Revelation

Sylas

Lake allows me to bring her frame into my body as I kneel beside her. Every ounce of my being is in full-on protection mode right now.

If it weren’t for those damned Ferals, Derrick wouldn’t have gotten within an inch of Lake.

With all of the mayhem, all I could do was watch as Lake’s life was almost taken by her own mate within the seconds before the loud explosion happened.

Seeing her body being slammed into the ground from the force of the explosion gripped me with fear...I thought that it would have crushed her.

But as I hold her close, I see that her body is alright...it’s just her heart that’s broken.

I can see light clear shards of the crystal buried in her chest and cheeks. Lake grips my arm and cries slightly to herself. I feel her jerk every time she is supposed to breathe.

“Firefly…” Derrick moves his sister aside and moves closer to us.

“Close enough!” I hiss, slightly taken aback by my aggressive mannerism. I guess this whole new Essence bond thing really does change you.

‘Sylas, it’s okay…” Lake lifts her head, blood dripping into her eyes, making them a solid red.

“Derrick is still my mate, after all,” she says, pulling herself away from me.

I almost scoff at her words, “After what he did to you? No way in ~hell~ is he getting near you any time soon.”

Derrick growls loudly, “Who the Hell are you to order what goes on between me and my mate?”

I rise at the sound of his words, ready to take this guy head-on.

He deserves to pay for what he did to Lake.

But before I have time to make my first move, a loud and obnoxious cackle comes across the yard.

It’s Evin.

Lake

Derrick, Sylas, Lucy, Coal, and I all look over at Evin with a mixture of fear and confusion.

He’s laughing so hard that he’s practically toppling over.

But there’s nothing funny about our situation right now...

“You failed, you sad man.” I say as he approaches. “I found my mate and we’re getting out of here.”

“You really still believe the two of you are mates?” Evin looks at Derrick and me, “Woah, that’s rich!”

“What are you talking about?” I lift myself from Sylas’s arms and look at my grandfather with disdain.

“Thanks to my serum, that little bond between you and that wolf is all but extinguished.”

Evin straightens himself up and looks at me with victory in his eyes.

I don’t want to believe him, but I can’t help but feel that there’s some truth in what he’s saying. Still, I will not let him sense my desperation. “Now that we’re together again, we’ll find a way to rebuild it.”

I stand next to Derrick, presenting a united front.

I see the slight twitch of a smile on Derrick’s face as I move away from Sylas and get closer to him.

“You stupid, idiot little girl,” Evin smirks. “Don’t you realize that Derrick won’t be able to live without the serum? If he doesn’t take it every day, he will die.”

A moment of revelation passes by, and all of us are staggered by it.

“You’re lying,” I manage to say. “That can’t be true.”

~It just can’t.~

“Lake, my dearest granddaughter, I’m not,” Evin’s words are slow and to the point. “His dependence on the serum is like an addict’s to their choice drug, except more so. His body now depends on the serum to give him the strength and muscle mass of a Feral. Sound mind, or not, that’s what he is now.

I look over at Derrick and see that his eyes are filling with rage again.

I wonder if he’s already starting to crave the serum. If he’s filled with an itch that only Evin’s poison can satisfy.

“I will admit,” Evin continues, “Derrick was my best subject in all the years of my project. Being mated to a Hybrid must have made his DNA structure different from the rest, but now that I have your blood in my possession, I’ll be able to create hundreds like him! You’ll never get out of this place. You’re trapped here to be my blood bag for the rest of your life!”

My hands tighten into fists as I take a brave step toward him.

“Evin, you seem to forget one vital thing in all of this.” My voice is dark and twisted as I stand and motion to the multitude of bodies around us on the ground. “You’re all alone.”

To my surprise, Evin’s face turns white as he looks around him. Perhaps he was feeling a little ~too~ confident, after all.

“Now, if my math is correct, there’s five of us.” I motion between me and my group. “And one of you. Can you really fight us all off without your guards present?”

I stalk towards him, leaving my mates and friends behind.

Lynne is wanting blood again. ~I’m wanting blood. My claws extend swiftly. All I can think about is what it’s about to be like having Evin’s skin dangling beautifully off of them.

I jump on top of him, ripping at his ugly suit and making a mess of his face.

I can feel the blood splatter all over my neck and chest, making me want to rip into him more.

“Lake!” Derrick and the others try to intervene, but I swiftly push Evin to the ground.

“Stay back!” I look back at them. “This is my fight! And I intend to finish it!”

Evin tries to crawl on his back, but my heel makes contact with his throat.

I slowly press my entire body weight on it, listening to the blissful sounds of his windpipe being crushed.

“Now, you waste of oxygen.” I remove my heel and raise my hand for the final blow. “You die.”

“Come now, Lake.” Evin gasps for air. “You wouldn’t kill your own father, would you?”

My entire body freezes in an instant.

What did he just say?