Page 49

Roman dismissed him with a look as he pushes the heavy door open. The vampire sat chained to a steel chair. His face was bruised from the interrogation that had already taken place. His breathing was uneven; one eye had swollen nearly shut.

The moment he saw me...Every trace of arrogance disappeared; he knew that his time had come to an end. There was no redemption when it came to a mate out for revenge.

His fear hit me like blood in the water. Good, he knew…he knew exactly why I had come.

"I told them everything," he rasped. I didn't answer, I simply walked toward him, slowly. Every step echoed through the room.

"You don't understand," he continued desperately. "I didn't choose…"

"You fired the shot." The words came out in a deep, rasping growl.

His mouth opened. Closed. "...Yes."

The room fell silent. Behind me, I could feel my brothers spreading out. They were not interfering, but instead they were standing there watching. Roman trusted me enough to have my justice, but not enough to leave me alone with it.

I stopped directly in front of the vampire. "Do you know," I asked quietly, "what she said before she lost consciousness?"

His breathing quickened. "No..."

"She called my name." My voice cracked on the last word, not with weakness but with grief. "My mate looked at me..." I said, "...and she was afraid." Not afraid of me but afraid for me. That memory cut deeper than any blade, my hand closed around the front of his shirt and then I lifted him, chair and all, until his feet barely touched the floor.

"You changed her life forever." I roared letting my rage start to bleed out.

He shook violently. "I…"

"You made her believe she was dying."

"I was ordered…"

"I don't fucking care." The chains groaned under the force of my grip. The berserker roared inside me. Kill.

Roman's voice reached me through the haze. "Viking." I heard him, barely.

"I am here," Roman said steadily. It wasn't an order, it was a reminder, a reminder that I wasn't alone. I drew one slow breath, then another.

The vampire searched my face desperately. "I'll disappear," he begged. "You'll never see me again." I released him just enough for his chair to slam back onto the floor.

He gasped. I drew the blade from my belt, my vision blurring red. Steel whispered through the room, his eyes locked onto it.

"No..."

"My mate," I said quietly before a deep growl escaped, "will carry the scar you gave her for the rest of her life." The room held its breath. And then with one clean movement I administer one final strike. Silence, as I let go of the blade buried deep in his forehead.

The room seemed suddenly enormous. Empty. The berserker in me wasn't satisfied. It never would be, because the one thing it wanted was to erase what had happened to Bryn, but that was impossible.

I stared at the floor, my breathing became uneven, my fingers flexing. I leaned back until my shoulders struck the cold stone wall, my legs gave out as I slid down it slowly. For the first time in days...I couldn't hold myself together. "I failed."

The words barely left my mouth before Lucien crouched before me. "No."

"I was standing right there." I choke in an anguished whisper.

"You protected her." Lucien states as he places his hand on my shoulder.

"She still got shot." My voice broke. "I was supposed to stop it." Silence settled over the room.

Draugr lowered himself beside me. "You took the bullet's path."

"It still found her."