Haunted

POV Kael:

The silvery moonlight seeping through the massive terrace glass offered a fleeting sliver of peace, contrasting sharply with the blonde bitch currently on her knees, desperately sucking my cock. My inner wolf demanded a physical release, a primal urge for tension relief, yet I felt zero interest in her enthusiastic bobbing and moaning. My mind was elsewhere, trapped in a relentless, maddening loop. I closed my eyes, and those piercing silver eyes that had plagued my nights instantly flashed behind my eyelids, glowing in the dark expanse of my mind.

Seeking an end to the hollow sensation, I grabbed the back of her head with both hands. I slammed my cock deep into the depths of her throat, making her gag and gasp for breath. The twitching rush of my release hit hard, offering a momentary, drawn-out second of relaxation before harsh reality snapped back into focus.

She pulled away, gasping for air, and immediately tried to mask her choking with a high-pitched, seductive purr. The grating sound scraped against my eardrums, turning my post-orgasmic calm into instant rage. My tolerance for this empty physical contact had reached its limit.

"GET OUT!" I roared, my voice vibrating off the heavy stone walls.

I grabbed her bare throat, hauling her slender frame straight up from the floor. Her manicured nails clawed uselessly at my forearm, her feet kicking empty air as I dragged her across the Persian rug. I strode across the bedroom, yanked the heavy oak door open, and threw her unceremoniously out into the cold stone hallway. She landed hard on her naked ass. I didn't give a fuck that she was bare and scrambling on the floor. I slammed the door shut, cutting off her whimper, and turned back toward the quiet terrace.

A low, amused laugh echoed from the corner of the room. Vaughn, my Beta and biological brother, strolled out from the shadows of the hall entrance, casually shaking his head. "You could have just thrown her over the balcony," he offered with a wicked, helpful grin.

"And waste my valuable time paying someone to clean her filthy blood off the pristine exterior stone of the pack house? I don't think so." A harsh laugh slipped from my chest. I stalked over to the crystal decanter resting on my desk and poured us both a generous glass of aged whiskey.

Vaughn leaned against the desk, taking the glass from my hand. He studied my agitated state, his green eyes narrowing as he noted my foul mood. "Mood still as peachy as ever, I see. Still having the nightmares?"

"Two fucking years," I muttered darkly, staring into the amber liquid before downing it in a single, swift gulp. The burn did nothing to numb the frustration tight in my chest. I poured another glass. "Each time they get clearer. It’s like the air is being sucked directly from my lungs, leaving me suffocating in the dark. But I get intensely aroused at the exact same fucking time. It’s maddening."

Attempting to shift my brooding focus and take my mind off the suffocating dreams, Vaughn transitioned the conversation to the upcoming Fighters Championship we were hosting. "Sounds like you need a proper distraction to get your blood pumping. Good thing we set up the fights. And speaking of the championship," he paused, tapping his glass, "rumor circulating the underground pits says Vulkan is bringing a new toy."

I scoffed loudly, leaning against the heavy wood furniture. Vulkan was a known scumbag of a trainer who operated on cheap tricks and brute force. I had zero respect for the man.

"An undefeated fighter," Vaughn continued, smoothly dropping a detail that hooked my attention. "A female. And word is, she recently bested Tor."

I paused, the whiskey lingering on my tongue. "A female? Hah, don't make me laugh."

Tor was Alpha Darius’s champion, a massive hybrid wolf-vampire known for his beastly strength and lethal instincts. Taking him down was no small feat, let alone for a female fighter in the underground circuit. The claim sounded absurd, though the sinister, dark intrigue brewing in my chest was undeniable.

"Don't knock it until you see it," Vaughn countered, a purely evil smile stretching across his face. He knew exactly how to reel me in. "If she is truly as exceptionally good as the whispers claim, then this will definitely be worth the entertainment."

"Then let's hope she bleeds well. Are the invites out?"

"Sent them all out before I found that sack of flesh crying on her ass in the hallway," Vaughn laughed, stretching his arms over his head.

"That is why you are my Beta, not just my brother," I pointed a finger at him, moving past the desk. "Now get out. I need to wash this bitch's saliva off my skin."

I stood under the scalding spray of the shower for nearly an hour, letting the brutal heat scrub the physical stench and hollow desperation from my body. Once dressed, I bypassed my bedroom and retreated directly to the secluded quiet of my private office. The oversized brown leather chair groaned as I sank into it, my muscles heavy.

Tonight, the mundane trivialities of pack politics—rogue attacks, border disputes, desperate alphas trying to marry off their daughters to secure alliances—bored me. My dark thoughts drifted instead to the tragic, blood-soaked history that built this very room.

