Edric's POV:
Maya’s still asleep when I wake several hours before dawn. Groaning, I fling my arm across my eyes and swallow against the nervous knot in my throat. Killing isn’t new to me. Werewolves’ lives are often violent, but apart from the rogue, I’ve never executed anyone. “Jasper?” I mind-link my new Beta. “You awake yet?”
“Yes, boss.”
“Can you get a sword ready for me? Make sure it’s sharp.”
“You’re not going to let your wolf kill him?”
“No…I can’t stomach it.”
“It’s not too late to let me do it.”
“No. He deserves to die like an Alpha at the hands of an Alpha.”
“What about Maya?”
“She’s asleep. I’m not waking her for this. But just in case anything happens to me, the new combination to the panic room is five zero six nine.”
“Gotcha.”
“Did Marcus’s family leave yet?”
“No. They’re staying for the execution.”
“Even the little ones?” The youngest of Marcus’s pu
Edric's POV: I barely stepped out of the shower after washing Marcus’s blood off me, when Luca mind-links me, taking me by complete surprise. “You’re taking her away?” “It’s for the best…look what her mere presence has done to you.” Luca is quiet, but I can still feel our link. “Luca? Talk to me, bud.” “Jolie will never forgive me.” “Yes, she will. You didn’t do anything unforgivable.” “I attacked you…because I wanted your mate. I have a lot more sympathy for Marcus now.” “Don’t be stupid, man, you’re nothing like him.” “I should be the one who leaves, not Maya. She brought our pack back together--” “Eventually, all the wolves will start behaving like you. I suspect the only reason the true Omegas haven’t become aggressive yet, is because they fear stronger wolves. They felt it much sooner…I saw it on her first day here.” “I know what I did was stupid. Wrong. I don’t expect anything--”
“Maya,” Edric grabs my shoulders and tries to shake me awake. “No,” I mumble, “please… I’m tired. No more. Can’t you just do it yourself?” I don’t know what came over him, but the moment we set foot inside the little motel, he pushed me up against the wall, ripping my clothes off, and pounded me half senseless. He woke me up three more times. It was like he couldn’t get enough. I’m sure there’s some kind of deep-seated reason behind it that I am not getting, but I really can’t do it again. “No,” he whispers, his mouth close to my ear. “There’s a vampire outside. Get ready to shift and run.” I bolt upright. “What?” He puts his finger against his lips. “Their senses are off the charts,” he says in my head. “They can hear us talking a mile away.” “We’re not fighting?” “With what? We don’t have any weapons.” “Can’t we just, I don’t know, rip his throat out?” “If you can catch him. Do you know how fast vampires are?”
Gabriel's Story: “You sent for me?” I walked into the carnival tent. Abbadon sat behind a roughly hewn table that was covered in a red velvet cloth, a crystal ball, and a deck of tarot cards in front of him. He had been living with the carnival for the last two years, pretending to be a medium. For some reason, it amused him no end to pretend he could communicate with the humans’ dearly departed. In actual fact, he was just reading their minds, but they flocked to him like starving children to candy. Abbadon shuffled his cards and looked up at me with his silver-blue eyes. He was the only vampire with eyes like that…they made women and men go weak in the knees in equal measure, but Abbadon gave up sex years ago. He no longer found joy in the simple things in life. “Gabriel,” he said. “I’ve found the perfect candidate.” “Not this again. You have tried three times. It is time to let it go. The babies keep dying, and how many pie
Gabriel's Story – Part Two: “Good evening, Claire,” I said. She looked up, anger flashing in her eyes. “I should have known. Every year on her birthday. Why can’t you leave us alone?” I revealed myself to Claire when Maya was two. With my help, she could not remember the night she went to Abbadon, and I would have been happy to let her live with this ignorance for the rest of her life, but Maya scared her. The little girl’s magical abilities were not that of a normal witch, and Claire did not understand why. In her mind, Maya was possessed. Her mother was getting ready to smother the girl in her sleep when I stopped her. “I told you…Abbadon tasked me with looking after Maya, if I do not send him a report every year, he will throw me in the howling pits. I have no desire to end up in hell. Maya’s abilities are getting stronger. Did you notice?” Claire’s eyes darkened with sorrow and fear. “Yes.” “You know
Edric's POV: I’m not surprised. I should be, but I think deep down I knew it all along. The way she arrested Kenneth’s shift and pulled his wolf from his body. Only the most powerful witches can do it, and only after many years of training. She did it without even trying. My mate jumps up, and runs for the door. “Maya, no!” I grab her just as she starts to open the door and slam it shut. I keep my hand on the door, trapping her. “It’s not safe for you out there.” “Let her go,” Gabriel says quietly. I turn on the vampire. “Who says you get to have an opinion on the matter?” We growl at each other. Maya looks from me to Gabriel, anger burning in her eyes. “Neither of you get to have an opinion. This is my life and my problem.” “It’s not just your life,” I say. “I’m your mate. This affects me too.” “And what are you going to do? The way I see it, I’m the strongest one in this room, yet you presume you can tell me
Edric's POV:“Maya?” I ask. “What’s wrong?” She smells like blood, but I can’t see any on her. “What happened? Where did you go last night?”She doesn’t answer me, just keeps staring at me with those wild eyes.“Hey,” I grip her shoulder and she visibly recoils from me.“Don’t touch me.”“What?” I ask. Her reaction surprises me at first, but panic is slowly pushing its way through. What happened to her last night? I drop my hand and put some distance between us. “Can you talk to me at least?”“You and your non-stop talking. All you ever want to do is talk-talk-talk…like that fixes anything.”I try to ignore her nasty attitude and hide my growing anger. “That is what people usually do--”“Edric,” Cameron calls from outside.“Maya,” I mind-link m
I stare out of the window of the king’s retrofitted SUV, ignoring the conversation. Two warriors are sitting in front, taking turns to drive. There are two sets of seats in the back that face each other, and the windows are tinted and bulletproof. Two unassuming cars accompany us: one in front of us and one in the back. I don’t bother asking if a werewolf king is really so important that someone would risk assassinating him.Edric already told me everything that happened after I ran out of the room last night, which makes me even more nervous about seeing my parents now. What if my mom says something she shouldn’t? What if she tells the king I’m a witch-goddess-werewolf hybrid made by a vampire with godlike powers?~ You made me, ~ my wolf says, ~ not Abbadon. ~* Did you know? That I made you? *~ No. I just existed one day. I know what you know. ~ No wonder she was so confused and timid in the beginning. ~ You want to kill me, ~
“You’ll be okay,” Edric says, taking my sweaty hand in his. “I’m right here.” I stare up at a house I don’t know. Behind the simple front door and dirty grey walls are my parents, my siblings. My heart hammers in my chest, and the need to vomit sits very close to the surface. I take a deep breath, trying to still my pounding heart. “Okay, let’s go.” Cameron nods and taking the lead, walk up the cracked path. My father used to take such pride in his garden and home. What happened? The place looks almost deserted. I pick an eviction notice up from the front step. Are they even still here? The doorbell doesn’t work, so the king resorts to pounding on the door so hard that it rattles in the frame. It takes a long time before anyone answers. I’m about to show the eviction notice to Cameron, and suggest we leave, when a haggard old man with unkempt grey hair opens the door, staring out at us with watery eyes. I almost don’t recognise my own father. He aged twenty y