Zion's Revenge

ZION

~Kill.~

~Kill.~

~Kill.~

He was going to kill.

He was going to take the most precious thing in the world to Kyril.

And destroy it.

Just as his life had been destroyed.

All the years he’d been waiting, biding his time, hiding in the dark...preparing for this moment.

The moment when Kyril found his mate.

His sweet, delicate little flower of a mate.

She didn’t deserve to die.

But neither had Serena.

There was no compassion in him left.

Only fire.

Only maiming.

Only murder.

His mother was wrong. Zion, the man, was dead. The demon was all that remained.

The demon returned to the Vasilio pack in the dark of night. He waited until morning, when the guards were in the middle of switching their shifts, then leapt into action.

He charged toward them, shifting, feeling his demonic horns sprout from his head, his breath fill with fire, his eyes becoming two black voids.

He didn’t care who stood in his way.

All the demon could do was…

~Kill.~

~Kill.~

~Kill.~

Lilac

Standing across from Kyril’s mother, Lilac had never felt so afraid of a woman in her life. But to her surprise, Rosalyn’s words didn’t have the slightest inflection of disdain or hostility.

Instead, her words trailed off her tongue with warmth and sympathy. She even smiled.

“I need to apologize to you for the way I behaved yesterday,” Rosalyn said. “There’s no excuse for acting the way I did. I don’t know you or your relationship with my son. And I was...too quick to judge. I hope you will find it in your heart to forgive me.”

For a moment, Lilac wondered if Kyril had put her up to this. If he had forced her to play nice. But something in Rosalyn’s eyes revealed her sincerity.

Lilac shrugged and offered a smile. “It’s okay, honestly. You’re his mother. You’re protective, I understand.”

Rosalyn’s eyes brimmed with feeling, but she managed to keep the tears at bay. She gently squeezed Lilac’s arm.

“You really are a kind girl, aren’t you? Not a mean bone in your body. I see why Kyril loves you.”

Lilac choked a bit at that word choice. Love was ~not~ a word either mate had dared to say to the other. Not yet. Rosalyn, reading her mind, chuckled a little bit.

“Did I say something wrong?”

“No, it’s just…”

“You know, it’s perfectly natural. To say ‘I love you.’ If you are mates, there should be no doubt.”

“There isn’t, I don’t think,” Lilac stuttered, blushing. “But…”

“But it’s different saying it.”

Lilac nodded.

Rosalyn sighed and walked over to the pantry, beginning to take out breakfast ingredients. “I understand. Words can be tricky. I tend to blurt out my feelings without any filter. As you can testify.”

Lilac laughed a little at this, still a bit nervous around the woman.

She was confident in ways Lilac knew she would never be.

In some ways, Rosalyn’s lack of anxiety, her complete composure...it made Lilac envious.

“May I ask you something?” Lilac asked as they prepared pancake batter together.

“Of course! What is it?”

“Why were you so concerned about me? Being with Kyril? Was it really about my age?”

Rosalyn put down the flour and looked aside. Lilac could see this was a sore subject and tried to pivot.

“It’s okay, if you don’t want to talk about it.”

“No,” Rosalyn said firmly. “You deserve an answer.”

She turned and considered Lilac carefully. “Tell me, Lilac. How much has Kyril told you about his past? You know he was almost feral…”

Lilac nodded. “When we met, he was in chains. But he didn’t scare me. I knew he was my mate the second I saw him.”

“And you’ll never have to be afraid. I could see it in his eyes. Kyril’s feral days are behind him. You’re the real deal, Lilac. His true mate.”

Lilac breathed a sigh of relief. Still, this didn’t answer her question.

“But you weren’t sure?” she asked.

“Not at first,” Rosalyn admitted. “Did Kyril ever mention...his sibling?”

Lilac frowned. ~Is Rosalyn talking about Zion?~

“I know that... something terrible happened. But he won’t tell me what.”

Rosalyn’s eyes filled with inner turmoil. Curiosity getting the best of her, Lilac pressed.

“Will you tell me, Rosalyn? What happened?”

Rosalyn sighed, had opened her mouth to respond, when they both heard it.

A distant high-pitched howl.

Then another...

And another...

Soon, there was a chorus of frantic howls that made the hair on Lilac’s arms stand on end.

“What is that?” Lilac asked, scared.

