📖 Chapter 7: Blood and Silver Business
The pounding bass at Klub Malam Obsidian slowly faded into a dull thud as Alpha Raga and Beta Kael passed through the soundproof door leading to the exclusive VIP area.
The room was designed with nauseating luxury: burgundy leather sofas, dim chandeliers, and glass tables covered with bottles of liquor priced like luxury cars. In one corner, several suited men who served as underground executives were joking around with female entertainers.
But Raga's arrival brought all that activity to an immediate halt.
Although Raga concealed his wolf identity behind contact lenses and a neatly tailored Armani suit, he couldn't hide the pure dominance radiating from him. The air inside the VIP room suddenly felt thin, as if gravity had abruptly grown heavier. Several human men instinctively loosened their ties, feeling strangled for no apparent reason.
A stocky man in a silk shirt open at the chest stepped forward. His name was Marco, one of the mid-level managers in Bastian's syndicate, responsible for running the nightclub.
"Sorry, gentlemen," Marco said, making his voice as heavy as possible to conceal his nerves. "This area is privately rented tonight. If you don't have an invitation from Mr. Hanggara, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
Raga didn't answer. His cold eyes stared straight past Marco, scanning the room. His nose twitched slightly. Traces of Elara's scent lingered here. Faint, buried beneath the smell of alcohol and cheap perfume, but it was clear the girl had passed through this place not long ago.
"We don't need an invitation to come to a dump like this," Kael cut in, stepping forward to place himself between Raga and Marco. "We're here looking for someone. A long-haired woman dressed in black. She's injured. Where is she?"
Marco's face reddened at the insult. He gestured with one hand, and four large men serving as the club's security guards immediately rushed forward, surrounding Raga and Kael.
"You picked the wrong place to play tough," Marco growled. He reached beneath his jacket, preparing to draw his firearm. "This is Bastian Hanggara's territory. No one comes here looking for trouble and leaves with both legs intact."
Before Marco's fingers could touch the grip of his weapon, Raga moved.
His movement was too fast for ordinary human eyes to follow. In a fraction of a second, Raga's right hand had seized the collar of Marco's silk shirt, lifting the hundred-kilogram man off the floor with one hand as if he weighed no more than a rag doll.
"W-what the—?!" Marco choked, his legs kicking wildly in the air as Raga's grip locked off his airflow.
The four security guards immediately drew their pistols, but Kael moved just as fast. With a precise sweep of his leg and a blow that shattered a rib cage, two guards went down within seconds. The other two hesitated, horrified by the unnatural speed of the two visitors.
Raga hauled Marco closer until their faces were only inches apart. Raga's eyes stared sharply into the unfortunate man's soul.
"I'm going to ask you one more time, human," Raga hissed, his voice vibrating with the resonance of a savage beast's growl that made Marco wet himself. "Where is the woman?"
"I-I don't know! I swear!" Marco whimpered, tears of fear streaming down his cheeks. "Only Mr. Bastian and Boss Gideon know Elara's movements! S-she's Mr. Bastian's personal property! Please, let me go!"
Elara.
So that was her name. Raga felt a strange tremor in his chest when he heard it spoken. A beautiful name, but the fact that his Mate was considered a "personal asset" by a human mafia boss made the Alpha's blood boil.
Just as Raga was about to break Marco's arm to teach him a lesson, the sound of slow yet echoing applause came from the mezzanine stairs.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Gideon the Executioner descended the stairs. The heavy steps of his military boots sounded deadly. In his hand, he held a short-barreled rifle casually aimed at the floor. He looked at Raga with a crooked, contemptuous smile.
"Let go of that piece of trash, Alpha," Gideon said calmly, using the title openly to show that he knew exactly who he was facing. "You're looking for the woman? Too bad. She's busy warming my boss's bed tonight."
At the provocation, Raga tightened his grip around Marco's neck until a soft crack sounded. Raga tossed Marco's unconscious body into the corner of the room like he was throwing away a bag of trash, then turned fully toward Gideon.
A golden light began to shine from Raga's eyes, piercing through his contact lenses. His fangs lengthened slightly. The battle between two rulers of the underworld had just reached its boiling point.