Filed to story: Owned by the Alphas Novel
I backed out of the room, anger filling every fiber of my being. I couldn’t control it; my shadows hissed and sputtered, angry and seething just like me.
I ran back through the tunnels, charging up the stairs, throwing chairs and everything I could out of my way, roaring as I ripped the hinges off the door of the hut.
My eyes landed on the father. Fucking piece of shit.
I went for him, my claws growing, my body shaking, begging me to turn. I wanted to tear him apart for the way he had treated her.
I pinned him against the wall of the stone hut, not caring when I heard the slight crack or saw the way he winced.
I didn’t even care when I smelled the blood that dripped down the wall from where I had hit his head against it. I kept him pinned there, my hand on his throat, his feet off the ground.
“You worthless prick,” I snarled, and Derik ran over. He tried to haul me off, but I snapped at him with my bared teeth.
“Brax,” Derik ordered, but not even his alpha voice could get through to me. I was too angry, my shadows feeding that rage.
“You should have seen it, Derik. The cell they kept her in.
“In fact, why don’t I show you, then you can decide if you really want to save this asshole or not,” I sneered, then let Derik into my mind to see the cell.
Derik gasped before he went deadly silent, stepping back from me.
“That’s what I thought. Now”–I held Valarian’s throat tighter–“I want a reason good enough to convince me not to end your pathetic life right now,” I said, lessening my hold by a fraction so he could speak.
I kind of hoped it was a shit excuse so I could justifiably end him, but then that would start a whole world of shit. After seeing Lorelai’s cell, I wasn’t sure I cared.
“She’s an abomination. I should have killed her as soon as she was born in winter.
Her brother too, but at least he sacrificed himself for our cause–unlike her.
“Now she carries one of you. She deserved everything she got. If it wasn’t for her power her cursed blood would already coat my sword,” he spat past my grip that got tighter and tighter.
It was the only ammunition I needed. I roared, my wolf desperate inside me, releasing a howl with my shadows.
They burst out from me, the rage with them, swirling around us, pushing Derik away, his shouting falling in the wind.
He couldn’t stop me now. Nothing would.
How dare this mongrel think he was above Lorelai? She was better than him in every way, better than the humans he was so fond of.
She could have killed every single one of them with her shadows, but she had decided to save the wolves and the humans instead.
“You will regret your words, human,” I growled lowly, darkness spreading through my veins, the shadows crawling over my body like a second skin.
They agreed wholeheartedly with my decision to end Valarian’s life.
I didn’t usually lose my shit. I usually had such a strong hold on my control, keeping the darkness at bay, keeping a lid on the psycho that warred inside me, but Lorelai carried our child and owned our hearts.
There was nothing in this world I would let survive harming her the way her father had.
I gripped his throat tightly, his face blubbering, turning red as he tried to escape. He yanked his sword out and went to pierce my body, but I thwacked it away faster than the next harsh breath that barely made it past his discolored lips.
The skies swirled with angry clouds, rain coming heavier as my shadows kept a wall around us, stopping anyone from saving his worthless life.
Until Valarian said the one word that made everything change.
“Fractum!” he sputtered, struggling against my grip as my claws dug into his neck, enough to have blood dripping down his neck.
But that single word made me freeze. I sucked in a breath and stepped back, my hand dropping as he fell to his knees, drawing in huge raspy breaths before glaring up at me.
“What the fuck did you just say?” I demanded, hoping I had heard wrong.
If he had said what I thought he did, then we were all fucked. Humans.
Werewolves. Vampires. The entire realm was going to go to shit.
The skies thundered dangerously, which was not a good sign. I dropped my shadows, and Derik raced forward as the word fell from Valarian’s lips again.
“Fractum,” he said clearer, and with that word, the entire realm shuddered.
The ground quaked, and torrential rain fell as the witches screamed in my ear. My heart stopped, thoughts stampeding in my head as Derik froze next to me.
“No,” he whispered.
Valarian grinned, standing up, holding the concrete wall with one hand, the other on his throat.
“Yeah, you heard me,” he said, brushing off his clothes before picking up his sword and putting it back in his belt. “I was told that would work.”
He smirked, and I shook my head. Someone had been feeding this fool information, half-assed information that was going to get us all killed. Stupid fucking human.
“You should not utter words that you do not know the meaning of,” Derik whispered, the rain falling from his barely moving features.
Pretty sure he’d just been dropped into his worst nightmare. The pack were probably running home to their families now. They wouldn’t be the same anymore.
Humans were stupid to play with such power so lightly. But Valarian didn’t look like he gave a shit. He would learn his mistake the hard way then.
“I do know, actually. That word means that I just broke all binding contracts in our realm. Including the one that we have.
“We no longer have to supply your food, your wine, your virgins. We no longer have to abide by your rules.
“We are equal. Our races, equal.” He smirked, and I shook my head, a sad smile playing on my lips, because he had been fed some very selective information.
There were perks, of course, but it was now open season on all races because nothing bound them to the law. There was no law.
The border was still in place, but it wouldn’t be for long, not without the wolves’
magic feeding it. And we weren’t going to be able to do that without the humans connected to us.
He had just severed that.
We could grow our own food, we could ferment our own wine, but we could not settle our magic without humans, which meant our wolves were about to descend into madness, a savagery that would see the death of so many.
It had happened before, but this time, the humans were the only available chew toys. The vamps were cut off, and last time they had been the targets.
I had no idea how we were going to survive this. I had no idea how we were going to be able to keep Lorelai without putting her in danger.
It put my head in a spin as Derik stepped toward Valarian.
“Your source has played you for a fool. Such words were only created for magical creatures to use. You have no idea of the magnitude of what you have just done,”
Derik said, his voice low and serious.
We weren’t angry anymore, just sad. It didn’t matter if Valarian survived now, he would die with the rest of us.
“I do, actually. I know a lot about what happens once that word is uttered. I know that the werewolves will grow weaker. I know that we are now considered an equal race, same as you and the vampires.
“I know we can make our own laws, our own traditions, and we are to be included in the balance of the realm and be protected by the overall laws that govern both of you,” he explained.
The information had been manipulated to be exactly what the human wanted to hear. Whether through research or a rat, it didn’t matter now because he had already said it.
The rain soaked us all, and I wanted to end his life, punish him for what he had just done, but he was right, the laws protected such action.
Just as I couldn’t slaughter a vampire without being attacked.
I would have to answer to the witches, and they were already going to be pissed as hell.
“Not entirely true. There is so much more to the magical balance that you just disrupted.
“Did whoever gave you this information explain the consequences? Or just the benefits to get you to say the word?” Derik demanded, his fists shaking.
But I didn’t want to argue. I wanted to go find Lorelai and get her behind city walls before everything went to shit. I grabbed Derik’s arm.
“We have to go find her, D,” I said, and he nodded once, sneering at Valarian before backing away down the path to the women’s village.
I looked back over my shoulder as I moved with him, giving Valarian one last glare.
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?