Ronin paced back and forth, raking his hand through his hair, clenching his fist so tight that blood dripped between his knuckles. His first-rank council members surrounded him, with equally frayed nerves. Lucien was gnawing on his last fingernail, Maia was bouncing in place, and Nikolai stood still as a statue, tracking every movement under the pavilion. Caius, Xander, and Thaddeus focused all their energy on preventing him from going after Derith. Growling, Ronin shoved at Caius, “Damnit, she should’ve woken up by now. It’s been half an hour.” “Hey, there’s still 30 minutes left. Be patient. Remember time passes differently in the Soulscape and she is on a very dangerous quest.” He moved with Ronin, using his body to block any view of Derith. “If she dies, Caius… I am going to make Derith wish he was dead.” “Derith is untouchable right now.” Xander blocked his line of sight, crossing his arms, “If you kill him, there will be anarchy. Even if we assassinated him, all fingers wou

Dammit- He caught her.'Tell him I'm a shadow and I'll Kill you.' Liora gripped Nikolai’s throat tightly, sending him the mental warning a split second before Ronin descended upon them.He ripped her away from her snack and sent her flying across the room. Air left her lungs as her back slammed into the closet door, breaking the mirror in the center. Shards fell around her where she crouched, littering the sheer gray carpet.“Alpha, this isn’t what you think-”“No?” Ronin slammed Nikolai into the wall adjacent, his claws digging into the Delta’s chest. “I knew that you and Liora were close but I didn’t think you would actually fuck my mate–!”Liora stalked over, pushing Ronin back and getting between them. “Back off Ronin. He’s mine.”Some of the rage drained from Ronin’s expression as if he was now finally starting to understand what was happening. “Liora. Your eyes.”“Hmmn, yes dear. We’re a matching set now.” The corner of her mouth turned up ruefully.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -