The Lunar Crest Academy: Marked by The Lycans-Chapter 231: Blood on My Hands

Kieran's POV

I didn't sleep throughout the night.

Not even for a heartbeat.

The night passed without meaning as I moved through it like a shadow that refused to rest, walking when my strength demanded restraint, superspeeding when the urgency clawed too hard at my bones. The world blurred and sharpened in turns, trees bending into streaks of black and silver, the ground trembling beneath my feet whenever I let myself move the way I was born to.

I held the map clenched in my fist the entire time.

Liandrin's map.

It burned against my palm like it knew what it represented, Conan Valerius Hunter. My uncle. The architect of the Crimson Hunt. The rot at the center of everything that had touched Lorraine with pain.

I followed the glowing mark without hesitation.

This ends, I told myself again and again.

This ends with him.

For Lorraine.

For Felix.

For everyone I had failed.

Dawn was threatening the horizon when I felt it, movement that didn't belong to the forest. Boots. Too many of them. Disciplined, measured. Crimson Hunt.

I slowed instantly, slipping behind the thick trunk of an oak, letting my breathing quiet until even I could barely hear it. A troop passed through the clearing ahead, moving with purpose, weapons ready, eyes alert.

But something was wrong.

They weren't marching like soldiers heading to battle. There was no chatter, no tension crackling through them. Instead, there was a strange…. certainty. Like hunters who already knew where the prey would be.

My instincts screamed.

I adjusted my grip on the map and took a wide detour, keeping to the shadows, following them without being seen. I moved high when I could, leaping branches, skimming along rocky inclines, keeping my scent masked, my presence erased.

That was when I saw him.

Adrian Vale.

They surrounded him.

Pushed him to his knees.

Gagged him and tied his hands.

I stopped cold.

The scene unfolded and I could see everything from where I hid. The Garrison leader stood before him, blade drawn, contempt dripping from every word he spoke.

I felt nothing at first.

Then, something dark and vicious twisted in my chest.

Good.

That was my first thought.

Good.

He deserved this.

He deserved even more than this.

He had used his voice to turn me and Lorraine into weapons against each other. Had forced my hands around her throat. Had forced Alistair into literally beating Felix to death. Whatever happened to him here, whatever pain waited for him, he had earned it tenfold.

I turned away.

I took three steps.

Then my instincts snarled again, louder this time, more insistent.

You might need him.

I froze.

Conan wasn't just powerful. He was strategic. Ruthless. Ancient in the ways that mattered. If I went after him alone, I could kill him, but the cost would be catastrophic.

Adrian knew Conan.

Had trained under him. Fought beside him. Betrayed him.

And now Conan was hunting him too.

I swore under my breath.

Damn it.

Before I could think better of it, I pivoted back toward the clearing.

A car sat at the edge of the encampment, keys still inside. I tore the door open, ripped the engine to life, and slammed a heavy stone down on the accelerator.

The car surged forward.

I leapt out just as it roared into the clearing, plowing through startled soldiers, bodies scattering as it slammed headfirst into a tree with a thunderous crash.

Chaos erupted.

Shouts. Weapons raised. Confusion.

That was my opening.

I was on Adrian in an instant.

I grabbed him, ropes, gag, and all, and supersped away before anyone even realized he was gone. The forest bent and screamed around us as distance collapsed into nothing. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

I stopped us at the edge of a stream.

Water rushed past, cold and relentless.

Adrian barely had time to orient himself before my fist connected with his face.

Once.

Twice.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Each punch landed with everything I had, rage, grief, fury, guilt. Blood sprayed from his face as I punched him, staining the ground as he collapsed under the blows, gag muffling any sound he tried to make.

I didn't stop.

I couldn't stop.

Until finally, breath ragged, hands shaking, I forced myself back up.

"That," I snarled, standing over him, "is for making me fight Lorraine."

I kicked him hard in the ribs.

"And that," I continued, voice cracking despite my control, "is for Felix."

Adrian groaned, trying to sit up, his face already swelling, blood matting his blonde hair. He mumbled something through the gag, eyes wild, desperate.

I shook my head.

"No," I said flatly. "We're not doing that."

I crouched in front of him, meeting his gaze.

"I'm not removing your gag just so you can use your stupid voice on me to force md to do your bidding," I said. "I don't trust you. And you know exactly why."

I stood and pulled the map from my pocket, letting him see the glowing mark.

"I know where Conan is."

That got his attention.

"I'm going to find him," I went on. "And I'm ending this. The Crimson Hunt. Him. All of it."

I grabbed his collar and hauled him up roughly.

"And you're coming with me."

Adrian stiffened.

"Because whether you like it or not," I said coldly, "Conan is out to kill you now. You betrayed him. You're nothing but loose ends."

I shoved him forward toward the water's edge.

"So here's how this works," I continued. "The only time I remove that gag is when we're standing in front of Conan."

I leaned close, my voice lethal.

"And you're going to help me kill him."

He mumbled frantically.

"I can't hear a word you're saying," I interrupted. "So nod if you agree."

I paused.

"Because if you don't," I added quietly, "I will return you to the soldiers who were very excited about cutting off your tongue."

For a long moment, Adrian just stared at me.

Then, slowly, he nodded.

Once.

Good.

I grabbed him by the back of his restraints and shoved him forward.

"Move," I ordered.