CASSIAN DRAYCE POV
Cassian Drayce moved like a shadow gliding across his own empire.
His mansion was silent, but not the peaceful kind the dangerous kind. The kind of silence found in the lair of a predator who knew he was the most feared man in the room even when he was alone.
He entered the library.
Floor-to-ceiling shelves rose like obedient soldiers, each one filled with books arranged in perfect rows. Leather spines. Old pages. Dust that never dared settle. The air smelled like expensive ink and danger.
But Cassian wasn't here for books.
He moved to the back of the vast room, where the warm brown tones shifted into a colder atmosphere a mini-parlour walled with darkness.
And there, under a dim gold lamp, stood the board.
A detective-style board.
But detectives solved crimes.
Cassian created them.
The board was covered in photos, all pinned with precision:
Lucas luther, mid-stride, eyes sharp.
Aiden and Neo outside the estate gate.
Kellan.
Matteo in an alleyway.
Ethan photographed from a rooftop, unaware.
Older members of the Familia, some long hidden, yet Cassian had found them.
Maps of estate routes.
Shipment routes.
Guns scattered on the table.
Cigarettes half-burned, stress carved into the ash.
Everything the Familia didn't know he knew was here.
Cassian stood in front of the board, jaw tense, hands clasped behind his back.
His voice, soft but lethal, filled the still air.
"Lucas Luther… you're getting too comfortable."
His eyes narrowed.
"Growing too fast. Too loud. Too powerful."
He reached forward and lightly tapped the photo of Lucas with one finger.
"You need to be cut down."
His phone buzzed.
A burner phone.
Only one person in his entire existence had this number.
He straightened immediately and answered.
The voice on the other end was smooth, low, terrifyingly calm a man whose authority was older than Cassian's entire empire.
"And how is it going so far?" the voice asked.
Cassian swallowed, keeping his tone steady. "I'm on it, sir. It's taking a little longer than expected-"
"Time," the man cut him off, "is something so precious that you may no longer have, Cassian."
Cold sweat rose down Cassian's neck.
"So make sure," the voice said, "that it's better news the next time I call."
The line ended.
The room became so silent Cassian could hear his own heart tapping against his ribs.
He let out a shaky breath.
He wasn't scared of many people.
But that man?
That man bent the world with his words.
Cassian paced in slow circles, thinking, calculating, reaching into parts of his mind most men never survived entering.
"What's the easiest way out of this…" he murmured.Silence.
Then-
His lips curled.
"Bingo."
His eyes locked on Ethan's picture.
A very wide grin spread across his face.
ETHAN'S POV
Ethan stepped into the hallway outside Lucas and Matteo's shared study, adjusting the cuff of his shirt.
"Going for the supplier meeting?" Matteo asked, leaning back in the chair, flipping a pen.
"Yeah," Ethan answered, tight smile. "Won't take long."
Lucas didn't smile. He rarely did when it came to Ethan leaving the estate alone, not that Ethan was a child or anything but he was the last after all.
"Be careful," Lucas said. "Darian is still out there, and someone like him-"
"Someone like him won't try anything in broad daylight," Ethan said smoothly, rolling his eyes. "Relax. I'll be fine."
Lucas stared, unimpressed.
"I'm serious."
"And I heard you the first time," Ethan replied with his usual slow smirk. "I'll be cautious."
Matteo whistled. "He's not listening."
Ethan flipped him off without breaking stride.
He walked into the elevator, descending into the underground garage a huge metallic space filled with rows of vehicles and the hum of security.
He walked straight to the black Mercedes Benz AMG.
Clean. Sleek. Deadly.
He climbed in and opened the glove compartment, and checked for what every estate vehicle must have in it
A gun
He lifted it, checked the magazine.Loaded.
He set it back gently, then exhaled and drove out of the estate.
The city stretched out before him like a painting of wealth and corruption. Ethan observed everything ,every car he passed, every person walking by, every shadow too still to be normal.
He pulled up near the tall glass building where the supplier meeting was held.
But he didn't get out. Not immediately.
He reclined slightly, watching through the windshield like a sniper scanning a battlefield.
