The Confrontation

Lilac

Branches cut into Lilac’s face as they hurdled through the woods.

She was slung over her kidnapper’s shoulders like a hunting trophy, her arm and leg pinned across his massive body.

She tried to use her free hand to shield her face, but the pain of his shoulders slamming against her ribs forced her to grip his cloak instead.

Her mind was in chaos as they traveled deeper into the darkness.

Who was this creature, and what could he want with her? She had never done anything in her life to harm or offend.

She craned her neck and saw the glimmer of Sapphire’s wings through the treetops and heard the roars of Kyril, hot on their trail.

If she could get her kidnapper to stop, even for a few seconds, she was confident her mate could catch up and save her.

Summoning her wolf once more, she felt her teeth sharpen, and she immediately bit down into her attacker’s shoulder.

The shock of her bite caused him to stumble, sending both of them crashing to the ground in a violent collision.

Her head cracked against a tree trunk, sending a hot pain shooting through her skull. Stunned, she looked up at the hooded figure as he got to his feet. She strained to make out his face in the darkness, but everything was a blur.

Everything except his eyes, which cut through the night like hot coals, glowing red with hatred and vengeance.

She knew those eyes.

They were the same ghastly rubies that she’d seen peering through the bush outside her bedroom window. The ones that had given her goosebumps and made her spine shiver.

“What do you want with me? Leave me alone!” she screamed, clutching her head in desperation.

He lunged toward her, and she threw her hands up in a feeble defense.

~This is the end.~

Suddenly, a hulking shadow flashed across her vision, the air rippling in its wake.

A thunderous crack shot through the forest as her attacker slammed into a tree, nearly splintering its trunk to pieces.

It was Kyril, his arms now flailing as he pounded the cloaked attacker relentlessly.

His lycan was in complete control. It had unlocked a vicious, primal side of Kyril that Lilac had only caught a glimpse of the night they’d met at the council headquarters.

Lilac struggled to get to her feet, her body badly hurt from the fall and her head still reeling. Suddenly, a warm hand slid under her arm and helped lift her.

It was Sapphire, who had descended to the forest floor from her perch in the trees.

“More help is on the way, Luna, but right now you need to come with me.”

“No,” Lilac protested. “I’m not leaving my mate.”

“Please, Luna, he ordered me to get you to safety,” Sapphire begged, tugging on her arm. “He can take care of himself. The others will be here any second to assist.”

A guttural snarl caused them both to turn.

The red-eyed man was holding a dagger coated in thick, lycan blood.

KYRIL

Kyril staggered back, holding his side, more enraged than wounded.

He inspected the gash that poured hot liquid down his leg. A simple wound like this was but a scratch to a lycan like him.

Still, the fact that it would heal soon did not mask the sharp pain that came from such a deep cut.

His foe had sunk the full blade into him. He was lucky it hadn’t punctured his lung or lacerated any other organs.

The howls of Kyril’s soldiers filled the air around them, and soon their imposing figures emerged from the shadows.

From the looks on their faces, he could tell that they were ready to draw blood of their own.

~Soon I will give them such satisfaction.~

“We have you surrounded, demon,” growled Kyril. “Is there any reason we shouldn’t rip you to shreds?”

The hooded figure refused to speak or move. His eyes were locked on Kyril with a fanatic determination.

There was something familiar about them that he didn’t want to believe was true. He needed to find out.

“Sapphire, illuminate this monster so we can have a good look at him. I want to see his face as we peel off his skin.”

Letting go of Lilac’s arm, Sapphire begrudgingly started to rub her hands together.

He knew asking her to assist in such gruesome affairs went against everything in her fae heart, but Kyril was her Alpha, and he knew she had to comply or face the consequences.

Slowly, a glowing ball of blue light began to grow between her hands, shooting beams of light from between her fingers. Then, spreading her palms, she gently blew against the orb, sending it drifting into the air above everyone’s head.

Lilac

Had it not been for the circumstances, Lilac could have basked in its radiance for hours.

It continued its ascent for a few more seconds before bursting into a cloud of sparkling dust that lit up the forest like a million fireflies.

For the first time, Lilac saw her attacker’s face.

He had hard, cruel features, which made him appear even more sinister than she imagined.

Adding to his menacing appearance was a set of brutal scars and indentations that had reshaped the right side of his face.

It was apparent that he had been handsome once, but the longer her eyes were transfixed on his countenance, the more she recoiled at his deformities.

He was more monster than man, capable only of cruelty and destruction.

She looked to her mate, who hadn’t said a word since the attacker had been unmasked by Sapphire’s lights.

The blind rage and unchecked fury that had him on the brink of murder had vanished, and in its place she saw a muted anxiety, which concerned her.

She had never seen her mate this conflicted. He had always been so headstrong and self-assured.

KYRIL

Kyril held up his hand, signaling his men to hold back.

He could sense their confusion with his order, but he had his reasons. He needed to make sure it was ~him~.

“What is your name?”

“Do you truly not recognize me?” replied the stranger. “Is it the new face?”

“I watched you die,” said Kyril, narrowing his eyes.

The man contorted his face into a freakish sneer. “I wish I had died.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Do you truly feel no guilt?”

“I mourn every day,” Kyril growled, “but that does not justify this violence.”

“I disagree,” the man shot back. “A life for a life.”

Kyril saw his gaze drift toward Lilac. “There is no reason to make her pay for my sins.”

“On the contrary, you’re the one who is going to pay...to finally know my pain.”

“If you come after my mate, you come after me,” Kryil threatened.

“You don’t scare me anymore, Kyril.”

“I see you’re still just as foolish, Zion.”

He couldn’t believe it had come to this.

With the flick of Kyril’s wrist, Zion would be condemned, but there was a part of his heart that couldn’t bring himself to give the order.

Lilac

Lilac caught her breath.

How did her mate know this hideous monster?

She shifted her eyes between the two men. The tension between them was growing stronger by the second. She wished something would happen, anything to break the standoff.

“Can’t you do anything?” she whispered to Sapphire. “Don’t you have some more magic?”

“Faes can’t do harm to another, Luna. It’s not in our nature.”

Lilac turned back to her mate. The blood stains down his side made her heart cry out in anguish.

She longed to run to his side and make sure he was okay, but she knew that would only make matters worse.

“This doesn’t have to end in violence, Zion. Surrender and I promise no harm will come to you.”

“That’s a far cry from peeling off my skin,” Zion replied, glancing around at the ring of soldiers.

“Enough talking. Either come willingly, or we will take you by force.”

“Well, I suppose I have no choice,” said Zion, throwing his dagger to the ground and tearing off his cloak.

A wave of relief passed over Lilac. There would be no more bloodshed.

Suddenly, she heard what she thought was the sound of cracking branches, but she soon realized it was the noise of Zion’s body contorting as he expanded in mass and height.

His skin turned a deep red, and two black horns spiraled out from his forehead.

His fingernails and teeth formed into sharp points, which he brandished with glee under the blue light.

Sapphire and Lilac clung to each other, scared for their lives as the savage beast turned his head in their direction.

This monster, this creature who wanted Lilac dead... he was a demon.