Edmund and Nathaniel didn’t resist when two enforcers approached with additional restraints. Edmund’s shoulders slumped in visible defeat, and Nathaniel just looked exhausted. The younger guards backed away from the door, hands raised in surrender.
Viktor watched Claudius being escorted from the room, still struggling against restraints that wouldn’t budge. The ancient vampire’s protests echoed down the hallway, growing fainter as they dragged him toward the stairs.
Eight hundred years of paranoia and power games, ended by a forensic accountant and one determined mage with a phone camera.
The lead enforcer approached Viktor, his expression cautious but not hostile. “Viktor?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re Doctor Channon’s mate?”
“Yeah.”
“Is he injured? Dispatch said something about him being trapped in a ward and…”
“I’m fine,” Ant called from behind the desk. “Exhausted and experiencing minor nosebleeds, but conscious and coherent.”
The enforcer’s eyebrows rose slightly. “You destroyed Lord Claudius’s ward matrix?”
“The structure was fundamentally flawed and overextended. It collapsed when I applied pressure to the keystone convergence point.”
“Uh-huh.” The enforcer glanced at Viktor. “Is he always like this?”
“Pretty much.”
“Right.” The enforcer stepped into the study, surveying the open safe. “We’ll need your formal statements, scene reading documentation, and any evidence you collected.”
“I have photographs of all documents contained in the safe,” Ant said, moving carefully around the desk. Able appeared in the doorway, tail wagging when he spotted his mage. Ant rested one hand on Able’s head, and some of the tension finally bled from his shoulders. “I can transfer them to your secure servers immediately.”
“Appreciated.” The enforcer pulled out a tablet. “Let’s start with...”
Viktor stopped listening to the procedural details, his entire focus narrowing to Ant. His mate was upright and functional, but Viktor could see the exhaustion in every line of his body, the way he leaned slightly against the desk for support.
He needs sleep. Food. Safety.And he’d get all three, just as soon as they finished cooperating with the Justiciary.
Ant glanced up, catching Viktor’s gaze.I’m okay,his mate sent through their bond.Tired, but okay.
You’re amazing.
I believe the word is thorough. There’s a difference.
You’re both.
Ant’s lips quirked in a small, private smile that nobody else would notice. But Viktor did. He always would.
Chapter Twenty-One
“Doctor Channon.” The lead enforcer held up the tablet. “I’ll need you to authenticate the photographs before transfer.”
“Of course.” Ant reached for his phone, thumb swiping through the images, and checking each one despite his exhaustion. “These are unaltered records of documents contained in Claudius’s private safe. Four ledgers spanning from 1847 to the present, and one personal journal with dated entries.”
“And you accessed this safe…”
“After legally destroying the estate’s unlawful lockdown wards, which were being used to prevent my departure and facilitate my murder.” Ant’s voice remained completely devoid of emotion. “Claudius explicitly stated his intention to kill me while forcing my mate to watch.”
The enforcer’s jaw tightened. “Noted. We’ll need a full statement, but…”
More footsteps thundered up the main staircase. Viktor moved instantly, positioning himself between Ant and the doorway until he caught a familiar scent.