That was what he had trained for all his life.
"A silver SUV definitely for Martins
Black Lexus for Albert he never changes,
A white van with tinted windows.
A dark blue BMW belonged to Ramos Trading.
A brown truck Jonathan's men."
He whispered each name like he was reading a page in a children's book.
He finally stepped out, fixing his shirt, pocketing his gun in his waistband, and walking inside after analyzing the situation.
The building smelled like expensive cologne and power. He walked through the lobby and was greeted immediately.
"Mr. Ethan, this way please."
He was escorted up to the top floor.
Everyone was already seated when he entered.
The Luther's aura entered with him calm, elegant, terrifying.
All eyes turned.He didn't care. Not at all because he knew that nobody here would dare to get on their bad side it never ends good.
He took a seat, opened the file placed before him and began speaking.
"Welcome," he said. "Let's begin. We will review the shipment sales-"
"Isn't it rude to start without the complete guest?"
A voice interrupted.
Ethan froze.
His fingers paused mid-page.No.
No, it couldn't be- he knew that voice so we'll he'd heard just twice in a role and yet he couldn't get it off his memory. He turned his head.
And there he was.
Tall. Sharp. Beautiful in a reckless way.
CEALAN.
Ethan's jaw ticked.
Cealan smirked. "Guest?"
"Well," Ethan replied. "The guest should be earlier than his superior, don't you think?"
Cealan's smirk deepened.
The tension in the room rose like humidity before a storm. Nobody breathed too loudly. Nobody even blinked.
Ethan continued the meeting, flipping papers with uninterested elegance.
"Now that the payments are approved, Meeting concluded. You may all leave." He said without looking up from the file he was looking at.
Chairs scraped instantly everyone wanted to leave the man alone.
Everyone did… except Cealan.
Cealan walked to the door, reached for the knob-
Click.
He locked it.
Ethan's head snapped up. "What are you doing?"
"I want to stay with my princess for a while."
Ethan's jaw fell open. "I am not your princess. Could you stop calling me that? You nearly made me look stupid in front of my family. Why would you even call me?!"
"Well, it's not the first time," Cealan shrugged. "Usually you decline. I was shocked you picked up. If I knew you were in a situation like that, I wouldn't have said it."
"Well, you did," Ethan snapped. "Now leave me alone. What do you even want from me?!"
Cealan's eyes softened dangerously soft.
"I want you."
Ethan laughed.
Laughed like he had been holding it in for years.
"You want me? We are from different families, different enemies, different worlds. We can't match. We both know the laws."
"And who created those laws?" Cealan asked calmly.
"You know who did," Ethan shot back. "This business doesn't forgive people like us being together. So let's stick to the rules. I don't want a relationship. Leave. Me. Alone."
"Or else what?" Cealan said, stepping closer.
Ethan's hand moved so fast the air cracked.
A gun pressed against Cealan's chest.
"You won't live long enough to hear the answer."
Cealan smirked breathlessly.
"Feisty. I like."
"Cealan…" Ethan whispered, voice breaking slightly. "Please. Leave me alone."
"The gun is in your hands," Cealan murmured. "If you want me gone, shoot. Because I'm not going anywhere, princess."
Their eyes locked.
Falling deeper.Dangerously deep.
Ethan suddenly stepped back, holstered his gun, and walked past him, storming out.
He headed straight to the parking level.
Cealan followed him like a shadow.
"I'll take that as a yes," he called out. "Permission granted to keep disturbing you."
"STOP calling me Princess!" Ethan snapped, spinning and pointing his gun again.
"Are you sure you want to hold that up out here?" Cealan asked softly. "Cameras could be anywhere."
"Do I look like I give a fuck?! Stay away from me!"
"Or else-?"
POWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!
The gunshot exploded through the air.
Ethan jerked in shock.
Not his gun.
Not Cealan's.
But aimed-
straight at him.
"PRINCESS!!!!!!!!!" Cealan roared.
The bullet sliced through the air with a scream.
Ethan didn't feel it at first.
His body jerked backward, his eyes widening in shock before his hand flew instinctively to his side-
A warm, sharp pain exploded beneath his palm.
