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“You left a couple of pints in my body. You should really grab the rest while you have the chance.”
“So eager to die. Commendable but stupid. You have a destiny, but I agree it would be so much more delicious if it was one you had chosen.”
Riley huffed. “I would never choose to help you.”
Deruthel’s lip curled over his serrated teeth. “Really? Even if I give you a choice?”
“What choice?”
Deruthel’s eyes flicked. “Take my blood of your own accord. Stand by my side in the war, and I will cure Colton.”
CHAPTER23
Her heart split. She wanted to agree. Colton was more important than her life, but she knew he would never agree. Without her, he would end up as a reaper. One like Breck. A traitor to his clan and family. That destiny would be worse than death for her mate.
Her heart fluttered as she made her decision. It would hurt Colton and destroy her father. He had given everything to protect her, to give her life. She hoped her father could find solace with the cougar clan. A purpose beyond that of the church.
“I won’t give you what you want.”
Deruthel chuckled, his guttural tone grating on her ears. “You have no idea how many times I’ve heard those same words, but the result is always the same. I get what I want, and you beg for death.”
Her eyebrows arched, feigning a strength she didn’t process. “Is that what you want? For me to beg? If it’s that simple, then please kill me.”
Deruthel’s eyes flickered as he approached her. His fetid breath rotted in her nostrils as his tongue lolled out, and he licked her face. “That is not an option. You are mine. Besides, I won’t consider it until you are truly broken. When you can no longer produce the sons I need. When death is no longer a mercy.”
If she had anything in her stomach, she would have released it right there. She couldn’t imagine a scenario where death wasn’t merciful. The implications were staggering and grotesque. “I’ll die before I let you touch me.”
“While I have chosen you to bear my young, I need you for various reasons. We will fulfill them all in time.” He grabbed her wrist with his gnarled fingers.
The sticky texture gave her the sensation of ants crawling on her skin. She shuddered as she attempted to pull out of his grasp. “Let go of me.”
“Your struggles are futile.”
“You can’t watch me forever. You have a war to win.”
Deruthel sneered, but dropped her arm when Leah screamed out and fell to the cement floor. Her body twisted in agony as her skin ripped along her back, exposing tissue and bone. “That’s impossible.”
Riley bit back the tears. Trying to tell herself that the woman on the ground wasn’t the one she had met at the winery. That the agony she was experiencing wasn’t real. The screams, however, were very real.
“Halak!” Deruthel yelled.
Halak dashed into the throne room. His eyes fell on Leah’s body. “How did this happen?”
Deruthel growled. “You tell me. She turned a few hours ago.”
Leah gurgled black blood from her mouth as her stomach expanded. Halak reached for her before her middle exploded into a bomb of tissue and blood.
Riley glanced away, but was showered in fleshy particles. Deruthel wiped the blood from his eyes.
“I have never seen that happen in the thousands of conversions I have witnessed. What went wrong?” Deruthel asked.
Halak wiped the chunks of tissue from his body. “That shouldn’t have happened. Something is wrong with the formula. I need to make some adjustments before we infect more.”
Deruthel growled. “Hurry up. Use Riley’s blood and make a dozen variations. We need to start testing immediately.”
Halak picked a piece of brain tissue from his face. “It will take some time. I want to remove the Bokor’s blood from the formula to determine if that is the factor. We assumed his blood would expedite the process, but perhaps we were wrong.”
“You’re running out of time. We need the breeders in place. Bringing the horde over with no females will incite a demon war. They will destroy one another before we can out maneuver the humans,” Deruthel hissed.
