LOGINThe laboratory had been silent for hours. The only sounds were the constant hum of the computers, the slow turning of pages in ancient books, and the occasional scratch of a pen on a notepad.Outside, night was falling once again over Moscow, but Pavel barely noticed the passage of time.He ran his tired fingers over his eyes. The cup of coffee beside him had gone cold long ago, forgotten next to three other equally empty ones. Two lines of research completely occupied his attention. The first was relatively simple: the scent described by Sasha—wet earth, ancient moss, cedar, pine, burnt sage, resinous incense. The second… was anything but simple. The brooch.The small metal piece remained under a powerful magnifying lens, illuminated by an intense white light that left no detail unnoticed. Pavel observed it for the hundredth time. He rotated it, measured it, weighed it, scanned it with every piece of equipment available in the laboratory.Nothing. Absolutely nothing.No inscriptions,
The room was silent, except for the rhythmic beeping of the monitors—a sound Alexei had learned to hate and love at the same time, because it meant she was still alive.He remained exactly where he had been. Sitting beside the bed, one hand holding hers, the other resting on his own leg.His eyes burned with exhaustion, his whole body ached, and the pangs of the bond still throbbed faintly in his chest. Sasha had practically forced him to take a shower, change clothes, and eat something, and had also managed to make him sleep for a few minutes in the armchair.But as soon as he woke up, he immediately returned to that chair. He didn’t want to be anywhere else. Not for a second.The Lycan remained silent. There were no jokes, no teasing, only a patient vigil, silently protecting his mate.Alexei closed his eyes for a few seconds. Maybe five, maybe ten. Until he felt a squeeze. Weak, almost imperceptible, in his hand.His eyes opened instantly. His heart slammed against his ribs. He lif
The smell of rare meat filled the room even before the tray crossed the door.“Thank the gods…” Yuliam practically sighed, already trying to sit up in bed.The nurse raised an eyebrow, her fingers firm on the tray.“The doctor said slowly. Gradual recovery.”“I am going slow. This is my normal speed.”She looked at the vampire, who was already sitting up, his eyes shining with anticipation.“That’s not slow. That’s a man who should be lying down.”“For a vampire who was almost dead, this is practically a sleepy turtle.”Feliks laughed from the other side of the room. Andrey just shook his head, but there was a contained smile on his lips.“You almost died and you’re still unbearable.”“It’s a natural talent.”From outside, one of the security guards entered with two more trays, balancing them carefully.“Orders from Mr. Sasha. He said to feed the patient well.”Yuliam opened a smile, his light eyes shining.“I knew I liked him. From the first moment.”“He said you could choose between
Andrey remained seated beside his brother’s bed since dawn.Yuliam was breathing better now. The antidote had worked, and the monitors showed stable vital signs.But his skin remained absurdly pale, like someone who had lost all the energy in their body in a single battle.Feliks was on the other side of the room, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Neither of them said much.After what they had seen in the forest — the maid being consumed by the black smoke, Yuliam fallen in the snow — the silence felt more comfortable than any words.Andrey took his phone out of his pocket and dialed a number he knew by heart. The call was answered before the second ring.“Speak.”Boris Demidov’s deep voice crossed the line. No greetings, no formalities, just the expectation of a report.“Patriarch. It’s me, Andrey.”“How is Yuliam?”He looked at his unconscious brother, his chest rising and falling in a still fragile rhythm.“Alive. Barely, but alive. The antidote worked.”On the other
The night passed. Then came the early morning. Then the dawn.And Alexei remained exactly where he was. Sitting beside the bed, one hand gently holding Carla’s, the other resting on the mattress. The monitors now emitted a steady rhythm, her heart beating in a healthy cadence, her breathing returning to normal, a rosy tone slowly beginning to return to her skin. But she was still sleeping.And he hadn’t closed his eyes for even a minute.From time to time, he would simply lean over to brush a strand of hair from her face. Other times, he just watched her chest rise and fall. Breathing. That was all he needed. Breathing.The door opened discreetly, and Alexei didn’t even turn his head. He knew those footsteps.“I brought coffee. And real food.”Sasha entered balancing a tray: black coffee, sandwiches, fruit, a bottle of water, and a huge slice of apple pie. Because he knew Alexei, and he knew he wouldn’t eat unless practically forced.“I’m not hungry.”“I knew you’d say that.” Sasha pl
The car didn’t even turn off. The moment it crossed the gates of the Rurik mansion, Alexei pulled the handbrake hard, and the vehicle stopped diagonally in front of the main entrance. The door was opened before the engine had even stopped completely, and he jumped out running, completely forgetting Sasha and Lyra in the back seat.The employees barely had time to get out of the way. Alexei crossed the hall practically sprinting. Pavel’s laboratory was in the basement, and every second felt like an eternity.When the automatic door opened, Pavel was already waiting for him, his eyes anxious behind the safety goggles.“Did you get it?”Alexei simply extended the box, his breathing still ragged.“Lyra had it.”Pavel opened the package with almost reverent care, his fingers hovering over the leaves without touching them directly. His eyes widened immediately.“My God… they’re alive. Perfectly preserved.” He looked at Alexei, his voice heavy with disbelief. “It’s not possible to grow this
A week had dragged by since Dmitry had brought Susan to the Rurik mansion.Seven days of silent hell, where time stretched like molten steel and every beat of his heart was torture.His exhausting routine kept him away from her, and like a condemned man trying not to break his own chains, he avoide
Alexei’s private room was a sharp contrast to the rest of the Rurik mansion. Modern, with sober lines, black leather sofas, an entire wall of smoked glass, and a bioethanol fireplace lit more for aesthetics than necessity.The room smelled of polished wood, soft smoke, and aged vodka. A silent refu
Dmitry was still watching Susan, his body relaxed in the armchair, but his mind alert. Her presence calmed the beast inside him… And, at the same time, provoked it. A paradox he still didn’t know how to manage.She broke the silence, her voice calm but with a discreet firmness.“Dmitry… Are you goi
After lunch, Dmitry decided to take her on a tour of the mansion. She accepted gladly, as she needed to relieve the feeling of having been locked in that room since the beginning of the morning.“Wow…” Susan let out, her eyes scanning every detail with genuine admiration. “This is straight out of a







