Chapter 53

KYLE

Azazel Mortar was one of the larger vampires I had ever seen in my life. He had long black hair and a neatly shaved beard. His red eyes were darker than Grayson’s or the girl’s had been, boring into my soul, telling me he was a powerful pureblood.

I felt stupid.

How could I not? All the warning signs had been there just waiting for me to notice them.

They couldn’t have been clearer if they were biting me in the ass.

Grayson wasn’t Grayson at all–well, it was his b*dy, but it wasn’t him controlling it.

It had been Azazel this whole time. Azazel laughed as he stretched his arms

and legs.

“You have no idea how good it feels

to be back in my own b*dy after being stuck inside of that filthy dog for so many months.” He shook his head in disgust. “As much as I enjoyed the power Grayson’s b*dy provided me, nothing beats your own skin.”

I bristled, clenching my jaw. “What did you do to him?” I ground out. I was desperately pushing against the mind control that kept me from moving. “Where is Alpha Grayson?”

“Shh, shh, shh, little wolf,” Azazel taunted me, stepping forward and patting my cheek.

If I could have moved anything else besides my mouth, I would have bitten him.

“Don’t worry about your poor alpha. He’s still in here.” He tapped his temple. “I wouldn’t be able to use his b*dy if he weren’t alive.”

“Can he speak?” I asked. “Can he see

me?”

Suddenly Azazel hissed, showing off his vampire fangs in obvious anger. He looked away from me, his gaze fixating on some point in the room. He was silent

for a moment.

“He can see you. And he can speak, only to me. In fact, he doesn’t shut up.”

I could tell that he was no longer talking to me alone. If all of what he was saying was true, Grayson was in his mind and communicating with him. I almost smiled at the thought.

If Grayson were really present and able to speak to his occupied b*dy, I could only imagine how terrible the constant chatter

was.

I wouldn’t have been surprised if Azazel hadn’t had a moment’s peace since taking

over.

Azazel shook his head and smiled calmly back at me.

“Forgive me. He thinks he can talk as much as he wants now that his mate is gone. He seems to have forgotten that I could kill the rest of his pack just as easily. You included.”

He paused, waiting for something.

My best guess was that he was waiting to see if Grayson would continue to speak after the threat he had just made.

After a second, the calm, threatening

smile widened.

“That’s better,” he said.

Grayson had finally stopped talking. Azazel chuckled in amusement.

“Your alpha cares very much about your pack and especially about his mate. Maybe a little too much. It has made him weak and controlling his b*dy easy. The

price you pay for love, I suppose. What a costly price that is.”

I growled. “Let him go. You already have your clan coming to wage war. You already have all the information you need to succeed. Release your control on Alpha Grayson and fight the battle you arranged for. Only a coward would hide in the b*dy of someone stronger.”

Azazel looked only a little shocked at the revelation that I knew of his plans.

“So it was you rifling through my things yesterday.” He chuckled darkly. “You’re smarter than you look, young gamma. I have underestimated you.”

“I know my alpha,” I replied hotly, “and you are not him.”

His expression turned into a mocking frown.

“Oh, boo. Here I was thinking I was

doing such a good job acting as the powerful Alpha Grayson.” He sneered out the name. “After all, I do have access to every single thought in his mind.” He dropped his shoulders in feigned sadness. “Oh, well. I can live with the fact that I can’t act like a dog.”

My wolf pushed forward. I could feel my eyes turning black with his presence. He wanted out.

“Calm your wolf,” Azazel said dismissively, “there’s no need for that. All of this will be over soon. I need your alpha for a few more days, and then I promise you I will go. I will ensure that Alpha Grayson dies in the most honorable way possible, but only after he tells his pack to give their lives over to the Clan of Azazel and fight by their side for the throne.”

“They would never do that,” I growled, “fight alongside disgusting vampires.”

“It’s sad, really,” Azazel said as he circled me, completely ignoring my last claim. “You would have made a fantastic

second–in–command for me. You have

impressed me these last few months. But I can’t have you spilling my little secret, now, can I?”

He moved in a blur, throwing me to the ground in a single graceful motion. I was helpless as my b*dy fell backward. Then Azazel was by my side on the ground with that evil smile.

“Let me move!” I yelled. “Stop being a coward and fight me without restraints!”

He laughed. “Oh, my boy. I am anything but a coward.”

And his fangs plunged into my throat. I knew at that moment that I was going to die. I had no way of stopping him from sucking every last drop of blood from me. It was hopeless.

I could only try to convince myself that I had done enough to keep my pack safe from the battle coming tomorrow, that the vampire king had received my message and was on his way to help. Little by little, I could feel my energy leave me with every drop of blood that Azazel sucked out.

My wolf fought against the barrier keeping us from moving, but it was no use he was quickly losing strength too. I thought about reaching out to Elijah. I wanted to tell him how much I loved him. Until now, I had been blocking him from my mind, making sure he didn’t feel what I had been feeling throughout the night.

But I couldn’t die without giving him an explanation.

He deserved to hear my voice one more time and to know that I loved him.

Maybe he could even be the one to save the pack.

Dark clouds started to close in on my vision, and I was about to open my mind to speak Elijah one last time.

Then Azazel was thrown off of me.