Vangeance Black Clover Novels & Stories

"End of the line, girl." I backed up until my shoulder hit the rough bark of a massive pine tree. There was nowhere left to run. I glared at him, refusing to show him the satisfaction of seeing me beg for mercy. "Do it," I spat bitterly. "It won't change the fact that you failed. You're a traitor, Vance, and history will remember you as nothing more than a coward." Vance’s face twisted in rage. "Die!" He pulled back his sword to thrust it forward, but before the metal could touch me, a sudden black blur crashed into him from the side with terrifying speed.

Making the bird dip. The Forever Knight alpha pivoted on one heel. Bracing himself so the limp wing couldn’t pass him. Having to fold back along the bird’s hip, instead. Locked there as Bernus’s momentum plowed him forward and into the ground. Sending up clods of dirt before sending him smashing into a wall of tree-trunks. Where he went still. The unflappable leader of the Forever Knights pivoted on that same foot, to return to his original stance. “Anyone else want to disagree?” He invited.

Instead of responding, Vance flips open the glove box and begins to pull out what looks like window cling. “Put this on your window," he orders, passing me the cling. “It is dark enough to keep us safe until we can find somewhere to stay.” Nodding, I do as I’m told while Vance works to cover his windows. Soon, the area around us will be dark enough to be safe, and I feel myself beginning to relax. At least, until I realize that we didn’t have anywhere safe to go that his clan knew about and Anthony still needed to be properly buried, or would the church handle that?

Holly drew a silver dagger, the light glinting off the edge as she stepped protectively in front of them. Cole coughed, blood speckling his lips, but his hand shot out, gripping hers tightly. The wolf inside him, starved for her presence, stirred. Power surged despite weakness, responding to her strength, her touch, their bond. Vance’s shadow appeared at the doorway, broad shoulders filling the frame, eyes cold and calculating. “Ah, the prodigal mate returns,” he said, voice smooth and cruel. “And my son is so… fragile. How convenient.”

Hundreds of Highbloods moved through the space, their laughter tinkling like broken glass, their scents a cloying mix of expensive perfume and rot. They stared at us. The Vanguard stood in a tight formation near the dais. We were a blot of ink on a page of gold. I wore my black mourning dress, the steel bead in my hair clicking softly against my jaw. Barzil was beside me in his dress uniform, stiff as a board, radiating a heat that wasn't just physical—it was protective anger. Viggo and Wolfy flanked us, their hands nowhere near the hors d'oeuvres and perilously close to their hidden weapons.

I needed to step up for myself. “I thought you were going to die out there, so sad you won’t be able to join your father.” She clicked her tongue shaking her head. “I most certainly do not need you pity, and I have no wish to join the dead. Actually, I have quite the-” “Leave.” A knife stabbed my chest at Ethan’s disruption, his voice cold. I could also feel his hard gaze on me, meanwhile, Chloe was smirking with victory. “Chloe,” Now it was Chloe who was utterly shocked.

But from the second floor, the men in black saw that scene and met her petrified gaze. Clover immediately pushed through the sea of humans and ran to the parking lot as fast as she could. Every step behind her felt like a predator's. Panting, she crouched next to a huge black-tinted hybrid van. Her heart thumped against her skin so hard as if it were going to jump out of her chest. Beads of sweat streamed down her chin; shudders continued running down her spine. Staying close behind the vehicle, she prayed with all her might that they would not find her. Not again.

The air felt cooler here, the hush of the clearing broken only by the occasional chirp of crickets. “This is the bet,” Vance said, folding his arms. “Make the Bloodshade bloom before moonrise. Thirty minutes. No tricks, no help from others. Do that, and the badge is yours.” I stared at him, disbelief washing over me. “You know that’s impossible. The Bloodshade only blooms under the full moon. I can’t change nature’s timing.” Vance’s smile was slow and cruel. “Exactly. That’s what makes it fun. I don’t have to win... I just have to watch you lose.”

Claws, teeth, fury. It’s working. We’re holding. Then Cove cries. Not a battle cry. A kid cry. Tears. Sobs. Lost. The air changes. Every wolf on the field stops. Duskbane. Redfang. Blackmire. All of them. The black vines erupt again. From the cracks. From the rubble. From the bodies. They don’t grab soldiers this time. They grab wolves. One Duskbane wolf screams as vines drag him down. Then another.

It was so intense, like they were telling me something, they held a promise. But promise of what? Destruction. A small voice in the back of my mind hummed. Fresh tears escaped me as I started crying. Vengeance. That's what his looks held. Hunger for revenge. I gulped as the severity of the situation dawned on me. The man seemed insane and I had to stay away from him. Or else he might destroy me. And this time, I will be shattered completely.