Our gentle mother used to tell us the Moon Goddess designed a specific mate for everyone. Unfortunately for her, she never got to live that truth. She was forced to marry our bastard of a father, a tyrant who kept a rotating door of side pieces. When she eventually managed to locate her true, fated mate years later, our father discovered the bond. Being the cold-hearted monster he was, he ruthlessly tortured and murdered the man directly before her horrified eyes.

Grief consumed her. She locked herself away in her chambers, permitting only Vaughn and me to enter. We spent our youth watching her slowly kill herself from an inescapable grief. With her final, dying breaths, she cursed him, vowing that she would eternally haunt him from the grave.

Her curse worked flawlessly. Our father eventually lost his sanity. He spent his final months aimlessly wandering the dense bayou woods in a manic state, naked and covered in mud, screaming Delphine’s name into the empty night. The severed mate-bond he could never force her to accept shattered his mind. He finally died in the dirt, broken by a bond she could never truly return to him.

The heavy silence of the office pressed against my temples. Exhausted by the memories, I drifted into an uneasy sleep right there in the leather office chair.

Instantly, the suffocating blackness swallowed me. The eerie stillness immobilized my body. I couldn't move. I couldn't make a sound. Then, they appeared. Those piercing, ethereal silver eyes, staring through the dark, pinning me down, sparking that twisted, maddening arousal in my blood until my chest ached with the need to breathe.

Click.

The sharp sound of a door closing snapped me awake. Footsteps approached the desk.

I rubbed my large hands over my face, groaning gruffly as I peered through my fingers. Vaughn stood there, his physical presence pulling me from the nightmare. His piercing green eyes—our mother’s eyes—looked down at me. Standing at six-foot-four, with his light sandy brown hair and perpetual tan, he looked unfazed by the late hour.

"What time is it?" I grumbled, my voice rough from sleep.

"About two hours until show time," he announced briskly. He reached over, seamlessly handing me a fresh glass of charred barrel bourbon to cut through the lingering sleep grogginess.

I took the glass, leaning my elbows heavily on the large cherry desk. I swirled the amber liquid, inhaling the sharp, smoky aroma. "Are the final security preparations ready for the arena?"

"Complete. Corbin is finishing up the final perimeter details as we speak. Almost everyone has arrived," Vaughn replied, leaning against the floor-to-ceiling window that overlooked the misty Louisiana bayou. "No surprise Vulkan isn't here yet. He loves a dramatic entrance."

"Good," I nodded smoothly, projecting quiet authority. "Corbin has been proving himself worthy of the Gamma title, even if he started out inexperienced."

Vaughn chuckled lightly, his gaze fixed on the dark swamps outside. "Taking over the clan at twenty and nineteen gave us plenty of practice in molding our ranks. Six years later, we run the most feared clan in the South."

I let out a dark, humorous laugh, reminiscing about the brutal, blood-paved ascent to power following our mad father’s death. Rival clans had thought we were weak, young targets. We slaughtered them all, painting the borders red. It was a ruthless takeover that rightfully earned me the terrifying moniker, Bloodvoid. My second-tier warriors had easily decimated their strongest fighters.

A sudden static hum vibrated in my head.

Vulkan’s convoy just pulled up, Corbin’s voice communicated efficiently through the pack mind-link.

Good. Show them to their staging tent. We will be down shortly, I replied smoothly, closing the link.

"Looks like our final guest has arrived," I said, standing up from the heavy leather chair. I stretched my arms, physically stretching away the tight tension coiled in my heavy muscles. A sudden, nerve-rattling wave of electrical anticipation sharply rolled right up my spine, making the hairs on my arms stand on end.

Vaughn downed the rest of his bourbon and set the glass on the desk. "Shall we join the entertainment?"

We stepped out of the office and into the sprawling, stone-lined hallways of the pack house. A sense of deadly stillness filled the corridors as my heavily armed elite guards seamlessly fell into formation directly behind Vaughn and me. We moved with purposeful strides, making our way out of the estate and heading straight toward the massive outdoor fighting arena carved into the earth.

The distant roar of the gathering crowd bled through the thick night air, carrying the distinct scent of sweat, dirt, and impending violence.

Oh, this is exactly my kind of fun, my inner wolf, Varg, laughed darkly in the recesses of my mind. He was practically vibrating with raw, violent energy, pacing against the confines of my ribs. Are we going to play too? He licked his sharp, protruding fangs, flashing a sinister, toothy grin in my mind’s eye.

I chuckled lowly under my breath, feeling an unexpected, unspoken rush of pure euphoria course through my veins as we filed into the heavy metal elevator taking us down to the arena grounds. The metallic gears ground together, descending into the pit.

Depends on whether I find a worthy opponent or not, I answered him silently.

Let the “Fights” begin.