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Last of the Fae Chapter 54: Altercation
🕑 Added 2024-10-01 00:25:16 +0000 UTCAn icy burning sensation flooded through Thane, with everything below his neck going numb as his body dumped enough adrenaline to bring back a dead man into his veins. A violent haze filled Thane's mind; all he could think about was tearing Draco limb from limb with his bare hand.
As if responding to his wishes, Thane felt an echoing heartbeat pound in his chest. He looked down as a wave of silver scales cascaded down from his elbows, covering every inch of exposed skin. In the blink of an eye, Thane's human hands had turned into the dreadful claws of his animus.
Had Thane been in the right state of mind, he would have marveled at the discovery of a partial animagus transformation. But celebration was the last thing Thane had in mind.
"Alright, open her mouth. One drop of this and she-" Draco's snide and vicious threat was abruptly cut off as Thane pounced, tackling Draco to the ground as his clawed hands sunk into the stone caged around Draco's neck.
Crabbe and Goyle moved to help their 'friend,' but Thane's head snapped around to glare at them as his pupils transformed into verticle silts, "Another step, and I tear out his jugular."
To make his point clear, Thane closed his fist, dragging his claws across the floor and slicing through the stone like butter before resting against Draco's pale skin, drawing a single drop of blood.
Crabbe and Goyle froze on the spot, "Good, get your hands off her before I remove them for you."
In an instant, both pairs of hands holding Rose down vanished, and she quickly scrambled to her feet and took a hurried step back. With Rose safe for the moment, Thane slowly returned his attention to Draco, who had been quiet as a church mouse the moment Thane's claws came to rest against his neck, "You've crossed a line, Draco."
"I-I d-didn't..." Draco stammered, but Thane's harsh glare silenced him before he glanced over to the shattered pieces of glass from where Draco had dropped the vial. "What was in the bottle?"
"N-nothing d-dangerous I-I swear!" Draco shouted but gulped as Thane's claws flexed across his neck, "I-it was just a love potion, a weak one at that!"
The thought of Rose being in love with Draco sent a fresh wave of possessive jealousy and fury coursing through Thane, and at that moment, his claws almost snapped shut off their own volition.
"A love potion!?" Rose screamed out furiously, "You sick, depraved bastard!"
"I wasn't going to do anything to you!" Draco spat back, "I just wanted to see the look on your brother's face when he found out his little sister betrayed him for me."
"I'll give you credit. If you managed to pull it off, maybe my brother would believe that I fell in love with a pompous self-obsessed asshole." Rose replied coldly, "But I'm still going to shove my foot up your-"
"Ahem!"
Before Rose could finish delivering her threat, a third party made themselves known, and every pair of eyes glanced over to stare at Daphne, who stood on the staircase watching the scene unfold.
As they looked at each other, Thane watched as Daphne's eyes glanced down to his arm, and her eyebrows rose in surprise, 'Shit.'
"Well, if this isn't a scene," Daphne replied cooly as she descended the stairs.
"Daphne help-"
Daphne sent Draco a blistering cold stare, making his plea die on his tongue, "While I don't like to jump to conclusions, I'm almost certain you were the catalyst for this."
Draco could only grit his teeth in frustration as he glared at Daphne, "Wait until my father-"
"Are you sure you want to do that?" Daphne interrupted Draco with a sickly, sweet smile, "My mother said that your father was rather upset after learning about your little rivalry with Thane. Imagine how crossed he would be if this came to his attention."
"You wouldn't," Draco spat, "Our families have an alliance!"
"Then don't force my hand, Draco," Daphne replied, "In fact, I think it's all in our best interest that we all forget about this little scuffle. Don't you agree, Thane?"
Thane made eye contact with Daphne only to snort at the smug and pleased look in her eyes, "Absolutely."
Thane growled out the word as his eyes rounded and the scale covering his arms retreated into his skin.
"What! No, I'm not going to forget! This bastard was going to poison me and do god knows what!" Rose shouted in protest while Thane stood up, and Draco quickly scrambled to his feet before spinning on Rose, "One word of this to the Professors and you'll be sorry that-"
Reaching out, Thane grabbed Draco by the front of his robes and roughly pulled him in so they were barely an inch apart, "Make another threat against her, and I'll rip out your tongue."
Draco paled, and Thane shoved him away before turning to face Rose, who was staring at Thane with wide eyes, "Rose, you have every right to be angry, but trust me, this isn't a battle you'll win."
Rose blinked before she scoffed and crossed her arms as a slight blush spread across her pale cheeks, "W-whatever."
Daphne clapped as a smile spread across her face. "Perfect. Now, Draco, Crabbe, Goyle, could you give Thane and me some privacy?"
Draco glared at Daphne but didn't say anything before he turned to address Thane, "I don't know what trick you pulled to fool the ministry. But you're still a filthy mudblood!"
After hurling the slur, Draco spun around and stormed into the common room. The secret entrance opened as Crabbe and Goyle followed before closing behind them.
"Such unpleasant behavior," Daphne commented as she walked over to stand in front of Thane, who met her with a stone face, "Am I to believe your family is any better?"
"I don't care what you believe," Daphne replied, "Draco may not have connected the dots, but I did. I don't need to elaborate on what I mean, do I?"
Thane growled in response to a deep rumbling sound that bounced in the close confines of the dungeon. A flicker of fear dashed across Daphne's eyes for a moment before they steeled over with confidence.
Reeling in his spirit animal, Thane exhaled through his nose, "No."
Daphne smirked before adjusting her robes, "Good, we should have tea sometime soon."
The heiress then walked past Thane and disappeared into the common room as well, leaving him and Rose alone in the corridor.
"Do I want to know what that was about?" Rose asked as she glanced at Thane, only to look away as his eye landed on her, "No, you don't, but I can handle her. The better question is if you are alright,"
Rose crossed her arms and shrugged, "I'm fine. I've dealt with worse."
"Is that so?" Thane asked sarcastically before he walked over to Rose, who backed up until she bumped into the wall behind her. Rose's eyes were wide as Thane loomed over her, and her heart pounded so fiercely that she was afraid he could hear it.
Thane then reached out and gently took Rose's hand before pushing back the sleeve of her robe, revealing the bruise marks already forming from when Crabbe and Goyle had pinned her down.
"See, it's not that bad," Rose muttered weakly as she tried to pull her arm away, but Thane's grip held steadfast, "At this rate, you're not going to be able to hold a quill by morning."
Rose scoffed angrily, "I don't need your help."
"Tonight you did...but I understand the desire to stand confidently on your own two feet," Thane replied, and he let go of Rose's arm, "I can teach you how."
Rose paused for a moment, "Really?"
"If you let me put some ointment on the bruises, then defiantly."
Comments
kiddeath1998
author did you skip chapter 53 because I don't see it anywhere
