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“Before I even consider doing this, there are a few things you need to understand. First, I won’t guarantee it’ll fucking work. Magic is unpredictable. It could kill you, it could change you into something you’ll never recognize, or it might not fucking work at all.”
“It’ll work.” I didn’t have a fucking clue if it would, but I was determined to do whatever it took to save my brother and my wife. That was all that mattered.
“Secondly—and this is the most important thing I’ll ever fucking promise you—if I do this and you fucking hurt someone, I will kill you. I will hunt you down and do to you ten times over whatever you do to others. Do I make myself clear?” he asked, and I nodded. “And if I do this, Killian Byrne, your ass belongs to me.”
“I don’t care if you fucking hire me out as a goddamn circus clown,” I retorted. “Do it, Lane.”
He pulled out his knife as his hold on me tightened. My heart hammered faster in my chest while my wolf protested at the tingle of danger dancing down my spine.
“There’s one thing we’ve learned about this fucking process,” Lane said. “It works best if you’re mad.”
“I am mad.” I was. How could I not be?
“No. I need you raging mad,” he explained. “You know what I’d do if I was her? I’d torture your brother first. Sweet little baby Nolan Byrne. Slice him apart bit by bit and make your goddamn wife watch all of it. The psychological torture of that alone is fucking brutal, don’t you think? How much do you think Nolan can handle?”
A violent growl built in my throat, my muscles tensing.
“Only after I exhausted every fucking avenue of torturing him while she watched, I’d start on her. And you know the best part, Killian? She’s pregnant.” My heart damn near stopped with the words. She couldn’t be. “That’s right, Killian. Your pregnant wife is being held hostage by the one person in the fucking world looking to exterminate your kind. What do you think will happen when she realizes she can’t control Genevieve’s wolf? Do you think your wife can survive that fallout? Even if we do manage to rescue her first, the stress may be too much for her body and your baby. How do you think that’s going to ruin her?”
The growl that ripped through me was downright deadly. Any control I had on my temper was fucking gone. Beau’s claws dug into my skin as he held me back as I tried to make a move for Lane.
“That’s right,” Lane murmured. “Get fucking mad and stay that way.”
“Hang on tight, Killy Boy,” Beau snarled. Claws grazed my skin as he moved behind me. “This is goin’ to fuckin’ hurt.”
My entire body begged me to run, but I forced myself to hold still as Lane placed the tip of his blade over my heart. His eyes swam with inky magic, and his mouth moved with silent chanting.
The temperature skyrocketed around us, burning my skin and ripping the air from my lungs. I gasped. As I did, Lane plunged the knife into my chest. The shock was overshadowed by the explosive pain in my neck as Beau sank his fangs into my skin.
I screamed because it hurt. Fucking hell did it all hurt. Every fucking nerve in my body was on fire with more pain than I’d ever experienced in my fucking life.
My muscles locked up.
Something dark weaved its way through my body, fusing to every fucking molecule in my being. Changing them. Molding them. My wolf pushed against me as it pointlessly tried to fight back. It was dragged deeper into my body, torn into pieces by magic. The pain echoed through my scream.
And somewhere in the middle of it all, the sound became something monstrous.
Chapter 122
Genevieve
Aroar unlike anything I’d ever heard filled the night air—full of pain and rage. I felt the horrible pain of it in my very bones. The roof of the building shuddered, and the chains rattled. My heart kicked up as I gasped with surprise. There were wolves in Cedar Harbor, but that? That wasn’t a wolf. I didn’t know what that was.
“Well, well.” The hunter clicked her tongue. “That’s fucking new. What are you wolves hiding here in Cedar Harbor?”
Twirling her bloodied knife, she walked outside without a word.
“Nolan?” I called out, desperate to hear his voice. The silence was daunting. He’d gone quiet after what felt like hours of screaming. “Nolan, please. Please… say something. Say something.”
His lack of response was terrifying. Was he…? I didn’t even want to think the words in my head. He couldn’t be. I needed him.
“Nolan!” I shouted. “Nolan! You answer me right now! Nolan!”
“I’m here…” His voice was raw and distant. But he was alive. That was a good thing. I clung to that. “I’m here…”
“Keep talking, Nolan,” I pleaded. “Please, keep talking to me.”
“It hurts…” he whispered. I didn’t miss the tremble in his words. “I can’t… Ginny… I just…”
