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“My lord!” Percy scrambled toward Sebastian, actually crawling across the marble floor. His designer suit, soaked with fear-sweat, left a trail on the pristine surface. “I didn’t?—”

“Silence.” Sebastian’s power pressed down, making Percy freeze mid-crawl. The young noble’s mouth snapped shut so hard his fangs clicked.

The temperature dropped another ten degrees as Sebastian approached the Whitlock brothers. His darkness met their storm of power without yielding—equal predators acknowledging territory.

“Zane.” Sebastian’s voice carried centuries of careful diplomacy, though his eyes held no warmth when they flickered to Percy. “They’re foolish children who’ve never faced real consequences.”

“They coordinated a hunt.” Ryker’s storm hadn’t lessened. Lightning still danced between his fingers, scorching delicate patterns into the marble floor. “In neutral territory.”

“During a showcase meant to strengthen alliances,” Archer added, his arm still firmly around Luca.

“And they will be punished accordingly.” Sebastian’s dark power curled through the room like living shadow. “Though perhaps not with the death your wolves are currently contemplating.”

The air shifted again as Kai Park approached, his white suit somehow making him more predatory, not less. The tiger alpha moved with lethal grace, his commanders Jin and Jae forming a perfect triangle behind him—a mirror of the Whitlock brothers’ earlier formation.

Where Sebastian brought darkness, Kai radiated controlled violence. The Park Clan’s power had always been elegant savagery, and their alpha wore it like his designer suits—perfectly tailored and deadly sharp.

“My event,” Kai’s voice carried quiet authority, each word precise as a blade. “Was meant to celebrate unity between clans. Instead, I find hunter formations in my ballroom?”

His golden eyes swept over Percy’s scattered crew, still pressed against the walls or sprawled on the floor. The look held no pity. “In my territory. During my showcase. With ECLIPSE’s debut performance.”

The idol group had moved to the far side of the stage, though they watched the proceedings with professional interest. If anything, the display of alpha power had only enhanced their showcase—no one would forget the night three of New Vale’s most powerful alphas defended their prince while ECLIPSE’s crystal magic painted the air.

“This isn’t Dark Haven.” Sebastian’s silky voice carried through the silence. “Nor Storm Gate, where hunting parties are… tolerated. And certainly not Silver Crown, where ancient laws protect such… entitled behavior.”

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 this tiny 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.

But it was Luca who held Sebastian’s attention. Something about the prince… the way ancient power responded to his presence… it stirred memories from texts so old they’d crumbled to dust centuries ago.

“Fascinating,” Sebastian murmured, too quietly for anyone but Kai to hear. The tiger alpha’s golden eyes reflected the same recognition, the same instinctive response to whatever Luca unknowingly projected.

“The prince shows wisdom beyond his years,” Kai announced formally, though his precise tone carried hidden meaning.

His commanders shifted restlessly, their bodies responding to Luca’s presence in ways they couldn’t understand.

“Perhaps we should allow ECLIPSE to continue their showcase? In celebration of New Vale’s… unique approach to justice.”

The Whitlock brothers hadn’t moved from their protective formation around Luca, but their power had shifted again.

No longer just possessive—now there was something almost reverent in the way they surrounded the prince.

As if they’d finally recognized what they’d been instinctively protecting all along.

Sebastian’s darkness curled thoughtfully. He’d have to consult the ancient archives, the forgotten texts about powers that could make apex predators kneel…

“Take them,” Sebastian commanded his people, dark power still rippling through the air. “Ensure they’re… properly prepared for their service.” His smile promised additional consequences behind closed doors. No one humiliated the Blackthorn Clan without paying dearly.

As servants rushed to collect the broken young nobles, Luca shifted slightly in Archer’s hold.

All three brothers moved with the prince automatically, their power adjusting like planets orbiting a sun.

Sebastian caught Kai’s knowing look—they’d both seen this behavior before, in texts so ancient they were considered myths.

“Prince.” Sebastian bowed, lower than protocol required for a vampire of Luca’s rank. Around him, other ancient beings stirred restlessly as their bodies recognized what their minds hadn’t yet processed. “Your mercy honors New Vale’s traditions.”

“Thank you, my lord.” Luca’s soft voice carried that same inexplicable power. Behind him, the Whitlock brothers’ energy pulsed protectively, possessively… reverently.

Sebastian’s eyes remained fixed on Luca—a vampire prince who could make apex predators kneel. Three alpha brothers whose power responded to him like moths to flame. The way every ancient being in the room felt the inexplicable urge to both protect and serve…

“Well, little one,” Sebastian murmured as darkness curled around him. “You’ve just made New Vale’s political landscape much more… interesting.”