Chapter 3 - Wolves and Aristocracy in the Night

Brandon’s POV

”Brandon, what did you do? ” The look on Beta Luke’s face said it all.

“What do you think it looks like? I’m turning her!” I said, brushing off his concerns.

”In the middle of the street?! What’s gotten into you!?” Luke said and we stopped in our tracks.

“But you’re killing her! She’s already been turned by that vampire bloke you just killed!” Luke’s voice trembled with something—fear? Anger?

“What?” I froze for a moment, my mind racing. How could this be? I was stunned.

“I—But I… Fuck, Luke, I wasn’t thinking straight. I messed up!”

“A cross-breed can’t survive, Brandon! What the hell did you do?!”

“I didn’t mean to kill her, I swear! She was just… damn it, how was I supposed to know? I just wanted a bite of her spaghetti!”

Luke let out a sharp laugh, the absurdity of it all hitting him too. “We have to save her, Brandon. I don’t know if we can undo this, but let’s get her to the mansion safely and call for the healer.”

“Right, Luke. Let’s do that. I screwed up. The responsibility’s mine.”

But before we could start running again, we bumped into someone so unexpected that I drew in a rush of cold city air.

“What are you two puppies doing out here with a lady in need in your arms, hm?”

I raised an eyebrow.

The only one who could ever get away with such playful rudeness was none other than Wanda, the witch and oracle herself from the intricately designed Baroque Revival-style Berliner Dom—the famous cathedral of our city here in Berlin.

She had mysteriously appeared sometime when the previous parish church was being built, even before the dome existed, back in 1451. She was very old, that was certain.

”Oracle Walda, I could ask you the same question. This isn’t your neighborhood either,” I probed, stalling for time.

“She’s drunk and passed out. We need to take her home,” I quickly lied, knowing we were in deep trouble but hoping to get out of it.

Walda always made my skin crawl, and my fur bristled with unease.

“Brandon, Brandon, why do you insist on telling white lies? You know I know the truth, right?” she said, her eyes gleaming with amusement.

I gave her my best smile. “Well, I had to try, didn’t I?”

“Tsk, tsk. Foolish puppies. Since you happened to bump into me, of course, I must help. You clearly need it!” She pointed at the now limp girl in my arms.

I hesitated but then, compelled by some strange urge, I told her the truth. “I accidentally turned her. I don’t know why I did that… and, well… she was already claimed. Now we’re in the deep shit…”

I stuttered, the words tumbling out. “I wanted to take her to the manor, but…”

The witch tilted her head. “But your grandpa will nearly kill and flog you, am I right?”

I chuckled awkwardly, a mix of a howl and a laugh escaping me. “Yes, you know how he is, even if I’m the alpha!”

Walda, the witch of Berliner Dom, laughed heartily, her laughter echoing through the night. “I know, I know. But there was a time when he was a pup too, running up and down the streets of Berlin, doing foolish things just like you.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Seriously?”

Walda winked. “Of course. But it’s no use taking her to the manor. Let’s bring her home. Does she have an address? We can do our best to save her there.”

My heart started racing. “Is there a chance she can live?”

Walda looked thoughtful. “Only the heavens know, but I will give it a try.”

”Check her bag,” Walda grinned.

I almost wanted to smack my forehead. Of course! Why hadn’t I thought of that before?

Luke chimed in, “Thank you, Oracle Walda. I was surprised to see you. It’s very kind of you to offer your help.”

“Beta Luke, you do a fine job straightening out this tough puppy over here. Now, let’s go. What’s the address?”

I saw Luke take the hint, as my arms were fully occupied holding the honey-haired girl up.

He opened her black velvet evening clutch with a studded handle that shimmered beneath the streetlight.

Inside, he found a student ID, a city map, a credit card, a pepper spray can and—boom—her address on the Giraffe.

“It’s not far from here,” I said. “I know that building. You can even see the TV tower from there.”

I felt so unusually heavy, as guilt kept dragging me down. What had I done? What if she died? It would be all my fault. I prayed silently in my heart that Oracle Walda could help me out of this mess I’ve created.

