Draven
“What do you want to do with her?” I ask Kass, voice calm, almost bored.
We’re in the Royal Hall. The entire court watches in heavy silence, tension hanging thick in the air. I’m slouched on my throne, one arm draped lazily over the side, while Kass sits beside me — my Luna Queen. Her eyes gleam with satisfaction as they rest on Amira, who kneels on the stone floor below. Wrists shackled, head bowed.
It’s been a week since the battle. Since Kass broke the leash and brought me back. We already had our official ceremony, making her the Luna Queen of all shifters. Of course, we had to do a pretend marking in front of the Alphas of the six Prime Packs and their representatives. But that wasn’t unusual. Many royal pairings have done it like this before. True mates can rarely keep themselves from marking each other as soon as possible.
Of course, our situation was much different, though. There were questions. A lot of them. Kass and I shared the details withthe Alpha Primes and the Council — it’s important for them to be informed about this kind of shit.
Everyone was baffled. No witch has done anything of these proportions since the Witch-Shifter Wars. And that was hundreds of years ago. Fortunately, this time it was just one witch and her daughters — not an entire faction of them. Well, and a stupid god who got his ass kicked. I’ll be reporting that asshole to the gods who rule the Kingdom of Solmere. The ones who protect our entire realm. Let’s see how he deals with two angry Primordial gods who outrank him in every way.
I feel a peace inside me, the kind I’ve never felt before. Draxis and Neris also marked each other the same day Kass and I did. It was fun. Neris made Draxis work for it. She kept running and hiding in these tiny holes in the forest where only she could fit — Draxis had to dig her out every time. He indulged her playfulness for a while, until he lost his patience and caught her in two seconds flat.
“Well, Neris has ideas,” Kass answers my previous question, a wicked glint in her eyes.
I grin. Of course she does. That little wolf is more bloodthirsty than Draxis. “Oh yeah?”
Kass claps her hands together, eyes sparkling. She’s just as bloodthirsty as her wolf — she just doesn’t like to admit it. “Word for word:‘Claws through the heart. Rip it out. Burn it. Then burn the whole body with hellfire. No funeral for her.’”
She pauses, then adds innocently, “She wants Draxis to do it. Says she’s been dreaming of this moment.”
I rise to my feet, stretch, and crack my knuckles. “Well, far be it from me to deny my mate her dream.”
Amira lifts her head slowly, tears streaking her cheeks. “Please,” she croaks. “Ven—Draven, please. I never meant to… she made me. Galla forced me. I—I loved you.”
I blink once. “Liar.” My voice is colder than ice.
“You really want to beg? Here? After everything? You could’ve at least owned it. Died with a shred of dignity.”
She opens her mouth again, but I don’t care to hear more. I need this settled fast. I’ve got amake-up-for-being-a-problem-magnetdate with my mate after this.
I let Draxis take over. He bursts forward in a flurry of torn fabric. Shit. I forgot about my clothes.
His claws click against the stone floor and his wings stretch, but there’s no fire this time. We can’t risk burning the whole palace down. I feel his joy. His anticipation.
He stalks toward Amira slowly, purposefully, snarling low in his throat. Drool drips from his maw. Amira shakes violently. If she wasn’t shackled, she’d be trying to run.
When he’s close, he snaps his jaw inches from her face. She screams, lurching back, chains rattling against the floor. I chuckle. He really likes amping up the drama.
Draxis huffs.
He’s done playing.
The bond between Kass and me surges, her satisfaction humming along it. When Draxis lifts one massive claw and drives it into Amira’s chest, I feel Kass’s heartbeat stutter in delight.
Draxis doesn’t waste any more time. He does exactly as Neris instructed. Amira screams so loud that my ears ring. He onlyhas to pull at her chest once to rip her heart out. One clean, precise strike. And then he lifts her heart from her chest like a trophy, blood steaming in the open air, and turns toward Kass — presenting it like an offering, snarling proudly.
Her smile could bring kingdoms to their knees.
“Thank you, Draxis,” she says sweetly, sending him a wink and blowing a kiss.
Okay. Hold the fuck up. I’m here, too.
“Our mate likes me more,”Draxis throws at me, smug as hell.
“Dream on, you overgrown mutant,”I shoot back.
He huffs a laugh and turns back to the task at hand. Flames lick up from his claws like serpents. The entire room takes two instinctive steps back.
