life on it.

Eventually, they disappeared into their rooms. I move the scope of my rifle towards his room’s window. Minutes later the girl was in his room, she stripped naked and the curtains closed.

I leaned back against the rooftop wall and exhaled slowly.

It was going to be a long night.

When I came to, the sun was already high.

My eyes went immediately to my camera scope, straight to the window across the street. The curtain was open and the room empty

“Damn it.”

I had overslept.

Then I saw him, exiting the hotel lobby, walking onto the sidewalk, greeting strangers with an easy smile. He looked… lighter, happier and Satisfied.

Guess that’s one out of the two of us.

I adjusted the rifle quickly, lining up the shot through the scope. The wind was mild and the was Distance manageable. One squeeze of the trigger and the bond would end forever.

He passed a café. I exhaled and Fired.

At that exact second, he leaned down, laughing, and stole a muffin from an unattended outdoor table. The bullet slammed into the brick wall inches from where his head had been.

“What the hell?”

He straightened, still grinning, completely unaware he had just escaped death……And I found myself almost smiling.

Something about him fascinated me.

Too bad.

I glanced at my watch. Shit I was late.

Hours later, I stood inside my uncle’s fortress or whatever this was. My Beta, Warren, my sister's mate/husband and my Gamma, a huge brute named Gunnar flanked me.

The structure was carved into old industrial ruins on the outskirts of the city. Steel beams exposed with dim lighting casting long shadows across armed men who lined the walls.

Rogues.

Hundreds of them.

Their scents clashed in the air—aggression, instability and hunger.

Warren leaned closer. “We should have brought a freaking army with us. Where do you think he got them all from?”

Gunnar shrugs, his eyes vigilant and moving around. He never says much. In fact I have only heard the man speak twice and that was the first day I met him when I saved his life and when he saved my life in return.

I follow his eyes, unease washing over me. Rogues never worked together. Never. And yet here they stood, united.

That alone was wrong.

We were led to a lab with sterile metal tables, glass tanks, monitors flickering with data, the scent of chemicals heavy in the air. Screams of pain were heard from behind some doors and I showed no reaction.

My uncle came out from one of the doors wiping his hands on a cloth and I caught a glimpse of blood on the floor before the door shut.

He smiled in greeting, approaching us. White hair fell to his shoulders, beard just as pale. His face was smooth, almost youthful, but his black eyes held madness. “Ah,” he said, spreading his arms. “My favorite nephew. Come to welcome me back?”

“Hello, Uncle.”

“To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“The Council sent me to stop your experiments.”

He turned towards his men and laughter filled the lab. “You and what army?”

“I came to talk,” I said evenly. “You know what happened last time. One of your experiments nearly started a damn war.”

His eyes gleamed. “This is different. What I have now will put us above all others. We will be the highest species in existence. No more Council breathing down our necks and telling us what to do, no more lousy humans livestocks. We will rule them all.”

“Uncle, we’re not gods, we don’t need to rule anything. Hell, we're doing just—”

“No we’re not,” he cuts in. “Trust me on this, I have a lead on something that will change our lives forever.”

Warren scoffed. “A lead to what? More human females?”

“The Vaelorion hybrid.”

Silence fell.

“That hybrid doesn’t exist. It’s only being mentioned in books, it’s a myth,” Warren said flatly.

My uncle’s smile widened slowly. “Are you sure about that?”

His gaze shifted to me. He raises an eyebrow yet I said nothing. “Oh,” he continued softly, “you never told them, did you, nephew?”

My Gamma and Beta turned toward me. “Tell us what?” Warren asks.

I cross my arms, glaring at my uncle, not making any move to give him any information. This was the council’s private business.

“That one did exist,” he continued when I said nothing. “Twenty years ago and my nephew here was the one sent to kill him.”