The music was too bright.
Laughter too loud. Faces too flushed with wine and power.
I walked into the banquet hall wrapped in silk and venom, my shoulders squared beneath the weight of my plan. It was supposed to feel like the beginning of the end.
But before I made it two steps in, a hand closed around my wrist.
Kade.
He looked sharp in black, silver trim on his collar, eyes scanning for cameras even as he leaned close. His voice was low. Tense.
"I couldn't get him out."
My breath snagged.
"What?"
"The boss—he's been dragging him everywhere all day," Kade murmured. "I couldn't get close without making it obvious. I didn't want to risk tipping anyone off."
A thousand thoughts collided behind my eyes. All of them bad.
"He's here?" I asked.
Kade didn't answer. Just gave a slight nod toward the head table.
And there he was.
Nine.
Sitting at the Supreme Leader's feet like a well-trained pet. Head bowed. Shoulders bare. Hair brushed to perfection and tucked behind his ear like someone wanted him to look pretty. Owned.
He wasn't restrained, but he may as well have been.
Something coiled tight in my gut. Too exposed.
I hadn't accounted for this. He wasn't supposed to be in the room. He was supposed to be safe—waiting with the others, ready to be pulled away before the chaos started. But now…
Now he was a centerpiece.
I pasted on a smile. One of the empty, practiced ones I'd perfected here. "I'll figure it out," I told Kade quietly. "Stick to the plan. Get the signal ready."
He hesitated, like he wanted to argue. But then he nodded once and melted into the crowd.
I took my seat.
The hall was loud and glittering, filled with men who thought they were gods. The chandeliers sparkled like sharpened teeth above them. Gold glinted from every surface. I watched it all, felt the pulse of the room. Counted breaths. Calculated timing.
And from across the room, I felt him.
A thin thread pulled taut in my chest—the bond flickering faintly, like Nine wasn't sure it was safe to reach for me. But he knew I was here. I saw it in the way his fingers twitched. In the small turn of his head, just slightly toward me.
Alpha.
Just that.
Soft. Scared.
My nails dug into my palm.
Not yet.
The plan was in motion.
But if anything went wrong—I wouldn't leave him behind.
No matter what.
Chapter 189: Delay the Strike
I had a hundred calculations running in my head—timers, exits, movement patterns. Every minute at this banquet was supposed to bring me closer to the end. But none of those plans accounted for Nine kneeling at the Supreme Leader's feet.
And now, I couldn't breathe right.
He sat on the ground, just to the right of the boss's chair. His posture was perfect, unmoving, like a statue carved out of obedience. His eyes were downcast. Bare feet tucked beneath him. The soft fabric of his outfit was barely enough to count as clothing—white, thin, suggestive. Designed to humiliate. Designed to make the guests feel like they could reach out and touch without consequence.
And they did. Casual, fleeting, bold touches. Fingers drifting over his hair. A hand brushing along his shoulder. One man even had the audacity to run a thumb down Nine's throat as if admiring the curve of a wine glass.
I watched it all. And I did nothing.
Because I couldn't. Not yet.
I held my place near the center of the table, close enough to power to be watched, far enough not to be noticed. Kade had already given me the look—the subtle tilt of his head, the flick of his fingers below the table. He was in position. Kol would be waiting by the back security hallway, ready to override the enclosure gates. I just needed to give the word. The command. One phrase through the loudspeaker and the creatures I'd trained would come running.
They would tear this place apart.
But I couldn't speak. I couldn't even blink right.
Not with Nine sitting at that monster's feet.
I tightened my grip on the silver fork resting next to my plate, imagining the way it might feel plunging into the side of the boss's throat. One clean strike. A second of chaos. Enough to grab Nine and run.
Except it wouldn't be clean. Not in front of this many people. Not with this many guards. And if I struck too early—if the creatures came while Nine was still this close to the boss—
No. He would be collateral. A shield. A message. A spectacle.
I shut my eyes briefly, then opened them. I forced my hands to relax.
We wait.
I glanced across the table at Kade, who gave me the slightest raise of his brows. A question.
I shook my head once. His gaze flicked to the Supreme Leader and Nine, then back to me. Understanding settled behind his eyes.
We wait.
The decision clicked into place like iron sliding into a lock. It made the air colder. Sharper. More dangerous.
I could feel Nyx's tension ripple through me, like a second skin crawling just beneath my own. We can't risk it, she murmured. Not with Nine so close.
I know.
But what if something happens? What if we wait too long?
Then we improvise, I told her. But we don't strike until he's safe.
I reached for my glass of wine and took a slow sip, letting the sharpness of it anchor me. The laughter around me swelled, the music drifting into a dizzy waltz. No one at this table knew they were dining beneath a guillotine.
The boss laughed at something a man beside him said, tilting his head back just enough for Nine to flinch—barely perceptible, but I saw it. I felt it.
A pulse down the bond. Small. Frayed.
Alpha, Nine whispered. Just a whisper of thought, no voice to it. No shape. Like he didn't even realize he'd sent it.
I pressed back gently. Just a brush of reassurance. I couldn't say more. I couldn't reach too far or risk him reacting visibly. But I needed him to know I was here.
He didn't shift. Didn't blink. But the bond tugged faintly in return.
Kade leaned toward me under the guise of reaching for a drink.
"I couldn't get him out," he muttered, barely audible above the din. "The boss hasn't let him out of sight all night."
"I see that."
Kade exhaled, grim. "So what now?"
"We wait."
His jaw flexed. "How long?"
"Until he leaves. The boss always disappears before midnight. Takes Nine with him to… entertain."
Kade looked away, and I saw the disgust flicker across his face before he could hide it.
"I'm not risking Nine in the crossfire," I said. "No matter what it costs."
He gave a tight nod.
The plan would continue. Just… delayed.
We had prepared for this—vaguely. We'd built in some leeway. Enough to push it by an hour or two if needed. But I'd hoped we wouldn't have to.
Hope was always a mistake.
I tuned back in to the conversation around me, catching something about a new shipment of experimental hybrids arriving from the western district. One of the ministers laughed and joked about how "pretty" the new models were getting—"practically indistinguishable from human, just easier to break in."
I didn't smile. But I made a noise like I found it amusing. That was enough.
I glanced again toward Nine.
He hadn't moved. But I saw the red mark forming along his collarbone from where the boss's ring had pressed too hard. I saw the beginnings of bruises already flowering where someone's fingers had been careless.
His eyes were still downcast. But I could feel his heartbeat through the bond—not fast, not frantic, but tired. Resigned. Like he was trying to disappear inside himself and failing.
Not long now, I whispered silently. Just hold on.
I didn't know if he could hear me. But I needed to believe he did.
I set my fork down gently, folded my hands in my lap, and smiled.
Let them drink.
Let them laugh.
Let them believe I was still one of them.
Because once the boss took Nine away, and once I was sure he was out of reach—
I would end them all.