bChapter /bb108 /b

    bThorne’s /bPOV

    I stood by the door, the weight of every set of eyes in the room pressing down on me. Litea was a few steps behind her presence just as fierce as mine, I could feel the tension in the air like a live wire, sparking with every unspoken threat

    Then, just as the silence thickened, Thome stood. He hadn’t moved an inch until now, but the moment he rose, could feel his power radite. He took ba /bstep toward me, a hand stretched out in my direction with a warm, inviting smile,

    A part of me hesitated. But as his hand wrapped around mine, all the walls I’d built up melted away, and I allowed myself to sit beside him, Under the tablecloth, his fingers brushed against mine, offeringfort in this hostileden.

    “Fabulous,” Lance’s voice rang out, sharp and triumphant, shattering the fragile peace.

    He stood, beaming like a cat who’d just caught a bird, “Ladies and gentlemen, we have two very special guests today. And I don’t think I need to introduce them, do 11 His eyes flicked to Thorne and me, amusement dancing behind them.

    The room fell into an eerie silence. No one bdared /bspeak, but their res felt like daggers.

    Anky man shot to his feet, the words spilling out like venom. “My King!“. His voice boomed across the hall. The man was long–faced, his features sharp and cold, like a predator sizing up its prey. “These two–these people–they are our enemies. Why bthe /bbhell /bare you serving them wine? why the hell are you being nice to them?”

    A murmur of agreement rippled through the roomb, /bthe hostile eyes never leaving in.

    Lance just smiled. “Alpha Thorne, moet my Great General, Danton. And his foster son, Andre. He gesturedzily at the young man sitting beside Danton.. Andreb, /bbbarely /beighteen, sipped his wine,pletely uninterested in the spectacle unfolding before him.

    Thorne’s voice was cool, calm: “No need for introductions. We’ve crossed paths before, haven’t we, Danton? I remember you. You were the one who lost half your men to me. How bmany /bdo you have left, by the way? You still got enough to form a decent army?”

    Danton’s jaw clenched, the fury practically radiating off him. He mmed a fist onto the table, rattling the ssware. “Don’t get too cocky, Thorne,” he snarledb, /bhis voice dripping with malice, “You’re in our hands now. Don’t think for ba /bsecond you’re safe. I could skin you alive if i wanted to.”

    A dark chockle escaped Thorne’s lips. “Ambitious. But tell me, Danton… does yourpetence match your ambition? How about a little test?” Thorne’s eyes gleamed. “One on one. Just byou /band me, right here.”

    Danton froze. The bravado drained from his face as he took a step back, his chair scraping against the floor. “W–Wait…one on one?”

    Thome’s knuckles cracked as his hands clenched. “That’s right. bYou /band me, Right here. Right now.”

    The air around us seemed to thicken, the tension palpable. Danton stumbled again, his eyes darting toward the soldiers in the room. “I bdon’t /bneed to fight youb,/b” he stammered, his bvoice /brising with false bravado.

    “Oh, don’t you?” ra scoffed from beside me, her voice biting her eyes never leaving Danton, “Or are you just too scared?”

    Danton’s face flushedb, /bba /bmix of rage and humiliation twisting his features. He looked like he might explode. “Enough” he spat

    Lance, who had been sitting back quietly, finally mmed his bfork /bonto his te, sending a sharp tter echoing across the room. “Silence” His voice, sharp as a whip, brought the bchaos /bto an abrupt halt. “There will be no fighting. I’ve invited these two as guests,” Lance continued, his voice unyielding. “Everyone will treat them with respect. Is that understood?”

    Kimberly, who had been lounging beside Lanceb, /bcoiled a strand of her crimson hair around her fingerb, /ba yful smile dancing on her lips. “And we’re not even allowed to know why, Lance?” she purred, her voice honeyed and sof

    Lance leaned over, his lips brushing against her hand. “You’ll get your answers soon, my blove/b,” he murmured, a smirk ying on his face. “But not this one. Not yet

    Kimberly zed, her eyes sparkling with mischiel. “Such a bease,”

    But ra wasn’t having it. “We demand to know why” Her voice was cold, slicing through the air like a knife. Her eyes locked onto Lance’s think you’re nning something dark here, Lance,” she said, her voice filled with icy certainty. “And you need to give it up. Because, belie stop you before you can even think about seeding in whatever you’re plotting.”