We continued to run through the streets of Berlin, the towering architectural buildings surrounding us, their lights twinkling beneath the night sky.

Velan’s POV

I smiled to myself. “Angelica, oh Angelica! Soon, you will sing my name.”

I laughed as I heard her miserable wailing and crying while the wolf and my servant dragged her down the empty corridors of Charlottenburg Palace.

”You monster! What did you do to me?” She screamed and begged. But it was of no use.

I sighed, a gesture of weary superiority, and lowered my hand in disdain. “Angelica, the monster is now you!”

”Aah, you devil! I will never surrender! My father will rescue me, and he will kill you, kill all of you for what you’ve made me do! I hate you!”

I watched her with a calm, unshaken gaze. “Angelica, you will come to love and worship me. You just need some time to understand that,” I said coolly.

She shivered, her defiant gaze never leaving me, her eyes filled with hatred and defiance.

“Why me, Angelica, you ask?” I murmured, my voice dropping to a near whisper.

The question echoed through the cold, empty corridors of Charlottenburg Palace.

My gaze remained locked on her as she struggled against her restraints. “Because of your blood. Because of what runs through your veins. Because of what you are!”

I clenched my jaw, my thoughts swirling like a storm. “Isolde, your mother… she was the key.”

I looked at Angelica’s pitiful state, served her right for refusing me ”…The link that bound the old world to the new. Isolde, a woman with no idea she had power, lineage, influence!

I laughed dryly ”…She could’ve been my equal, my partner, had she not been so damn… stubborn!”

I tightened my grip on Angelica’s arm, pulling her deeper into the shadows. “But you, Angelica…”

I leaned in closer, my voice softening, almost reverent. “You carry her legacy. Her blood.”

I stopped, gazing down at her, my eyes filled with dark obsession. “You may not know it, but you’re the one to bring togheter everything I’ve been working towards!

I smiled, ”If I can bring you to understand, to accept that you’ll bear the next generation—the next step in my grand plan.”

My voice grew quieter, tinged with an eerie calmness. “You see, Angelica, you aren’t just any woman. You’re the daughter of Isolde von Schönberg, the last of her kind… just like me…”

I let out a slow, satisfied breath. “Through that bloodline, you hold a piece of my family’s past. But to me? You’re everything. Your blood—your connection to the power of your mother, the strength of that last royal lineage… that’s the foundation on which I will build my empire.”

A dark smile tugged at my lips as I whispered to myself, then spoke again, my voice nearly a hiss. “Through you, I can restore not just my name, but the true legacy of my family, to become royalty again. One built on power, influence, and control. The Prussian name will rise again, and it will be you, Angelica, who brings it forth.”

I looked down at her, still struggling, and let a dark laugh escape my lips as I reveled in the insanity of my thoughts. “You’re the one who will bear my heir. You will secure the future of my bloodline - Prussianheardt.”

A twisted smile crept across my face as I spoke again, quieter this time, my tone almost affectionate. “Oh, Angelica. Sweet Angelica. When you finally realize your place in all of this… when you understand the honor of carrying my child… you’ll see, just as I do, that you were always meant for this.”

I smirked, my gaze icing over her as I remembered that pathetic vampire. “Why do you think I had him drug your drink and drag you to that VIP room, Angelica? He got too handsy—sorry, love, it wasn’t meant to go that way.”

“I had Mark tell those loser wolves you were dead—bought me time to shape you, make you mine.” I flashed my best smile, all charm and venom.

“Mark, Jake, and Paul cleaned up the bloody mess, covered my tracks perfectly, let me slip deep into wolf territory.” I grinned wider, picturing Alpha Brandon and Beta Luke as the fools they were.

“But don’t worry I had Wolfie finish that useless vamp, piercing his neck and heart after Brandon slit his throat. Immortality’s gone, he can’t touch you again.” The weight of my choices settled like a crown as I leaned closer, savoring her trapped gaze.

I glanced up at the looming palace, my dark eyes filled with fevered determination. “You don’t know it yet, Angelica. But you will.

I imagined Angelica already in a red, fitted dress, dancing willingly by my side.