51 - Safe Now

Fraser

I can hear the gentle thrum of Ailsa's heart as it starts a new, becomes stronger. It thumps through the dirt under my feet, grounding me and aiding me strength to do what it is that I desperately want to do.

End her miserable express of a father.

Her friend, the other human woman, rushes to her side, pressing a shaking hand to her forehead.

"Ailsa, lass, can you hear me?"

"Gentry! Do not go near her! She'll rip your throat out. He's made her into a monster." Laird Sinclair demands, the words desperate and strained as sweat drips down his face.

Gentry. Ailsa's maid. No wonder the big lass is so fond of my mate. The two are close.

I open my mouth, prepared to give him a piece of my mind when Gavin steps in, a glare on his face.

"Don't pretend to care for her safety when you had her tied to a steak scarcely a minute ago. You intended to burn her, to burn them both. You are the monster here, human, make no mistake." I'm a bit speechless at the bite in his voice. Gavin is the relaxed one here. Its interesting to hear him vehemently defend Gentry.

I prowl forward, making eye contact with the laird as he bumbles uselessly, trying to defend himself.

"I had appearances to uphold, you dont understand. I cannot let such behavior slide. She tried to help Ailsa escape, that is directly going against my command as laird." He gulps as I slowly get closer and closer.

Laird Sinclair likely feels his fate coming closer as well, the end of his pathetic life looming overhead in the form of me. I am the embodiment of vengeance now, and he is rightly terrified. It makes me smile gleefully as I think of all the hurt I will reign down on him.

"But there was no harm done, yes? The woman are alive, so I have done nothing wrong." He insists, and Alec forces the pest to his knees.

I chuckle, folding my arms across my chest as I reach him, laughing down at the proud Liard as darkness falls and the only light is the moon and the roaring flames that would've engulfed my mate by now.

"Nothing wrong? Where should I begin?" I wonder aloud, not waiting for his answer as I circle him like a hungry wolf. "How about sacrificing your innocent daughter to make an alliance, fully knowing it would likely end in her death? Or maybe locking me away and practicing little experiments on me and seeing how I would squirm? Hmm? Sounding familiar, Sinclair?"

His mouth flops open, tongue grasping at his lips as he tries to form some sort of syllables.

I grip his trembling chin, forcing his head up to look at me as my smile grows.

"It's my turn to watch you squirm."

I start with his ear, and then an eye. I take what I please and thrill in his screams of absolute agony as blood flows and flesh tears.

No one tries to save him, a running theme in this little human clan. They ignore pain easily enough. I suppose their own leader is no exception to that philosophy.

"Please, please stop." His beginning doesn make me stop fully, but it gives me pause as I think over his pleas.

How many times did Ailsa beg? And did it ever make him pause? I think I already know the answer to that.

So I don't hold myself back for very long. I did make him a promise, after all, all those weeks ago. I remember it clearly, promising to torture him before I rip his throat from his neck. I knew I would make good on the promise and fulfill my desire to make him hurt for all that he's done. I didn't know when I would seek my vengeance, let alone how I would possibly escape, but it was something that felt so right that I made no move to question it.

I scrape his delicate skin and snap his bones, not reacting to his little yelps of pain and his tears as they fall and mix with his warm blood. It sprays my face and collects in puddles at my feet.

Darkness is all around me, suffocating me as it climbs down to settle in my lungs. It crowds my vision and floods my limbs. Everything feels heavy, like my body is suddenly made of led.

I'm unsure how much time passes, minutes blend together until time has no meaning. It drags on, but it's not long enough as I let the inner monster have it's feast.

"Fraser." Someone says, and I reach for Laird Sinclair again, even though he's collapsed in a pile of useless, broken limbs. I'm stopped by hands grabbing at me and pulling me back. I make a sound of protest in my throat, fighting weakly against the person holding me back from continuing my mission.

"Don't forget who you are. Remember, it's our actions that say what we stand for." It's Alec saying these things to me, and his face is so blurry that I'm struggling to focus on any of it. My vision clears momentarily, long enough for his expression to come into view. He looks... oddly sad.

"Don't let him drag you down to his level. You're not the monster here. Don't let him make you one."

I yank my hand away as if I was the one who was burned. I hiss, hating the amount of blood slicking my skin. I was so close to losing it just now. The slow slide into insanity is all too easy.

Cursing under my breath, I turn to the Laird, who hardly looks like a person anymore. It's because he's not. And I need to finally get around to ending him.

I kill him quickly, doing exactly what I promised him I would, by ripping his throat out. I shake my arms at my side, trying to clear the blood as his body slouches against the grass.

Finally, the evil Laird Sinclair's rule has come to a rightful end. Nothing tragic about that. It was inevitable.

I move to the side, away from the massacre that I left behind and moving towards my future. I avoid eye contact with my clan members, feeling the sharp contact of their eyes on me. They're watching my every move with hesitation.

They've never seen me like that. I know this. I've always been ruthless, but not like this. I know if I were to look at myself from far away as I ripped that man apart, I likely wouldn't recognize myself. It's humbling, knowing that having a mate takes so much of my self control away.

Maybe I'm not as strong as I thought I was. How easily I was turned into a beast.

I shoulder past Alec, taking Gentry by the arm and trying to tug her away from Ailsa. She makes a noise in her throat as if she's in pain. I make a quick scan of her feet to ensure she didn't get melted by the flames. There's no damage to her pale feet. She simply doesn't want to be separated from the girl.

"Don't touch her." She insists, and I watch the confusion swirling in her eyes.

I narrow my eyes at the woman, knowing how much she means to my mate, but wanting to shove her far away to get to said mate. I'm on thin ice as I stalk closer to her.

There are things I want to say, but I find I'm beyond words now, too far gone to utter anything. I'll let my fists do the talking for me.

"Hey, I'd say we let the male do what he wants. It's in everyone's best interest, lass, trust me." Gavin explains, pulling Gentry into his arms, my hand falls away as he practically drags the human woman far away from Ailsa.

Gentry begins to yell and kick out, trying to escape, but even at her size she's no match for my friend. He's bigger than her and a vampire. She'll have a hard time getting away from him.

I slip to my knees, tucking a piece of hair behind Ailsa's ear to reveal her sweet face. She doesn't move at all. Not a flutter of her lashes or a flare of her nostrils. She's pale and her clothes are threaded, hair messy. She looks dead, and in a way, she is.

But my blood flows through her now, making her into something new. Something other. Something altogether stronger.

I slide my arms under her, letting Ailsa's head rest against my chest and her light legs to sway over the edge of my arm. She doesn't make a sound.

"I have you now, you're safe now." I murmur, but still she doesn't move, doesn't make a sound.

Worry pangs deep in my chest. What if I didn't give her enough? What if I didn't do it in time? What if I was too late?

"She'll be fine." Nairn assures me, and I nod soberly, holding my mate tightly to my chest. I finally brave myself to look up at those that call my their leader.

I ignore the fear and focus on the determined obedience. We'll get through this together, as we always have.

"Let's go home."