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“Her. Name.” The tip of a black-tipped claw rips his robe and flesh from belly button to sternum. Not deep enough to kill, but I’m sure it burns like a bitch. “Tell me, and I’ll put an end to your suffering.”
“Leonora Moore.”
“Liar,” I hiss out from between clenched teeth; a fury so strong rips through me, and my muscles expand. My teeth are at his throat before the arsehole takes in a pain-filled breath. I’m breaking the skin, grazing his jugular before pausing. “Tell me the truth. Who fucking sent you.”
“Leonora sent me.” Tonio coughs, reddish spittle flying out, and I pierce a little deeper. In his blood I taste the darkness of his heart; the magic in his veins is tainted. “The Moores want to eliminate whom they perceive as threats, and your kind are the biggest targets at the moment.”
Betrayal cuts deep. It weighs heavily on my heart.
Yet what I focus on is the grief of losing two loved ones.
Before he can utter another word, I’ve ripped out his throat and tossed his mangled body atop Luke’s. Two traitors. Two worthless bastards.
Blood drips from my mouth as I turn to face my people, teeth red and my wolf present in my eyes. We’re one at the moment, completely in sync, and I spit the remnants of Tonio’s trachea on the ground.
“No Wiccan descendant will ever be allowed on our sacred lands again. No matter the sex or age, kill them on site.” The ground shakes at the decree, feet stomping while the air cracks from the sound of closed fists pounding on their chests. “We’re at war with the witches, my pack, and I’ll never rest until Leonora Moore’s head sits atop a spike at our borders. And if her family intervenes, they’ll be gifted the same fate. No mercy.”
“No mercy,” they recite back in unison.
This pain in indescribable. My father is inconsolable. Yet I’ll lead them through this, and only in the aftermath of our revenge will I allow my own pain to surface.
That’s a lesson I learned today from a man who lost it all.
A king always put his people before himself.
4
ISABELLA
Present
He’s beautiful. Every animalistic inch of him has been sculpted by the gods to perfection. The literal definition of chiseled muscles, a sharp jaw, and the soulful golden eyes of a powerful beast.
My mate is tall. At the very least, he’s two feet taller than me, and that’s in human form.
But his animal...
Goddess, he’s perfection.
And for those few glorious moments, I allowed myself the gift of meeting his stare. I’d been mesmerized—owned by a secretly woven spell that robbed me of breath and function. My skin prickled with awareness and my nipples tightened to near painful tips; he caused a heated throb between my thighs I’ve never experienced before.
Just like I knew he’d find me. Felt the moment he entered the woods and the tremors of his thundering steps the closer to me he came. Because every being walking this earth has a vibration they emit, a low pulse that thrums, and while I ignore most, his is undeniable. It slithers across my flesh, striking with pleasure, and mine returned the favor.
The magic that’s an extension of me couldn’t be held back. It feeds off my desires—hunger.
I want him. My mate.
Patience, Isabella. He’s been lied to.
This I know, too. Politics and manipulation have led us here from all sides, and I’ve come to accept that our path together has many twists and turns that will span a century.
Exhaling, I count to fifty while closing my eyes. His essence is all around me, and the scent of his spend and the cedar with a hint of mint coming from his skin embeds itself deep, merging with my soul. It brings with it a sense of home and belonging that can only be provided by your other half.
Because a soul mate is sacred. Above everything.
There is only one soul bond during our lifetime, and it’s meant to be cherished. No one can love, understand, and make you stronger while also humbling you as they can. It’s overwhelming, this sudden urge to be near him, yet the moment our eyes met, life truly began and my past is nothing but a distant memory.
He makes me whole. Lessens the weight of my burden while simultaneously breaking me.