Rosalyn was pale as the moon, her eyes filled with sudden psychic knowledge.

“It’s Zion,” she said breathlessly. “He’s here.”

KYRIL

Kyril was standing with his father, trying to give the ladies some alone time, when he heard the first howl.

He didn’t stop to listen; he didn’t hesitate. He would have recognized the tenor of that howl anywhere.

That was his Beta, Jon. That was a sound of distress, of alarm.

Jon

Kyril!

Jon

Help!

Jon

Alpha, HELP!!!

Kyril

I’m coming!

Kyril immediately shifted and sped from the house toward the border as fast as his paws could take him.

Now, the howls were so frequent and panicked he couldn’t distinguish between them.

Kyril knew exactly who the intruder must be. He could already scent it from here.

His brother.

Zion.

He was attacking leaders of his pack, there was no doubt. The metallic tang of blood was already in the air.

Kyril sped even faster. He had to stop him. He had to save them.

But when he finally saw them within his eyeline, Kyril knew he was too late…

ZION

No lycan, no wolf, no man on earth had a chance in hell against the demon.

He lurched, stabbing, clawing, tearing everything he could get his hands on. His long black claws were venomous, his horns so hot they could melt flesh.

One Lycan, stronger than the rest, ripped his claws through Zion’s ribcage, puncturing a lung. But to Zion, it felt like a mosquito bite.

He turned on him. Somehow the fur of this beast looked familiar. But there was no time to identify his attacker.

Zion lunged at the lycan, razor-like teeth latching onto his neck, and yanked backward, ripping clean through his artery.

Zion spat out the blood and spun as two other werewolves jumped at him, trying to take out his legs.

He kicked them off with ease.

They were all in the way of his true mission.

Killing the girl...the mate of his brother...Lilac.

Where could she be hiding?

It was at that moment that he saw the Lycan, whose throat he’d ripped open, falling to the cold ground. The immense loss of blood was forcing him to shift, and as his human shape took form…

Zion realized that he recognized him.

~I know you…~

It was a lycan close to Kyril, his number two, his Beta. What was his name?

The man, bleeding out, outstretched his hand towards Zion, his eyes begging, silently asking him to stay.

He didn’t want to die alone.

~I know you…~

And now Zion’s mind swarmed with memories.

~Jon.~

~Jon.~

~Jonathan.~

~I know you... I remember.~

The memories came flooding back all at once. This was Jon, an old friend... a friend that he had now sentenced to death.

~No. No. No.~

How was this happening? How could he still be capable of remorse? He killed that feeling long ago.

There should only be rage. And yet…

~Jon.~

“NO!” Zion shouted, but this time, it wasn’t in grief.

It was to remind himself of his vile purpose. Whether he’d known the lycan before or not, it didn’t matter. He ran toward the packhouse, toward his fate, leaving Jon to die.

He wouldn’t be the only one to die today.

Of that, the demon was certain.

Kyril

Jon!!!

Kyril

JON!!!!

Jon

...Kyril…

Jon

...I think...this is it...

Kyril

Don’t give up!

Jon

...Do you see her too, Kyril?...

Kyril

Who?!

Jon

...She’s beautiful...

Kyril

Jon, I’m coming!!!

JON

Jon could hear the howls growing closer. Help was on its way. But as he felt the blood pouring from his neck, he knew...there wasn’t time.

Nothing but the most gifted healer in the world could save him now. And their pack didn’t have that.

~It’s okay~, Jon thought. ~If this is it, it’s okay.~

He rolled onto his back and looked up at the morning sky. The clouds had never looked so peaceful, so comforting.

He felt his breathing grow shallow, his vision blur, his whole body slowly go numb. With resignation, Jon lowered his hand from his neck and let the blood pour.

His lycan blood was fighting to heal him, but the black demon poison continued to gurgle through his veins and would soon overpower him.

In a few more minutes, it would all be over.

Jon was taking his last breaths. His eyes were closing. He was preparing to enter the state of ~tranquility…~

But then he heard her.

A soft soothing voice called out to him, forcing him to snap open his eyes. Through the blurriness, he saw a figure emerging from the woods, running toward him.

Was this real? Or was this just the way life ends?

But then Jon picked up her scent. He knew exactly who she was even though they’d never met.

He wished he would’ve had time to know her name.

To hold her.

To tell her he loved her.

Because this stranger running toward Jon was his mate.