After all these years, Yannis would finally get another chance to destroy his brother. He would not fail to slaughter the sanctimonious prick this time.
Sitting back on the couch, he lifted the arm of the woman sitting beside him and bit into it. She was little more than a motionless feedbag now. He didn’t get a rush from her pain when he bit her anymore. And now that he had his brother in his sight, he no longer had any use for her.
He’d brought many humans in and fed from them since arriving here, but he’d kept this one alive. The pretty woman had listened to his story about a broken vehicle, invited him into her home, and fallen prey to him.
He enjoyed torturing her in the beginning, and he’d really enjoyed folding her boyfriend in half and shoving him into their basement freezer while savoring her screams, but their time together was over. She was no longer any fun, and he would soon be leaving here to hunt his brother.
He felt it when her life slipped away, and he tossed aside her wrist as he settled back on the couch to continue watching. He couldn’t track them once they left here, but he had others to do that for him.
He’d have to get to them before they returned to their home. He, along with many others, would love to know the location of Ronan and his followers, but he couldn’t risk not being able to get at Lucien once they returned home.
No, if he was going to kill his brother, he had to make sure it happened before Lucien locked his pretty piece of ass away.
He’d have to be careful; he had no idea if the bitch with the sword was with them, but if she was, he could kill two birds with one stone. Where Derrick failed to procure the sword, he would succeed.
He’d kill Lucien’s mate, push his brother over the edge, and maybe reclaim the sword in the process. He’d love to see the look on what remained of Derrick’s face when he arrived with the sword and his brother’s head.
It wasearly afternoon by the time Lucien shut the back door of the SUV and climbed behind the wheel. Callie sat in the seat beside him, her hands clasped in her lap, and her eyes staring straight ahead. No matter how he tried to draw her out, she’d barely spoken since Carter’s attack.
At least her throat looked a lot better, and the gash on her forehead was mostly healed. She still bore the bruises that piece of shit inflicted on her, but they would vanish within the next few days. He couldn’t wait for that to happen.
Starting the vehicle, he pulled out of the drive.
“You were right,” she said, her voice already sounding much better. “We shouldn’t have come back here.”
“No, I wasn’t. You should have your things. You’ve given up so much already; you shouldn’t have to give it all up. You deserve better, and I’ll make sure you have it.”
“I want to join you,” she said. “And after I do, I’m going to keep training so I can go into the field with you and help against the Savages and stop people like Carter.”
“Callie—”
“I know you don’t want me there, but I’m going to be there. I know it will take time and a lot of training to get me to where I can help in the battle, but I’m going to fight. I won’t ever let anyone do to me, or someone else, what Carter did. Iamgoing to help others.”
Lucien’s knuckles turned white, but he’d always known she wouldn’t stay locked away. She was no meek hunter woman, and even they weren’t so meek anymore. She was a human who enjoyed her freedom and wouldn’t easily give it up. He couldn’t cage her.
“It will take alotof training,” Lucien said.
“I know, and I’m ready to do it.”
“Okay.”
It was the last thing he wanted, but he would give it to her.
“Where are we going now?” she asked.
“We’ll take a few days to return home so we can make sure no one is following us.”
“Okay.” Callie settled back in the seat to watch as her neighborhood vanished. “What did they do with Carter’s body?”
“It’s still in the SUV with Asher, Logan, and Saber. We’ll dispose of it when we get the chance.”
Callie shuddered at the idea of driving around with that thing’s body in the back of their SUV. She was happy Carter wasn’t with them.
The rest of the day faded away, and night descended as their tires hummed over asphalt. They pulled into the parking lot of a motel, and Willow and Declan went to get rooms. They waited outside with Killean and Simone.
When Declan handed Lucien the key, Callie trudged beside him to their hotel room while Saber, Logan, and Asher went to dispose of Carter’s body. Callie removed her clothes with jerky movements before collapsing onto the bed. She listened to Lucien moving around the room before exhaustion won and sleep claimed her.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
