by Dia Cole
Nathan pushed Mira out of the way as several cages dropped from the ceiling in a thunderous crescendo.
“No!” I shouted when I realized Nathan had been trapped in one.
“Daddy!” Mira ran over to Nathan’s cage and rattled the bars.
“It’s okay, sunshine,” Nathan said, sounding very much not okay. “We still have Plan B.”
“I trust you’re not talking about these two here,” Tasha said, sweeping into the room in a gold, sequined ball gown.
Behind her long serpentine train were several of her Enforcers dragging Liam and Gabriel. Both my mates had been beaten nearly unrecognizable and both wore thick silver collars around their necks.
“Oh, no!” Their bodies looked so broken, it was a wonder they still drew breath. “What did you do to them?”
Tasha feigned a look of surprise. “I didn’t lay a finger on them. But they were no match for my new army.”
The stomping sound of boots filled the air as dozens of huge, muscular males, dressed head to toe in black leather, marched single-file into the room. Every one of the males stood over six-foot-five, possessed the hugely sculpted muscles of a bodybuilder, and stared at us with Alpha yellow eyes.
Tasha clapped her hands and the Alpha males came to a stop. “Aren’t my Enforcers incredible?”
And frightening as hell. Every Enforcer held some kind of instrument of death. I ran my eyes over them cataloging all the guns, knives, swords, and maces.
“Mother, what have you done?” Ty shouted.
“I’ve made Winterhaven the strongest and most powerful faction in the world,” she said with a feral grin. “We only had enough of the whore’s blood to ascend forty of my Enforcers, but in time we will ascend them all.” Her heels clicked on the marble as she walked over to our prison. “I promise not to bleed you dry.”
I spat at her. “Screw you!”
Moving faster than a striking rattlesnake, she reached her hands through and grabbed a fistful of my hair. Then she rammed my skull against the bars so hard my vision blurred and my mouth filled with blood.
“Don’t hurt, Vana!” Mira yelled. Jabbing the pointed end of her hairpin in front of her, the little girl attacked Tasha.
Tasha spun around and kicked the little girl into the side of our prison.
“No!” shouted Nathan and Ty.
“Mira!” I scrambled over to where she lay, crumpled like a wilted flower. Before I could reach her, Tasha picked Mira up by the neck. “It’s time this abomination joins her sisters in death.”
19
Nathan
Seeing my daughter in the hands of her mother was my worst nightmare come to life.
For the last four years, every action and decision I’d made was to prevent this very moment from happening. Keeping a tight rein on the helpless rage and fear exploding inside me, I said, “Don’t hurt her, Tasha.”
Tasha’s gaze flickered to me. “You think to give me orders, Consort?” Her even tone betrayed her mood. She was fucking amused by the situation.
I curled my hands into fists and took a ragged breath, trying to think a way through this. “She’s our child.”
“Our child is dead,” Tasha shouted. Her eyes glistened as she stared at Mira’s limp body. “If only I could trade this mistake for our son.”
What in the fates is she talking about? Mira was the product of the one and only time Tasha conceived my child. Is she hallucinating things now?
Gabriel had been right when he said Tasha had gone completely insane, not that she’d been mentally stable to begin with. We would need more than my bargaining skills to deal with her.
I glanced over at the bloody males on the floor. With Ty, Mason, Havana and me imprisoned, we needed Gabriel and Liam’s strength right now.
As if feeling my gaze, Gabriel opened his eyes. He croaked something that sounded like, “Play dead.”
I didn’t know what he was talking about. I tried to reach him telepathically, but couldn't. Deciding he must not be able to mind speak with his silver collar, I willed the former Head Enforcer to stay down and wait for the right moment to attack.
Turning my attention back to Tasha, I said, “I will give you all the sons you desire. Just don’t hurt, Mira.” At that moment, I would have promised her anything and everything to save the life of my daughter. She and Havana were the only females I loved, and both were now at the mercy of the Beast. I had only myself to blame. I was the idiot who’d brought them here. I’d all but handed them over to this soulless creature that had tortured and abused me my entire life.
Tasha’s eyes glinted for a moment as she looked from Mira to me.
