VANE’S POV It was in the wee hours of the morning as I marched towards Rujin’s quarters in anger and annoyance.
I was irritated and annoyed and wondered how I was going to get him out of the mess created last night.
The guards who were stationed outside took one look at my face, and they all lowered their eyes, knowing well the kind of temper I had.
The heavy titanium doors of Rujin’s office hissed shut behind me once I stepped in, and I bowed to Don Rujin in greeting.
Rujin sat at the obsidian briefing table, swirling amber liquor in a crystal glass while Koro sat opposite him on a low bench.
The golden thread of the Thermal Lock stretched between them, and none of them looked happy.
“Don Rujin, I hope you had a good rest,” I pretended as I spoke up.
He nodded and raised his hand to dismiss me.
” I am here because the perimeter sensors on Level 44 detected a thermal breach three hours ago.
I need answers as to what happened, and I know that the council and the syndicate will definitely make a mountain out of it.
” I reported, expecting them to deny it.
Rujin didn’t look up when he responded, “The security grid was lagging or something.
Have you checked it well?” “It wasn’t.” I insisted and wondered why the hell Rujin would deny such a serious matter.
“It was.” He muttered through gritted teeth.
“I built the grid.” I snapped, and that finally earned me a glance.
I stepped closer to the Don and asserted, “A biological signature matching a Mid-Spire Panther-shifter entered your private ventilation shaft.” Rujin took a slow sip.
“And?” “The perimeter guards were ordered to stand down.” I tried to control my temper.
“They were.” He nodded.
“By you.” I pointed out.
Rujin leaned back.
“Your point?” “My point,” I said, “is that an iron-class rebel assassin entered the private quarters of the heir to the Marks Dynasty and left alive.” There were pin drop silence, and steam curled from the rim of Rujin’s glass, and I felt the tension rise between him and Koro.
“You let him walk out,” I added.
“The threat was contained.” Rujin shrugged his shoulders in response and seemed to brush me off, yet I could feel the way my beast was agitated, and my temper was rising.
“You call that contained, Don?” I raised my eyebrows and fisted my hands at my sides.
“It is now.” He nodded.
Laughter escaped my mouth, and in a matter of seconds, I realized that I had made a dangerous mistake.
Across the room, Koro’s jaw tightened, and the tether flickered between them, and I knew both of them were holding back.
“Do not insult my intelligence, Don Rujin” I huffed.
His eyes lifted fully, molten orange, and there was danger laced there that was just lurking and waiting to attack.
“Careful, Commander.” Rujin drawled, and he was still dismissing me.
“No.” The word came out sharper than intended, and then I added: “For ten years I’ve cleaned up after you.” The room grew hot, and Rujin’s eyes widened for a second.
“When the Board demanded higher quotas, who altered the energy reports?” “Vane—” “When your core nearly burned through Sector Four, who convinced the Council it was a substation malfunction?” “Enough.” He thundered.
“No.
Not yet.” I planted both palms on the table, and the whole room grew hotter, and I listened to the low growl that escaped Koro’s mouth.
“I have covered every mistake, every incident, every flare-up.” I insisted.
Rujin’s gaze hardened.
“My loyalty has never wavered.” I pointed out, hoping to reason with him for the mistake he had made by letting the Panther go.
I knew it had something to do with Koro, but I did not care one bit.
I did not give a damn.
I was worried that Rujin had gotten soft.
“I know.” He nodded.
“Then tell me why,” I demanded from him, knowing well the answer would annoy me, but still I needed to hear it from him.
His jaw flexed as the room fell silent for a minute, but finally, he spoke.
“Because Koro asked me to and I had no choice but to agree,” He muttered.
My anger stalled.
“What?” Rujin turned toward the Koro and pointed out, “Koro.” Koro did not look away, and his eyes burned with rage.
“The intruder was his brother,” Rujin added, and Koro’s expression remained unreadable.
“A Panther named Micah.” I stared at him as Rujin continued.
“When I pinned the cat to the wall, Koro released enough frost to suppress my aura.” My eyes widened.
“That’s impossible.” “So, I thought.” Rujin chuckled in annoyance, and the tether pulsed brighter.
After a minute, he continued to speak, and Rujin’s voice dropped.
“Then he gave me a choice.” Koro finally spoke.
“Micah had to leave.
I could not allow my brother to be caught in this madness.” His voice was calm.
Too calm.
“Or?” I demanded.
Koro met my gaze.
“Or I break the Lock.” The words hit harder than any threat.
“You would’ve done it?” I snickered at Koro in shock.
“Yes.” There was no hesitation or uncertainty from Koro, and finally, I understood how dangerous he was to Rujin.
I looked at Rujin and demanded, “He threatened suicide?” “He threatened mutual destruction,” Rujin corrected and watched the way Koro didn’t deny it.
“If Micah died, I would’ve severed the bond.” He snickered, and I could feel the way he was assertive.
“You would’ve killed your sister.” I pointed out a fact that he might have overlooked.
A flicker crossed Koro’s face, and there was pain and resolve at the same time.
“Micah is my family.” “And Rujin?” I growled at him Koro’s eyes shifted toward the man tethered to him, and the silence that followed was somehow worse than any answer.
Rujin gave a dark laugh.
“See the problem now, Commander?” I did and realized that for years I had viewed the Thermal Lock as a leash.
A restraint.
A mechanism of control.
Standing between them now, I realized how wrong I had been, and the finale dawn of the matter was that the leash worked both ways.
Had we done the right thing by bringing Koro to Rujin?