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The vampire lord’s power pressed down harder, making Percy whimper. “This is New Vale. We have rules. Treaties. Alliances built on mutual respect and protection.” His eyes held no mercy. “Perhaps it’s time the younger generation learned why. Stand up,” he commanded, his power lifting Percy to trembling feet. “All of you. Look at what your childish game almost started.”

The young nobles struggled upright, their perfect clothes now wrinkled and sweat-stained. Around them, the evidence of alpha fury was carved into marble—frost patterns from Zane’s rage, lightning burns from Ryker’s storm, solar scorches from Archer’s unleashed power.

“You see crystal fixtures and pretty lights.” Sebastian’s voice held centuries of deadly lessons. “I see three apex predators who could have legally executed you all for breaking peace treaties. The Whitlock Clan’s protection isn’t a game, children. It’s one of the foundations that keeps New Vale from becoming like other cities.”

“Where supernatural trafficking is common,” Kai added, his precise tone slicing through noble pride. “Where forced bonding is overlooked. Where entitled young vampires can hunt without consequences.” His tiger prowled behind golden eyes. “Is that what you want New Vale to become?”

“No, my lord,” Percy whispered, his aristocratic accent completely gone. Behind him, his friends shook their heads frantically.

“The Park Clan arranged this showcase,” Kai continued, “to strengthen alliances between species. ECLIPSE represents the future we’re building—different supernatural beings working in harmony.” His smile showed fangs. “Instead, you treated it like a hunting ground.”

Luca shifted slightly in Archer’s hold, drawing every eye. The young nobles flinched as three alphas’ power spiked again at the movement. Even Sebastian’s darkness rippled in response.

“Interesting,” the vampire lord murmured, too quietly for the chastised young ones to hear. His eyes caught something in the way the Whitlock brothers moved—how their power responded to Luca’s smallest motion.

Sebastian’s darkness suddenly constricted, wrapping around Percy’s throat like living shadow. The young vampire’s feet left the ground as his clan head lifted him with pure power.

“Perhaps…” Sebastian’s aristocratic voice turned lethal. “We should demonstrate why New Vale’s laws exist?”

Percy choked, his perfectly manicured hands clawing uselessly at the shadow collar. Behind him, his friends collapsed as Sebastian’s ancient power pressed down, crushing them against marble floors. The vampire lord’s true nature emerged—darkness incarnate, death given form.

“You see,” Sebastian continued conversationally, while Percy’s face turned purple, “in Storm Gate, this would be considered mercy. In Dark Haven, you wouldn’t have survived the first minute of your little hunt.”

Sebastian’s darkness flooded the ballroom like ancient poison, reminding everyone why vampire lords were feared. Around them, supernatural beings pressed themselves to walls, some sliding to the floor as crushing power filled every corner. Even those who’d lived centuries had forgotten what it felt like when an apex predator unleashed their true nature.

“In New Vale,” Sebastian continued conversationally while Percy dangled and choked, “we maintain civilization through careful restraint. Through rules. Through treaties.” His darkness constricted further. “Would you like to see what happens when we stop restraining ourselves?”

Lord Hutton rushed forward, his designer suit rumpling as he fell to his knees. “Alpha Blackthorn, please! He’s young, foolish?—”

“He’s heir to a noble house.” Sebastian’s voice held death itself. “He should know better.”

More noble parents emerged from the crowd, all dropping to their knees as Sebastian’s power pressed harder. Some of their children had already passed out, crushed under the weight of ancient power. Others sobbed openly, their perfect aristocratic masks shattered by primal terror.

Percy’s face turned from purple to blue, his expensive shoes kicking uselessly in the air. Behind him, Kai’s tiger power joined Sebastian’s darkness, forcing the remaining nobles to crawl forward and prostrate themselves before Luca.

“I believe”—Kai’s precise voice cut like claws—”you owe the prince something?”

“Please…” Percy wheezed, actual tears streaming down his face. “Prince… mercy…”

“Alpha Blackthorn, my lord.” Luca’s soft voice somehow carried more power than the noble parents’ desperate pleas. The prince stepped forward, though Archer moved with him, unwilling to release the boy completely. “They understand now.”

Sebastian’s ancient eyes found Luca’s, measuring… and then widening fractionally as something shifted in the air. For a moment, his darkness actually wavered—caught between the instinct to crush and an inexplicable urge to protect. To serve.

The vampire lord’s power faltered for the first time in centuries. He found himself wanting to kneel before thistiny prince, this gentle creature who radiated something both familiar and completely unknown. Around him, other ancient beings stirred restlessly, responding to whatever power Luca unknowingly projected.

“As you wish, little one,” Sebastian’s voice softened, though his grip on Percy remained firm. The contrast between his gentle tone to Luca and the merciless pressure on Percy was striking. “Though perhaps one final lesson?”

His darkness constricted once more, making Percy release a broken sob. Around him, most of his friends had already collapsed, their bodies unable to handle the combined weight of two apex predators’ unleashed power.

“Please,” Lord Hutton whimpered from his knees, his perfect suit rumpled with tears. “Alpha Blackthorn…”

“They won’t forget.” Luca’s quiet voice carried absolute certainty. “Will you, Percy?”

“Ne-Never,” he gasped as Sebastian’s hold loosened slightly. “Never, pr-prince. I-I swear…”

“Down,” Sebastian commanded, finally releasing the young noble. Percy crumpled to the marble floor like a broken doll, barely conscious. The vampire lord’s eyes never left Luca, studying the prince with new intensity. “You heard the prince. Thank him for his mercy.”

Percy crawled forward on trembling limbs, those still conscious helping their unconscious friends. Their parents remained on their knees, noble pride shattered under the weight of alpha power. The display would reshape clan politics for decades—the night New Vale’s most powerful alphas reminded everyone why their city wasn’t Dark Haven or Storm Gate.