Marked by the Cursed CEO Alpha-Chapter 35: Protecting Lyra

Javier hit the wall a second time harder than the first.

The concrete cracked.

He slid down slowly, coughing once before lifting his head. His smile was gone now, replaced by something tighter and more careful.

Kaelen stood a few feet away, posture relaxed in a way that was anything but.

"So," Kaelen said quietly, "this is who they sent."

Javier laughed weakly. "If you are disappointed, you should see the others."

Kaelen’s eyes flicked to the guards. "Leave us."

One of them hesitated. "Alpha—"

"Now."

The door shut behind them with a final, echoing thud.

Silence followed and then Kaelen stepped closer.

"They sent the weakest one," he said calmly, looking Javier over like a flaw in stone. "A scavenger and a mouthpiece."

Javier swallowed. "Careful," he muttered. "Underestimating me is how you lose control again."

Kaelen’s hand shot out.

Javier was lifted off the ground by his throat, boots scraping uselessly against the floor as Kaelen slammed him back into the wall, this time holding him there.

The air thickened.

"You don’t get to say that word," Kaelen said softly. "Not after walking into my territory and after touching what’s mine."

Javier’s eyes widened, just a fraction.

"There it is," he rasped. "Still territorial and still cursed. I can still smell the curse running in your veins just like your fathers."

Kaelen leaned in, voice low and lethal. "Who sent you?"

Javier’s laugh came out strangled. "You think it matters? They already know."

Kaelen’s grip tightened.

"Know what?"

"That your curse stirred," Javier said, breath hitching. "That it didn’t spiral and that something—someone—stopped it."

Kaelen’s jaw flexed.

Javier’s fear finally bled through the mockery. "Do you have any idea what that means, Alpha?"

Kaelen released him abruptly and Javier collapsed to the floor, coughing violently.

"You should have stayed away," Kaelen said. "This was mercy."

Javier wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and looked up, eyes sharp now despite the pain.

"Mercy?" he scoffed. "You are blind if you think that."

Kaelen turned slowly. "Tell me what you know before I snap you in two."

Javier hesitated when he saw his blood shot eyes. There was no doubt that Kaelen would deliver what he had said.

But still he smiled but it was brittle.

"They don’t know who she is," he said. "Not yet."

Kaelen stilled.

"But they know she exists," Javier continued. "They know your mate walked into Blackthorn territory and walked out alive."

A chill slid down Kaelen’s spine.

"You don’t even understand what you are protecting," Javier said quietly. "She is walking around thinking she is ordinary while forces older than your precious curse are waking up."

Kaelen took a step forward. "You will not speak her name."

Javier laughed again, shakier now. "Name? Alpha, you don’t even know what she truly is."

Kaelen’s voice dropped to a whisper. "Then you will tell me what you know."

Javier’s gaze flicked away for the first time.

"That’s the problem," he said. "I can’t."

He looked back up, fear naked now.

"Because once they know," he continued, "once everyone knows, you won’t be fighting your curse anymore."

He smiled, slow and cruel.

"You will be fighting the world."

Kaelen stared down at him, fury burning cold and precise.

"Get out of my sight," he said. "If you ever come near her again—"

Javier pushed himself to his feet, staggering toward the door.

"You won’t be the one to kill me," he said softly. "Because when this ends, Alpha—"

He paused at the threshold.

"You won’t be able to save her from what she is meant to become."

The door slammed shut and Kaelen stood alone in the ruined apartment, chest tight, wolf pacing violently beneath his skin.

For the first time since the curse awakened, fear edged past rage.

Not for himself but for Lyra.

....

Riven entered the apartment moments later, eyes taking in the damage in a single sweep—the cracked wall, the overturned chair, the faint scent of blood still lingering in the air.

His gaze snapped to Kaelen. "You let him go."

Kaelen didn’t turn.

"Yes."

Riven frowned. "We could have interrogated him properly. He was scared—"

"He wasn’t scared enough," Kaelen interrupted calmly.

Riven went still. "Kaelen—"

"He is a messenger," Kaelen said, finally facing him. "Nothing more. They wouldn’t send someone valuable into my territory. Not yet."

Riven’s jaw tightened. "And if he disappears?"

"He won’t," Kaelen replied. "They will pull him back or he will report in."

Riven studied him for a long moment, then nodded once. "You are using him."

"He thinks he came here to test me," Kaelen said. "To provoke a reaction."

His eyes darkened. "Instead, he is going to lead us to the rest of them."

Riven exhaled slowly. "Alright but we don’t leave it to chance."

Kaelen’s gaze sharpened. "Get Heather."

Riven lifted a brow. "You want our best tracker?"

"Yes."

"He is a vampire," Riven said carefully. "We need to be careful but Heather—"

"And no one better than her knows how to deal with people like Javier." Kaelen replied coolly. "He just walked into my home, I want eyes on him the moment he crosses the city limits."

Riven nodded. "I will have Heather follow him."

Kaelen turned toward the shattered window, staring out into the night.

"And Riven," he added.

Riven paused.

"No one touches Lyra without my say-so," Kaelen said. "Not the Shadowed Ones, not the packs or even us."

Riven’s expression softened just slightly.

"You are serious about her," he said.

Kaelen didn’t deny it.

"She is already in danger," Kaelen continued. "The least I can do is make sure the people hunting her bleed first."

Riven straightened. "I will handle it."

As he moved to leave, Kaelen’s voice followed him low, steady, lethal.

"And Riven?"

"Yes?"

"If Heather loses him—" Kaelen’s eyes glinted silver in the dim light. "burn the city until we find what is left."

"Understood," Riven said before walking towards the door.

"Where is she?"

Riven paused with his hand on the door. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

He turned back slowly. "Lyra?"

Kaelen didn’t respond, but his silence was enough.

Riven exhaled. "She is safe."

The tension in Kaelen’s shoulders eased, just barely.

"She didn’t want to go home," Riven continued. "She asked to be dropped off at work."

....