Nyx's POV
The world blurred into streaks of shadow and firelight.
I'd been fast before. Too fast for most of my unit to track, slipping between lines like smoke. My wolf was compact, lethal, built for speed and stealth. But this—this was something else entirely.
The King's arm locked around my waist, his chest a furnace against my back, and we were gone. His stride devoured marble, corridors, stairwells, and whole wings of the palace. His feet barely touched the floor before the next leap carried us forward.
Wind whipped my braid against my cheek. The palace vanished behind us. Trees closed in, shadows bent around us, and the air thickened with pine and night.
"Put me down!" I snapped, breathless, my Glock still clutched in my bleeding hand. "Your Highness, I need to check in with my crew—"
A growl vibrated through my spine, low and warning, like the rumble of a predator not amused. He didn't break stride.
"Dorian!" I barked, twisting against his grip. "I don't take orders from anyone but my commander—"
His arm tightened, cutting the argument off with the sheer force of his body. My wolf shivered, traitorous, pressing into him even as my assassin training screamed to fight.
We vaulted a ridge and landed without a sound.
Miles blurred beneath us. Impossible. No one could match that pace—not me, not anyone. My stomach turned with the speed, dizziness sparking across my vision. I bit it back with sheer stubbornness.
He slowed only when we broke into a clearing far from the palace walls, moonlight drenching us in silver. The scent of moss and iron filled my lungs.
Finally, he stopped.
The forest was still. No pursuit. No sound but the harsh thrum of my pulse in my ears—and his. Deep, steady, like the heart of the world.
He set me down.
I stumbled once, my wolf snarling at me to stop showing weakness. His hand caught my arm, steadying me with infuriating ease. His touch burned hotter than my wound.
I jerked away. "I said put me down, not play hero."
His lips curved in something that wasn't quite a smile. More like a challenge. "You think I carried you to play?" His voice was dark steel, rough with possession. "I carried you because you are mine. And nothing touches what's mine."
The word slammed through me like a blade unsheathed. My wolf howled, triumphant. I swallowed hard, fighting the heat pooling low in my belly.
I dragged my eyes away, scanning the trees. "I need comms. I need to check in. The Blades—"
He tilted his head, listening to something I couldn't hear. Then his voice dropped, vibrating along a frequency older than words. Beta. Status.
The silence stretched until a voice crackled faintly in my mind—not mine, not his. A mind-link. My knees almost buckled.
On it, my King. Healer secured. The royal family redirected through the eastern passages. Secured in the fallout compound.
And the threat? Dorian's thought was as sharp as his voice.
Neutralized. Sweep underway.
His Beta hesitated. You good, Dorian?
A beat of silence.
Then his answer, like a growl wrapped in satisfaction: Better than good.
The link snapped closed.
I blinked at him. "Two hundred years old and you never thought to tell anyone you had tricks like that?"
He turned to me fully now, the moon catching the cut of his jaw, the silver in his eyes burning brighter than prophecy ever promised.
"Two hundred years," he said, voice rough, "and I've been searching. If I didn't find her, if I didn't claim, mate, mark…" His hand curled at his side, claws just under the surface. "My time would end. My kingdom would fall to my brother. And you don't want my brother on that throne."
I scoffed. "What does that have to do with me?"
His eyes dragged over me, from the blood dripping down my arm to the Glock still steady in my grip. His wolf was at the surface, hungry and unashamed.
"Everything." His gaze locked on mine, searing. "Because the moment I looked at you, prophecy ended. And fate began."
My pulse spiked. My body betrayed me again, every nerve singing for him, every instinct screaming to push him away.
"You claimed me," I whispered, low and furious. "In front of everyone. Do you have any idea what you've done?"
"Yes." His hand lifted, brushing the braid at my temple, rough thumb dragging fire across my skin. "I've found my mate."
Heat flared between us. Dangerous, primal, inescapable. My wolf arched inside me, pressing harder, demanding what came next.
The word echoed in my chest: Claimed.
But the others still waited: Mated. Marked.
And from the look in his eyes, Dorian Voss had no intention of waiting long.
He leans in, his breath hot against my skin, lips brushing the shell of my ear as his voice drops to a growl."You will not run from me, Nyx. You will not deny me. Tonight, you are mine."