    Casps filled the room. Banton, his eyes wide with disbelief, sputtered, “My King! You heard them! They’re threatening your His voice cracked with a mixture of fear and anger. “Are you really going to let them sit here?”

    The room buzzed with nervous whispers. The panic was palpable, but Lance, ever calm, didn’t flinch. Ho simply leaned back in his chalk, his smile waveringb. /b

    “Gamma ra,” Lance sighed, as if weary of her usationsb, /b“why do you balways /bhave to think of me as the viin! Can’t I just want to befriends with you?”

    ra’s eyes narrowed, her bvoice /ba low growl. “You’re a murderer, Lance. You killed my friends. We will never be friends” Her hand hovered over her knife, thing it slightly from the table, making the room tense with fear.

    Someone gasped. “She’s going to battack /b

    ra’s voice was cold bas /biceb, /bbdeadly /bin its precision. “We don’t know what bkind /bof sick game you’re ying here, but mark my bwords/b…we will find a way to kill you if ites to that. And if we can’tb, /bwe’ll bring an army here. We’ll burn this bce /bto the ground.” Her eyes bored into his “By the time byour /bmen are dead, can you still call yourself a king?”

    Aman jumped from his seat, a panicked expression on his face. “We should stop them now!” he shouted.

    But Lance simply waved his hand, as if dismissing them all “Calm down,” he said with a devilish smile. “Gamma ra and Alpha Thorne can’t leave this city. His words hung in bthe /bbair/b, thick with menace. “They’re trapped.”

    ra’s heart skipped. “What the hell do you mean we can’t leave?” she demanded, her voice shaking with a mix of bconfusion /band fear

    Lance smiled like a cat with ba /bmouse in its paw. “Did you forget something, ra?” He asked, his voice dripping with amusement. “Remember the snacks that Prisca bgave /byou before you left Cragen Fortress?”

    ra’s eyes widened as everything clicked into ce. The snacks. She’d trusted Prisca–too much. Mi, always close to Prisca, must’ve been involved They hadn’t even checked them.

    b“/bbWhat /bdid you put in those bsnacks/b?” ra’s voice came out hoarse, barely a bwhisper/b.

    Lance raised his ss, as if toasting her “Rogue’s blood,” he said, bas /bcasually as one might say “wine.”

    ra and Thorne exchanged a quick, knowing nced. The realization hit them both like ba /bpunch to the gut

    “What does it do?” Thome asked, his voice dark.

    bLance’s /bgrin only i grew wider. “Oh, a lot of things” he said. “With our blood in your bsystem/b, you’re bound to this city. You can’t leave. You can’t shit.”

    ra’s fingers tightened around her knife, but her fury only grew. Lance’s casual cruelty was beyond anything she had imagined.

    “Don’t look at me like that,” Lance sighed, as if disappointed in her. “I just want to spend more time with you, ra, Be friends” His grin stretched wider, almost predatory, “In fact, I even prepared a little tertainment for you.”

    Before she could react, the doors swung open, and a massive cage was wheeled in, insideb, /bsi men–rogues–and a wom huddled together. The woman was shrieking, toying to evade the men, her beyes /bwild with terror

    bra’s /bstomach turned. “What the hell are you bdoing/b?” she snarled, her fury rising

    ely older than a bchild/b,

    bLance /bughedb, /ba dark, twisted sound. “These men are desperate, in need of a woman. Why don’t we ce our bets, and see how long it takes for them to catch her!”

    – bet ten minutes,” Danton called out.

    “Five,” another rogue yelled.

    ra’s hands shook with age. Without thinking, she rushed toward the cape, her hemt pounding. She grabbed the bars, but the inch was i unmovable

    “Give it up, ra,” Lance’s voice rang out, casual and mocking. “Only I have the key”

    The woman’s cries filled the rooms as one of the rogues lunged at her. Just then, a knife flow through the air, striking him in the temple. Blood spraye everywhere as his head exploded in a bloody mess

    Thome lowered his hand, his face cold as store. “Back the hell away from her,” he hissed.

    And in that moment, it was clear whatever Lance had nned, it wasn’t going to go his way,