“Remember our deal, Silas. And we’ll leave as soon as Tracy gets here.” She lifts her palm up, feeling for Ben’s wards. It’s odd; I can’t feel them at all. So it surprises me when she nods, satisfied by their strength.
She gazes down at Mona, her eyes softening in a way that transforms her face. The same expression I caught earlier, something wistful flickering across her features, a mixture of envy and longing. Her hand twitches by her side.
“I was right, she is pretty,” Deidre whispers. “Don’t worry, your mate will recover from the magic soon enough. Seymour didn’t spell her too strongly. I can already tell it’s leaving her system.” Then she turns and pins me with a glare. “There’s no escape. Fresh wards, three witches. You don’t want to risk her life, now do you? I won’t kill her as long as you behave.”
“Kill her, after everything you did to get her here? Thought you wanted her alive? Most powerful bloodline, and all that.”
She laughs lightly. “Yes, well,” she starts, turning toward the stairs, pausing on the bottom step, hand on the railing. “That is true. It would be a great loss. But I learned something interesting after working with that delta—Lily, right? She wasn’t much of a delta at the end there, was she? Imagine what I could do withdozensof omegas? Might just offset one very powerful one.”
I school my expression, but my alpha roars inside of me, remembering Lily’s tortured screams.
Thisfuckingcunt. Deidre stumbled onto that discovery after transforming Lily into an omega by forcing her through spelled heats. Now she’s going to weaponize that?
I don’t care what she says, now that she knows she can do it, she will. Whether Mona and I cooperate or not. And despite her newest threat, she won’t kill Mona either. She would never do that, not intentionally, not after everything she did to capture her. I have to get Mona out of here.
Deidre winks, then heads upstairs. My eyes follow her the entire way, while I count all the ways I’m going to kill her.
I wait until the door clicks, and then, finally, I allow myself to look.
I’m glad I waited because the moment my eyes land on her, it’s all over.
It doesn’t hit me in a wave. It’s slower than that. Choppier, like a hurricane pelting rain and debris at my soul.
I feel sick to my stomach, remembering how I last laid eyes on her, covered in blood. I could already feel her transformation, I knew she’d be okay. But still, I left her there, like that, all alone.
I knew she’d be scared. I knew she’d be confused and in pain.
And I left her.
Here she is again. At my feet, curled in a ball. In pain. Wrists bound in plastic that digs into her skin.
She’s been keeping quiet, like Lily used to. It’s for the best. Play dead in front of Deidre and she won’t toy with you.
Somehow, Mona is more beautiful than I remember. She’s gained weight, her pale, freckled cheeks are fuller and rounder, but they’re bright red now, flushed with heat.
I take a step toward her. She flinches, and I pause. My alpha is pin-balling around inside me, reaching out for her, elated to be so close, finally, after so long—he’s savoring the potency of her.
Her perfume is so sweet. My knot swells thicker. The tip of my cock presses against my jeans, which are still damp from when Deidre forced Ben to pull over so she could hose Pierre’s blood off me. Said the smell was making her gag. No love lost, apparently. Pierre was nothing but a sycophant. They weren’t related. He just loved her power.
I can still smell him, hear his last words. It all clings to my skin.
You were the best I ever had.
An involuntary shudder runs through me, nausea churning in my stomach.
Mona is in heat, and there’s nothing I can do about that, but I can get her somewhere safe.
A plan begins to formulate. Grayson. She needs Grayson. I’ll get her to safety, to my brother. He can help her through her heat.
I can’t touch her, not like this.
Everything realigns. I’m out from under Deidre’s thumb, but I haven’t had time to appreciate it. Out of the pan and into the fire, now I need to get Mona to safety. That’s the only thing that matters now.
“How long?” I finally ask, kneeling down, shifting my claw so I can slice through the plastic zip tie. I’m careful not to touch her skin.
She places one palm on the floor beneath her before pushing up to a seat, then shakes out her arms.
“You’re in heat,” I say matter-of-factly. “For how long?”
