The Tension Builds: Alexa and Vleid
Alexa's POV
As we rolled through the city streets, I noticed the headlights trailing us, their movements sharp and precise. My eyes flicked to the rearview mirror.
"They're quite fast for someone who just raided the meeting place," Vleid muttered, his voice low but edged with amusement.
A small smirk tugged at my lips. "Let them take the lead."
Vleid's brow lifted slightly, but he didn't question me yet.
"We'll draw them outside the city," I continued, my tone calm but calculated. "Once we're far enough, we let them overtake us."
Vleid's grip on the steering wheel tightened. "Are you really sure about this? It's a gamble." His voice dropped into something more serious, more protective. "I can keep you safe as long as you're within my sight, but if they try to separate us—" He exhaled sharply, shaking his head. "God, I hope not."
I met his gaze, unwavering. "We need to do this. If we take them out now, we lose our chance to wipe them out in one sweep. Dad already knows our situation, and we can send a message to the others telepathically if needed." My eyes darkened with determination. "We're waiting for them to make the first move. This is the perfect opportunity."
Vleid hesitated for only a second before giving me a firm nod.
The lead car of our pursuers surged ahead, cutting us off. Vleid loosened his grip on the wheel, allowing them to dictate the pace.
Moments later, more vehicles swarmed in from all sides, boxing us in.
Now, we were surrounded.
A tall, broad-shouldered man stepped forward, his expression twisted with irritation. He raised his gun, aiming it directly at us.
"Get out!" he barked, his voice sharp with impatience.
I exhaled slowly, lifting my hands just slightly—a calculated display of compliance. Beside me, Vleid mirrored my movements.
As we stepped out of the car, the scene around us unfolded. We were deep in the outskirts, surrounded by endless rice fields. There were no houses, no witnesses—just a scattering of distant post lights casting long shadows over the dirt road.
The perfect place for an ambush.
I barely spared our captors a glance as I whispered to Vleid, "If they attack, we fight back. But if they don't… we let them take us."
Vleid's golden eyes flicked toward me, unreadable for a moment before he nodded. "Got it."
A slow, mocking clap echoed through the silence.
"Well, well. Ms. Black ," the tall man drawled, amusement dripping from his tone. "You've got quite the price on your head." His grin widened, teeth flashing under the dim light. "But lucky for you, our boss wants you alive. So be a good girl and don't resist."
With an air of quiet resignation, Alexa nodded and lifted her hands in surrender. "Fine," she said calmly. "Lead the way."
Their captors forced them into an armored van. The ride was long, tense, but Alexa absorbed everything—route changes, landmarks, the way one of the guards anxiously checked his comms. They weren't just random mercenaries. These men worked for someone who needed them alive.
Inside a makeshift warehouse, their hands were bound, but Alexa noticed how loosely the knots were tied around hers. Sloppy work. Their captors were overconfident.
"Who sent you?" Alexa asked, voice smooth, unreadable.
The leader chuckled, leaning forward. "You don't get to ask questions."
Wrong answer.
She exchanged a glance with Vleid. A flicker of nod.
Alexa snapped the weak restraints and lunged, slamming her elbow into the leader's throat before he could react. Vleid yanked his arms free and tackled another guard, wrenching a gun from his grip.
Gunfire erupted, but they moved like a well-oiled machine, striking with precision. as she grabbed a fallen enemy's weapon, firing a clean shot to disable the lights. Darkness swallowed the room, but they thrived in the shadows.
By the time the last enemy fell, Alexa stood over their leader, breathing steady, her foot pressing down on his wrist as he groaned in pain.
"Now," she said, crouching down. "Let's try this again. Who sent you?"
This time, he answered.sweeping their captors off their feet in synchronized motion.
The bulky man hesitated, his grip tightening as his phone rang. His eyes flickered between the captives, suspicion hardening his features.
"Answer it," Vleid commanded, his voice low but firm.
Slowly, the man retrieved his communicator, pressing it to his ear. A sharp, authoritative voice crackled through the receiver.
"Any update?" a woman's voice demanded.
Vleid stepped closer, his presence imposing. "Tell her everything is fine and proceeding smoothly as planned," he instructed in a quiet yet undeniable tone.
The man swallowed, nodding stiffly before speaking. "Yes, madam. Everything is according to plan."
"Good," the woman responded, her voice laced with cold efficiency. "You better squeeze them for the intel we need."
The line went dead.
Vleid studied the man's tense expression, his eyes gleaming with something unreadable. He tilted his head slightly, then asked in a deceptively casual tone—
"Who's she?"
The woman on the phone wasn't just another enemy; she had been watching the Black family for years, waiting for the right moment. Her grudge wasn't about power alone—it was about justice, or at least, her twisted version of it.
The bulky man chuckled darkly, his lips curling into a smirk.
"She's someone who has been waiting in the shadows, carefully threading the remnants of the Shiro clan's power. And soon… she'll dominate the entire underworld," he sneered.
