When I awoke, I found myself staring at the familiar ceiling of our bedroom.
The air was warm and hydrated with a hint of Ilay's body wash.

I blinked a few times to bring my mind to date. The last thing I remembered was...getting shot. No. It was Ilay's promise.
I smiled, my heart growing warm and my soul growing fuzzy with pure excitement.
"What are you smiling at, idiot?" Dario spoke up, pulling my attention to him.

He sat on the couch watching me intently as if trying to decipher some code imprinted on me. Those brown eyes of his held so much curiosity that it became unbearable to look at him. So I moved my eyes elsewhere.
"How long have you been that creepy while I was passed out?"

"Oh you mean, how long I've kept an eye on you to make sure you're doing fine? Let's see...hm... How about the whole damn day."

I didn't continue that argument; I just shifted it. "Where's Ilay?"

"Ha! Now I see why he likes you. You're just as crazy as he is. He shot you and the first thing you ask is where that- argh! This is starting to get weird. I did not sign up to be your babysitter."

I chained his eyes. "But you enjoy fucking me, so stop whining like a child. You should know what Ilay is like. What his life is like. Gawd!" I looked away mumbling, "And you keep pulling the I'm-older-than-you card."

"Does it hurt?"

"It does now that you're pestering me. Tell me where he is. I'll go find him myself," I said pulling my body to sit, ignoring the pain exploding from my left arm.
Ilay had meant business when he shot me. Luckily it just grazed me and didn't go right through my flesh. That would have been fucking painful to endure. I'd probably have flinched and ended up with a bullet in my brain.

"He was summoned."

"Summoned? By who?"

"The Council."
Right. I had learned about those geezers in class. They apparently held some power in the organization but not about a Czar, yet could interfere with some decisions from the leader.
"Why?" I asked frowning. "Why did they summon him? Is it because of what I di-"

Dario shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know. Maybe. Maybe not. He didn't say much."

"How long has he been gone for?"

"Three hours."

"Fuck!" I exhaled, threads of panic starting to wind around my heart. Had I caused him trouble with my recklessness? But he had assured me there wouldn't be any. Wait, had he?
All I could remember was him telling me to be as wild as I wanted.

********************************
3RD POV
********************************

Ilay's lazy gaze swept over the heads of the twelve men seated at either side of the table before falling on his uncle.
"The coronation is in a month. Why haven't you presented the other half to claim your right as the next ruler?"

"I'm just giving you more time to sit on the throne, Uncle. After all, I won't be giving back the throne once I have it."

The elders cast him harsh scowls for speaking so rudely to the Czar, but they couldn't reprimand him being he was the heir chosen by his grandfather.
"Enough with these games, Ilay. I've already organized the ceremony, from the date to the-"

"Don't bother. It'll be my ascension, I'll plan these things."

"This is a tradition!" an elder hissed glaring at Ilay. "It doesn't matter whether you're the next Czar, you must follow them."

Ilay didn't respond. He had his eyes on his uncle. "Are you sure you want me to follow all the traditions, Uncle?" he asked, his voice bearing a sly spark. "Which Czar has followed all the rules? Give me a single who didn't break a few rules but the council turned the other way, and I will do as you say."

They exchanged glances that spoke more than words could. "Even the council breaks rules. So why should I follow everything in the book?"
Silence.

When the still atmosphere was about to turn stale, Ilay's uncle cleared his throat. "Very well then. You can arrange it yourself. But don't change the protocols of the coronation like you did by marrying a foreigner."

Ilay scoffed relaxing backward. "Funny how you call her a foreigner yet you speak her language. If you're still stuck in the old world, why do you try to adapt to the new world?"
His statement dawned shame upon all of them, his uncle included. "Things are bound to change, the old rules were most effective in the old world. I think it's time to rewrite them."

Eyes bulged hearing his declaration. They stared at him confusedly and questioningly.
"I'm informing you all this early so you won't try to oppose me when the time comes or I will erase you from existence."

"You...! Are you threatening the Council?" another elder asked, his anger scorching his eyes. "Have you no respect for u-"

"I think after so many years, the Council eventually forgot its role. Czars aren't supposed to obey you. You're meant to obey the Czar. Your work is to give advice, not make decisions on behalf of the rulers. My Uncle is softhearted, so you took advantage of that and gave yourself more power than you deserve.

"But," he paused, pushing back his chair and placing the heels of his shoes on the table as if he were in his house. "I'm not softhearted, never been. If you won't accept the natural order, you better resign before I ascend... I have no problem letting blood flood Drakon if it means restoring order."

Nobody spoke.
They knew from the very beginning the kind of person that was about to take the reigns of the organization. He was just like his grandfather; ruthless, cold, murderous, unforgiving, and dominant.
If they had the option of getting rid of him, they'd have done so years ago to avoid such a 'monster' from becoming the Czar.
But they overlooked Drakon's history which was full of tyrannical rulers.

By being detached, a Czar could push the organization further.
It was how it had risen from the rubble of time to being one of the top mafia houses in the world.

"How you rule is entirely up to you, Ilay," his uncle said, wordlessly telling him that he could do whatever he pleased. "But don't bring down the organization or I will invoke the Golden Sacrifice."

The elders shifted their shocked expressions on Ilay's uncle who had uttered words that had almost been long forgotten.
The Golden Sacrifice involved giving up the life of the former Czar to overthrow the current Czar if he tried to destroy the organization. Since Drakon was grounded on some ancient traditions, this sacrifice could bring down any ruler given that he wasn't bringing any value to Drakon.

For hundreds of years, this sacrifice had been invoked only once and thus had almost been buried in the past.

Ilay simply grinned at his uncle's dedication.
"Why would I ruin the family's name? If I wanted to destroy Drakon, I wouldn't need to ascend. The good thing about having spies all over the world is that I always get my hands on the dirty secrets of every corporation, home, and organization...anything I want. That includes our dear Drakon."

"So, it's true?"

Ilay glanced at the old man who had just spoken. "Is what true?"

"That you hold the keys to any organization? Then why haven't you given us any to use against-"

"Now, now. Why would I want to give up any key if the door is still valuable? I like keeping the game fair. I have the keys, but to get them from me will take a lot of work... Now if we're done, I'd like to get the fuck out of here. I gave a wounded cat at home that needs my full attention, or she'll grow grumpy," he said, rising. "See you all again in my coronation."

AUTHOR'S NOTE;

Hellooooo, we're back again for the second volume. Welcome y'all.

So I opted to post my books' schedule here cause it will reach more readers than on my profile. 😁😁
B&P-- 12 days per month
SMMS -- 10 days per month
H&D-- 5 days per month.

Also, if you love dark romance(RH) do check out SMMS. It's more crazier than B&P. 😁😁😁

As for advanced chapters, join my Patreon or Inkitt subscription to access them. We're currently at;
Chap 130-- B&P
Chap 60-- SMMS
Chap 54-- H&D
Chap 21-- Brazen Obsession (new novel)

All the above are reverse harem except for H&D 😁😁🤤🤤