Hael’s P.O.V. This was it. This was what finally severed the last tie I held to my father. They fluttered in the chilly breeze. Floating in the wind that raced through the trees. It howled a slow, foreboding tune, as though the trees themselves knew what I was about to do. It was always going to come to this. “Fuck, Hael. Hold up a damn second!” Cole bellowed, bolting out the front door. It slapped against the house before the wind slammed it shut. I paused, the chill now deep within my bones. His hand came down on my shoulder. The urge to tear it off his body had me spinning around with bared teeth. A warning snarl worked its way up my throat, one my Beta was smart enough to listen to. He removed his hand but didn’t back down. “I wasn’t there for you when we were kids—” Was this what he wanted to talk about? Was this him trying to deny me what I’d earned through blood, sweat, and the innocence of my youth? Frustration sent my teeth on edge, constricting the skin over my muscl
Violet’s P.O.V.If it weren’t for Marcel, I would’ve shed my human flesh and ran the entire way to Xavier’s house.Neither Hael nor Cole was answering their phones. After a quick look outside, I realized why. They had clearly shifted; the sea of shredded clothes was proof of that.With a dead body in the basement and blood caking my hands, I had no choice but to wait.Two hours later and I’d baked every conceivable desert possible with the limited ingredients Hael kept stocked in the cabin. On the counter sat one batch of chocolate chip cookies, two loaves of pound cake, and a dozen blueberry muffins. There was also a fruit tart setting in the fridge.“Your mother would bake when she was stressed too.” Marcel sounded wistful, and I knew I would too if I bothered to reply.I pounced from the couch when the front door opened, and my mate walked inside. His bare chest and blood-stained sweatpants had my stomach in knots. He’d been wounded.He was followed by a stone-faced Cole, which was
Hael’s P.O.V.I’d never deserve her; I realized back at the river.No matter what I did, no matter how I atoned for all of the death and destruction, I’d never earn the love of the angel who cried out my name with the reverence and passion of a person calling out for their God.Tonight was both a thank you, and a punishment for my stubborn little mate.She’d been too willing to strip bare in front of two other men and hadn’t even hesitated to use it against me to get what she wanted. For that, I had to punish her. I wasn’t blind to why she did it though.It was to calm me down, to pull me out of the dark clutches of the monster in my head. To pry its claws from my flesh and set me free.It worked, and for that I had to thank her.I didn’t stop until her legs had turned to mush and her cries bordered on the slick sweetness between pleasure and pain. Tears tracked her eyes, as they always did when orgasm after orgasm wracked her curvy body, and I kissed each one from her cheeks until th
Hael’s P.O.V.When I first heard her breathy moan from down the hall, I just about lost it. The need to claim her, to recreate that night again and again, had been so strong that I nearly tore my bedroom door down to get to her.With Elijah home and catering to her every whim, I couldn’t risk fucking her like she needed—like I needed.That didn’t stop my demented little mate from touching herself.“I didn’t—”When we locked eyes over breakfast that morning and I saw the blush that stained her face, I knew she’d done it on purpose. I vowed at that moment to make her pay but hadn’t had an opportunity until now.“On your knees mate.” She stalked towards me with slow, measured steps. I knew I was in for it when she offered me a crooked little smile. “What if I told you to get on your knees. Would you do it?”The curve of her nails dug into my skin as she traced the length of the scar on my chest. A faint pink line appeared, fading as quickly as it had come. I didn’t let her see the way
Violet’s P.O.V.The mood of the crowd hovered somewhere between excited and worried that all hell had officially broken loose.It had. They knew it, I knew it, and most importantly, the two shirtless men gearing up to fight one another to the death knew it.What the crowd didn’t know was how different those two men were, despite the fact that their raven hair, muscular builds, and eyes of polished obsidian, rendered them nearly identical. They had no idea that the fate of their people hinged on who would win tonight.It was hard to believe that just one hour ago, the younger of the two men had been curled around me in bed, whispering words sweeter than I’d ever known in my ear. With the scent of me on his lips and flesh, he stepped into the arena constructed on Xavier’s property.Where his hands had caressed me, squeezing gently as they coaxed every bit of pleasure from my body, they would now be used to kill.What had been even more unbelievable wasn’t the fact that Sylvia said nothi
Violet’s P.O.V.The once silent crowd erupted in deafening cheers. Arms flailed as voices floated towards the heavens. A full moon etched in silver looked down on us all, as though the Goddess herself had stood witness. They were still oblivious to what had just happened, not knowing that the woman who stood fifty feet to my left singlehandedly prevented the death of their old Alpha.Hael stood from his father’s body and looked my way, his feet planted in the bloodied sand. Through the roaring of the crowd, I caught glimpses of his swollen face.I wanted to tell you. Keeping this from you was the hardest thing I’d ever done, I thought to myself.Regardless of the torture Xavier had put him through, murdering him would’ve sent Hael spiraling headfirst into the same darkness that festered within his soul. I couldn’t stand by and watch as he was thrown back into the clutches of the monster his father taught him to be.Even if he hated me for it, I had to do something.Unfortunately, ther
Violet’s P.O.V.“Mom…” Mykelle’s voice was weak, torn in two though I wasn’t sure why. “You said we weren’t going to kill her.”“Shut up, stupid girl. Let me handle this before you ruin things any further.”Those venomous words had been hurled towards her own daughter, who took each one unflinchingly. I couldn’t think of a time when my mother had raised her voice to me in anything other than love and playfulness. This glimpse into Mykelle’s life was something I could’ve gone an eternity without.I didn’t want to know why she was the way she was—I didn’t want to understand.“You should’ve taken the chance when you had it, because now—now the only place you’re going to rule is the grave I have you buried in.” Imani tutted, the barrel of the gun dancing in front of my face.Mykelle eyes bounced between the two of us, straddling some invisible line between the person she was, and the one her mother wanted her to be. Her words were stronger this time, the fear encasing them growing thinner
Violet’s P.O.V.The medic stitching his chest flinched as he growled but resumed threading the needle through his flesh again and again. “You saved me though.” He ground out, “You made me realize that what I want does matter, and that I have every right to reach out and take it. Cole is supposed to be that for her, but she’s too fucking heartless to see it.”I shook my head in denial, a strange lump in my throat reserved for Mykelle alone.“It’s not that she’s heartless…Cole just came too late. It’s up to her to save herself now, and we need to give her the chance to do it. She deserves it, and so does Cole. Imani isn’t around to dictate her life anymore.”Hael’s shoulders dropped, and I knew it wasn’t because the medic had finished stitching up his chest. He stared up at me with eyes of unfathomable cruelty, ones that held warmth only when they fell upon my face. I basked in those flames, taking pride in knowing they lived and breathed for me alone.That was okay with me. If I needed