I Belong To My Three Forbidden Masters

Chapter 78: Chapter 78

Drake’s pov

When I got the intel that Darius was up to something, I refused to believe the man was that stupid.

I already gave him the grace to live when I didn’t kill him after he ambushed Lysander and wrecked my house.

The only reason why he still breathes was because of his step son whom he still didn’t want to let go.

Old fool.

I just had to see for myself what he was up to, I do have to admit that I had a little surprise for him.

I stood in the gallery above the stone balcony, draped in shadow, watching the floor below.

Five High Council elders sat behind the curved marble dais, their velvet robes spilling over the stone, their faces pale and unreadable under the dim wrought-iron chandeliers and at the center of the floor stood Darius Thorne.

He had summoned them.

His right arm was bound tight against his ribs in a black sling, the shoulder still ruined from his fight with Lysander.

He was a cornered rat who had run out of holes, playing his last card on a table he didn’t understand.

Beside me, Lord Malakor, one of the wise vampires who had quietly sworn his allegiance to my line three nights ago, leaned in, his voice a barely audible rasp.

"He paid three million to bypass the outer guards," Malakor whispered. "He genuinely believes he arranged an exclusive audience with the Elders."

"Let the fool speak," I purred, "A dying man deserves his final monologue."

Below us, Darius cleared his throat, stepping forward into the pool of amber light.

He threw his shoulders back, attempting to project the same arrogance he used in life, unaware that the five vampires looking down at him saw nothing more than a bag of warm blood.

Darius began, "I come to you not as a petitioner, but as a partner. You have a problem named Balthazar Drake. He has gone rogue and defied your directives. The asset he holds in his custody is my beloved step son."

An uncomfortable murmur rippled across the curved dais. Elder Aethelgard, seated at the center, narrowed his milky eyes. "You speak boldly for a mortal who broke our territorial boundary, Thorne."

"I broke it because I hold the key to your species’ future!" Darius countered, his voice rising, laced with unhinged ambition. "I have dedicated my life to serving your kind for years, I took over from my father who took over from his father. Your kind and my family have been in alliance. I owe my wealth all to you."

"So?"

"I know why Drake is hoarding the boy! I know about Project Zero!"

The chamber went dead silent.

Darius smiled and took another step forward, spreading his uninjured arm wide.

"I built this program." Darius declared, his chest heaving. "For twenty years, I kept Subject 0-C under total surveillance. I documented every chemical reaction, every cellular shift, every genetic marker. I have the complete blueprint for the hybrid project. Balthazar thinks he has the only mate in existence, but if you grant me immunity, if you eliminate Drake and return Lysander to my custody..."

Darius leaned over the stone rail, his eyes glittering with desperate greed.

"...I will build you an incubator facility," he offered. "I will produce a dozen more Lysanders for this Council. A generation of engineered mates. Companions who can absorb your venom and carry your offspring without ever needing to be turned into vampires. Imagine the power. Imagine the control."

A low, heavy hum of hushed whispers broke out among the lower Council guards standing along the perimeter wall. The proposition was monstrous, intoxicating, and lucrative. For a brief second, Darius truly believed he had won. He believed he had strong-armed the rulers of our world into doing his bidding.

"A compelling offer," I couldn’t help myself.

The heavy iron doors at the rear of the chamber slammed shut with a deafening CLANG that made Darius jump out of his skin.

I walked down the marble stairs into the amber light of the floor.

Darius’s face drained of color. He spun around, his bloodshot eyes bulging as he stumbled backward. "Drake... how... what are you doing here?!"

"I shouldn’t be here? You are talking about me after all." I deadpanned.

He whipped around to face the dais, pointing a shaking finger at Aethelgard. "Elders! Cut him down! He’s a traitor to your law! I gave you the blueprint! I gave you the offer!"

Aethelgard simply looked down at Darius with icy disgust. "You offered us phantom promises, mortal," he said dryly.

I walked until I stood less than five feet from Darius, towering over his trembling frame. The scent of his terror made the fangs behind my lips ache.

"Oh you foolish, human." I sighed, my face was set in disappointment, "you had so much potential when you stayed in your lane. Thinking you could cross a vampire has got to be one of the most stupid decisions you have made in your life." I chuckled,

"Well, apart from marrying a woman to hide your sexuality. But in all your meticulous planning, you forgot one simple detail."

I pulled a small, charred piece of micro-circuitry from my inner pocket and dropped it onto the floor at his feet. It shattered into gray ash against the stone.

"You won’t be needing that anymore." I said smoothly. "Every server drive in your basement has been wiped to zero. Every hidden camera you installed in Lysander’s room over the past three years has been pulled from the plaster and melted. All your records are currently burning in my fireplace. You have no data and no leverage. You have nothing."

Darius’s breath hitched in a wet gasp. He frantically reached into his jacket for his phone, his fingers trembling so hard he nearly dropped it. "I... I have cloud backups! I have off-site servers in Geneva—"

"Offline," I interrupted softly, a dark smile touching the corners of my lips. "Your offshore accounts were frozen two hours ago under international fraud warrants. Your security director, Miller, met a rather tragic end in an alley behind his apartment an hour ago."

The phone slipped from Darius’s fingers, shattering against the marble floor.

He looked around, the vampires were staring at him like insects. When he realized what happened, he fell to his knees on the cold stone floor, clutching his ruined shoulder, weeping pathetically.

"Please..." Darius choked out, looking up at me through a haze of tears. "Balthazar... please... I’m his stepfather... I raised him..."

"Have you lost your mind? You didn’t raise him." I corrected, my eyes flaring bright in the dim candlelight, glowing like hot coals in the shadow. "You abused him. And you dared to treat my mate as an item."

I turned my head slightly, looking up at the High Council dais.

"The mortal is mine," I declared, my voice echoing like thunder through the amphitheater. "If any Elder on this Council still wishes to challenge my claim to Lysander... I would like to hear it."

I heard wheezing from below me and looked down to see Darius laughing, I frowned.

"What are you laughing at?"

He burst into laughter, his shoulders shaking. He got up, his pathetic act erased. He went back to being cold as he sneered down at me.

"Did you really believe I came without backup, Balthazar?"

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