Shiro had once been a force to be reckoned with—ruthless, calculating, feared. He had built his empire on the blood of others, wiping out rival factions with surgical precision. Years ago, one such faction had been erased from existence, a brutal execution of power meant to serve as a warning. But someone had survived.
A daughter. A sister. A former protégé.
She hadn't sought vengeance in the reckless, desperate way most would. Instead, she had watched, waited, and planned, weaving herself into the very fabric of the world the Black family controlled. To her, the Blacks were nothing more than inheritors of Shiro's sins—a dynasty built on the destruction of others. And now, she intended to return the favor.
Her influence ran deeper than they could have anticipated. She wasn't just another enemy lurking in the shadows; she was already inside the system. She had informants embedded in both the underworld and the legal world, puppets in place long before the Blacks had even noticed the strings tightening around them. She wasn't interested in simply killing them. No, she wanted their empire to crumble from within—to wither before their very eyes.
Alexa's thoughts raced. Could she be connected to the gift incident? That lingering question had haunted her for months, but now it felt heavier, closer to the truth than before.
Vleid caught the shift in her expression. Though Alexa had not spoken, he heard the words as if they had echoed in the space between them.
"But that's impossible… Those two figures possessed powers not of this world," he thought to himself, his jaw tightening. His memories of what he saw through the footage from that night He had watched it over and over, analyzing every detail, yet the memory remained as unsettling as the first time he saw it. The way the air had cracked, rippling unnaturally as if reality itself had been momentarily distorted. The figures had moved with an eerie fluidity, their presence exuding something far beyond the realm of human capability.
Magic.
Had they missed something?
His fingers twitched slightly at his side, unreadable tension forming behind his sharp gaze.
"Is there an alliance we've overlooked?" he murmured under his breath.
"These should be enough for now. And as for you," Alexa's voice dropped into a dark, menacing tone as she stepped closer to the restrained man. A chilling smirk curled on her lips. "We're taking you with us. You might just wish you were already dead."
The man stiffened, his eyes darting between Alexa and Vleid, but there was no room for negotiation.
Vleid gave a brief nod. "Leo, Dante—have them clean this up. We'll sweep the area for any remaining clues." Without another word, he signaled for reinforcements.
Without hesitation, he and Alexa moved through the dimly lit warehouse, methodically taking out every surveillance device they encountered. A sharp crack echoed through the air as Alexa destroyed another hidden camera with a precise shot.
"These might have already alerted the enemy. We need to be quick," she spoke to Vleid through telepathy.
Vleid's gaze flickered as he responded in thought. "Understood. Let's not give them time to regroup."
Meanwhile, in a speeding vehicle cutting through the dark streets, Dante's voice came through the comms. "Young Mistress, we're en route! ETA three minutes!"
Kian sat in the back of the car, deep in thought, his fingers drumming against his knee. His expression remained unreadable, but there was something unsettling in his silence.
"Someone who used to hold power... another cliché revenge trope. But if she's strong enough to move against us like this, she isn't just anyone. Who the hell could she be?"
A sudden realization struck him like a bolt of lightning. His eyes widened.
"No… It can't be…"
His heart pounded once as he snapped out of his thoughts.
"Tell Alexa to get out of there. Now!" Kian's voice was sharp, urgent. His gaze darkened as he exhaled.
"If it's her… This won't be a fair fight. She plays dirty."
A sudden explosion rocked the ground, the deafening blast echoing in the night air, shattering the eerie calm that had settled over them.
"Shit! We should've taken him with us!" Alexa cursed under her breath, her eyes darting back toward the now-distant compound, flames licking the sky. "Now we've got no hostage!"
Vleid didn't flinch. His expression remained cold as ever. "He was going to die anyway. No point in holding on to him. We need to move, now." He pointed toward the bikes they'd arrived on. "I saw gas tanks back where we came from—those explosions were no accident. We've got to get out of here."
The urgency in his voice was enough to make Alexa act without hesitation. They rushed to one of the bikes, and she immediately took the driver's seat. Thankfully, the key was still in the ignition. If not, it would've taken precious extra minutes to hack into the system, and they couldn't afford that.
As they sped out of the compound, explosions erupted behind them, one after another, lighting up the sky in waves of destruction. They didn't seem to be coming from any specific area—random spots across the perimeter and nearby warehouses were being blown apart.
"I thought they wanted us alive!" Alexa shouted over the roar of the engine, her mind racing.
Vleid's grip tightened around her waist. "It's not us they're after anymore. We've been marked."
A burst of static from their comms interrupted their thoughts.
"Mistress, Master Kian has some guesses as to who's behind this. Let's meet at a convenience store ten minutes away from your location!" Dante's voice was urgent but calm, even from miles away.