Blood.
It seeped fast, staining his shirt, darkening the fabric.
His breath hitched. His vision blurred at the edges.
"Ethan-!!!" Cealan lunged so fast the world felt like it slowed around him. He grabbed Ethan before he could hit the ground, one arm around his back, the other holding his hand over the wound.
"Stay with me," Cealan hissed, voice trembling, completely abandoning every trace of the teasing, cocky persona he wore like armor. "Ethan look at me. Look at me."
Ethan's knees buckled.
"I...fuck-" he gasped, breath shallow. "Where...did it come"
Another shot rang out-
Cealan spun, shielding Ethan with his body without hesitation.
He reached for his gun, dragging Ethan behind a concrete pillar.
"Stay low!" Cealan barked.
Ethan coughed, blood dotting his lips. "I swear..if you call me..princess..right now-"
Cealan's jaw clenched. "Shut up. Just- shut up and breathe."
Footsteps echoed across the underground floor.
Someone was here.
Someone who wanted Ethan dead.
Cealan scanned the shadows with the sharpness of a hawk ready to slaughter.
Then-
A silhouette moved behind a parked truck.
Cealan fired twice perfectly controlled, deadly, precise.
A grunt, then a body dropping.
But Cealan knew better. Killers never came alone.
He pressed his back against the pillar, pushing Ethan gently down to sit.
Ethan's hand trembled over his wound.
Cealan grabbed his face gently, forcing his eyes up.
"Ethan. Hey....hey. Stay with me. You don't get to pass out. Not now."
"For someone telling me to stay alive" Ethan breathed, voice thin, "-you're yelling… too much.and I won't pass out just because of a single bullet who do you think you're talking to."
Cealan's face actually broke.
The cocky smirk.
The playful arrogance.
The mockery.
All gone.
Replaced with raw fear.
"Don't joke right now," he whispered. "Ethan- please."
Another wave of pain hit Ethan and he inhaled sharply, teeth grinding.
Cealan removed his jacket and pressed it tightly against the wound.
"FUCK-!"
"Good," Cealan said, voice tight. "Feel it. Stay awake."
His eyes flicked toward the elevator.
Backup could be coming. Enemies could be coming.
The Luther's were unaware.
Ethan was bleeding too fast.
Cealan made a decision instantly.
He slid his arm under Ethan's knees and behind his back, lifting him effortlessly.
"Put me down" Ethan muttered, head falling onto Cealan's shoulder.
"Not happening."
Cealan moved quickly between cars, toward the black Mercedes. Another shadow moved near a pillar-
Cealan didn't hesitate.
He drew, fired, dropped the second attacker cleanly.
He kicked the door of Ethan's car open and lowered him gently onto the seat.
Ethan winced, gripping Cealan's wrist.
"Why are you helping me?"
Cealan froze.
His eyes softened in a way that made Ethan's heart stumble.
"Because the thought of losing you," Cealan said quietly, "makes me feel something I don't want to think about."
Ethan blinked. His breath caught
His fingers loosened on Cealan's wrist.
Sirens wailed in the distance not police sirens, but a familiar security alarms.
Someone must have contacted the Luther's because, Lucas. Matteo. Even Elijah were all alerted.
Cealan cupped Ethan's cheek for half a second the gentlest he'd ever touched anything.
"You're going to be okay," he whispered.
Ethan's lips twitched, even in pain.
"Still-not-your… princess…"
Cealan gave a small exhale of disbelief a half-laugh, half-sob.
"Shut up," he whispered, pushing Ethan's hair back. "Just stay awake until they get here."
Ethan blinked slowly, vision fading.
And just as Cealan's hands tightened on him
A loud crash echoed through the underground.
Someone else had arrived.
But this time-
The voice roared with fury that could crack concrete.
"ETHAN!!!"
Lucas.
And he was not alone.
So Cealan did what he knew best he pressed the horn for a long time signaling Lucas their way before stepping out of the car and hiding behind a pillar watching Ethan being carried away. Then he walked to a corner analyzing the dead bodies he'd shot down a while ago taking the pins they all had on and disappearing into the night