Mason
I couldnât see past the rage. He had killed an innocent. The woman had not even been meant for me. I hated the sense it made. Why she often complained of me being too big, of being a brute.
A true mate would desire that.
And she hadnât craved me the way I craved her.
Sheâd loved me the best way she couldâ with half her heartâ while my brother claimed the other.
I knew the type of man he was; he would never have acted on his instincts, and for that, I wanted to rage.
Weâd mated once.
Never to mate again.
That was the rule.
I had been given a second chance, or so I thought. What about him?
It was the first thing I would demand as kingâ after I killed my father. And once the thought was in my headâ¦
The killingâ¦
I could not help but let it fester until my body transformed into my wolf, until I felt the secrets of the Watcher inside me burst free.
Secrets of the wolves.
Where to strike. How to strike.
It was as if Gadreelâs entire mind had been uploaded to mine, showing me how to defeat, how to become king.
I thanked him in that moment, wondering if I would ever get the chance to see The Creator myself â and also the Watcher heâd taken back to Heaven who selfishly and then not so selfishly sacrificed his soul so that I would become what I was.
What I was born to be, however wrong it had started.
The Creator had the final say.
Power rolled through my veins. My blood soared as I struck my fatherâs head and knocked it against the table.
The marble split in two before he stumbled forward and tried to grab my neck. I flipped him over my back and shoved him to the ground.
Killing a wolf was nearly impossible.
~But I am not just a wolf.~ I smiled at that thought.
âYou would never kill your own father. You walked away. Youâll do it again.â His taunting wasnât helping his case. âI sent them for her.â
I pressed a claw to his throat, and his voice sounded in my head.
~âI sent them to attack her, to kill her. Did you know sheâs searched for you every year since your mateâs death? Since the bond was broken? She would hunt for you. She would cry. It was pathetic how many times her own parents had to wipe her memories, how many times they cried over their broken-hearted daughter.â~
I slammed him against the ground, harder this time.
The voice in my head, my fatherâs, kept taunting as his eyes glistened with fury. ~âShe was supposed to die. She is an abomination.â~
I answered aloud. âYou swore to protect her.â
~âI dinna know what I was promising. It was wrong, what they did to her, what they did to you. We will not mix with that blood!â~
I smirked inwardly and struck his neck with my fangs, drawing his bitter blood and spitting it out to the side.
~You were saying?~
âWhat are you?â~He pushed at me with all his force.
~Wolf. Vampire. Fallen.~ I felt the loss of my wings so harshly I sucked in a breath. ~And now? I am King. ~
I struck again and slid my claws on either side of his head, making it impossible for him to move, then grabbed a piece of marble and shoved it in his heart.
He was not dead.
Not yet.
I fell to my knees and moved to my human form. Tarik tossed me a pair of jeans, and I quickly turned and put them on just in time for someone to run in the room screaming.
âMovement in the forests!â
But it was too late.
âTheyâre here,â my father said cryptically. âYou did this. This is on you.â He still wasnât moving.
Hooded figures slowly entered the room and walked toward us. Twelve of them, black hair peeking out from under the hoods.
One stepped forward and pulled her hood back before looking to the right and smiling. âDaughter.â