Kian nodded. "Your mother caught wind of it too, but I told her I'd handle it for now. But after tonight…" His expression darkened. "I guess she might step in" then he chuckled slightlighty worried
"Got it." Alexa's mind shifted gears. She steered the bike with practiced precision, weaving through the chaotic explosions. Then, her voice was sharp as she directed the rest of her guardians. "Leo! Don't come here anymore. Go straight to where Dad instructed you to go. Dianne, you too—keep my siblings safe!"
There was no time for hesitation. She sped away from the wreckage, the comms now silent but heavy with the knowledge that whatever was happening was all connected.
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Minutes later, Kian and Dante were the first to arrive at the meeting point—a quiet convenience store parking lot, just far enough from the chaos to avoid unwanted attention.
They leaned against the black SUV, waiting. In the distance, faint explosions still echoed, and the wailing of police sirens filled the air. The city was waking up to the mess they had just escaped.
Moments later, Alexa and Vleid arrived, looking exhausted, their clothes slightly damp from sweat, but their expressions were sharp with urgency. Alexa barely let the engine die before she stepped off the bike and strode straight toward her father.
"Dad, we need to clean this up." Her tone was firm, leaving no room for delay. "We've got only weeks left before we move to Astralis. Tell me everything you know—even if it's just a hunch!"
Kian exhaled deeply, rubbing his temple before speaking. "Truth be told… The Shiros and the Blacks were once allies."
Alexa's eyes narrowed. That wasn't what she expected to hear.
"During my father's reign, the two clans worked together—so closely that there was even talk of me being wed to their heiress."
That piece of information alone was shocking enough, but Kian wasn't done.
"But something happened that shattered that alliance. Two powerful clans turned from partners to enemies. Misunderstandings turned into grudges… then into full-blown war. The Shiros dwindled after that, and then—" he hesitated, his voice lowering slightly. "Selene disappeared."
Alexa caught the shift in his tone. "Who was she?"
Kian's gaze turned distant. "A friend. We were young when everything fell apart. She vanished right after the war, and no one ever saw her again. Then, years later, reports started surfacing—small movements, whispers that the Shiros were active again. Now, with what you found at that base, it's no longer a rumor."
Vleid crossed his arms. "So you knew they might return."
Alexa clenched her fists. "So what's the plan?"
Kian met her gaze, his tone resolute. "You kids proceed with the Astralis plan as scheduled. Your mother and I will stay back for another month to clean this up. If the Shiros are back, we need to make sure they don't interfere with what's ahead."
"Now, my child, we need to get out of here." Kian's voice was firm, though there was an underlying tension in his tone. "I've already called Harold York to clean this up. Your mother was worried about you kids—they're near Haven now."
As he spoke, Alexa's mind raced, trying to piece everything together.
What she had discovered at the Shiro base was more than just suspicious—it was disturbing. Crates and shipping containers were constantly moving in and out, far beyond the usual numbers for any legitimate operation. And when she investigated further, she found out why.
Inside those containers were shipments of Steel and alloys —materials used for arms manufacturing. They weren't just stockpiling weapons; they were hoarding them. Preparing for something.
But that wasn't even the worst part.
Deeper into the facility, she had stumbled upon something far more sinister—a line of people, dirty, malnourished, and silent. Their blank stares and lifeless expressions told her everything she needed to know. Trafficked.
Alexa clenched her jaw, suppressing the fury bubbling inside her. This wasn't just a comeback from an old rival. The Shiros were rebuilding their empire from the darkest corners of the underworld.
She turned back to Kian, her voice controlled but edged with steel. "Dad… this isn't just about revenge anymore."
Kian met her gaze, already aware of the weight behind her words. "I know."
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Location: Haven
The car rumbled over the cobblestone path as they entered the province, the air shifting from the dense, metallic scent of the city to something aged yet comforting. Haven had a timeless feel—brick walls lined the streets, and the faint aroma of old wood and earth mingled in the cool air. The kind of place where history was still alive, whispering through its architecture.
Dante pulled the car to a stop. "We're here."
Alexa stretched, her body sore from exhaustion. She had barely managed to stay awake during the ride and had eventually dozed off, but the moment they arrived, reality came crashing back in.
"I can't wait to get out of these rags, Dad," she muttered, stifling a yawn. "I need a shower."
She moved to step out, but Vleid, already anticipating her half-asleep state, reached out, steadying her by the wrist. "Lex, careful."
Kian, who had just stepped out, caught the movement. His sharp gaze flickered between them, but he didn't comment.
Instead, he exhaled and motioned toward the estate. "Go on, kid. Your mom's waiting, and your siblings are already inside."
The horizon was beginning to lighten, hints of deep blue melting into soft oranges—the first signs of sunrise. Everyone was exhausted, but rest wasn't a luxury they could afford just yet. There was too much to handle, too much at stake.
As Alexa started toward the house, Kian's voice cut through the quiet. "Remember—no contact with anyone outside the party. Not even your friends."
She stopped, glancing back at him, her expression serious.
"Got it."