I held back the shudder as I imagined what being with her again entail. Every inch of this fucking playroom, and the ones like it at all Tasha’s estates, was filled with my degradation and pain. Memories of the beatings, the stabbings, and the rapes blazed through my mind. I steeled my spine knowing I’d volunteer to go through it a thousand times to save Mira and Vana.
I dared to glance at the female I loved more than life itself. Tremors wracked Vana’s body as she pleaded with Tasha to put Mira down. I wanted so badly to apologize for how I treated her. She deserved so much better than me.
Tasha stalked over, carrying Mira like a broken doll. “You already gave me a son, Nathan. He would have been born in the next few weeks if that bastard Emmanuel Moreau hadn’t attempted to assassinate me at the Interfaction Games.”
I blinked remembering Gabriel saying Tasha had been pregnant recently. “You’re mistaken. I can’t have fathered your child.”
Tasha let out a cold laugh. “You thought you were so clever, doping yourself on wolfsbane when I was in heat. Stupid male, not all of your body was unconscious that night.”
Shock forced me motionless. I had no idea she could manage such a feat, but then again, I should have known she’d gotten what she came for. It explained why I’d woken two days later naked with my fake silver cuffs broken in half next to me on my bedroom floor—no sign of Tasha or her Enforcers in my home. Fuck. Willingly or not, I’d impregnated Tasha. Guilt stabbed into me as I saw the look of surprise on Vana’s face. Once again, I’d betrayed my mate.
No. She’s no longer my mate. Vana had rightfully unclaimed me.
“I didn’t know,” I whispered to Vana. Then I curled my hands into fists and stared directly into Tasha’s eyes. “I can give you another son.”
“Tempting.” Tasha glanced at the Enforcers lining the wall. “However, I no longer need a son. Not with all these Alpha male warriors at my command.”
She stared at the golden-eyed males with pride and excitement. “You will be my sons now. What say you?”
“We serve you, my Alpha!” Their war cries reverberated off the walls and high ceiling.
She turned to me. “See, I don’t need you.” Looking down at Mira, she said, “And I certainly don’t need another faithless, backstabbing, daughter.”
Fuck the fates. Think. Think. What else can I bargain with? Her oath was the only thing that came to mind. “You swore you would not harm Mira in return for my council seat.”
Tasha gaze narrowed. “I will eliminate the Lykos council.”
My mouth fell open. The Lykos high council was treated as sacrosanct by all the factions, to even think of harming them was unfathomable. “You can’t mean to—”
She snarled. “Those pretentious assholes refused my petition to extradite Emmanuel for the crime of killing my unborn. I’ll kill every last one of them.”
“Stop, Mother. You’re speaking treason,” Ty shouted from his cage.
“Fuck them all,” Tasha snarled. “I didn’t need their permission to take Emmanuel and punish him for his crimes. By the way, he shared such interesting stories about you, Nathan, and his Aunt Shoshanna during his torture.”
Ty paled, realizing as I did, that Emmanuel must’ve known about our planned coup. He’s the reason Tasha knows of our betrayal. Fuck. The fates only knew what diabolical punishment Tasha
inflicted on Shoshanna in retribution.
“The other faction leaders won’t stand for it,” Ty called out.
“We will kill them when they arrive too. There will only be one faction, and one ruler over all Lykos.” Tasha bared her teeth. “No one will challenge me and my army.”
Ty shared my look of horror. His mother was planning to destroy our species’ government and entire way of life.
“But first, I need to take out the trash,” Tasha lifted Mira.
“No!” I shouted. I knew what I had to do to save those I loved. “If you spare her, I will accept your claim.” My soul was the last thing I had left to barter with. Tasha had tried to claim me on more than one occasion. I’d always rejected it until now. “Claim me.”
Vana let out a sob, “Nathan, no.”
Not daring to take my eyes off the monster holding my child, I whispered to Vana, “This is the only way.” As soon as Tasha claimed me, I’d kill myself. Since our souls would be bound, she’d die with me.
“No!” Vana pleaded.
Tasha would sense any physical attack on her, but she couldn’t foresee me harming myself. A world without the Beast was the last gift I could give Mira and Vana.
Tasha went motionless. “You’d accept my claim?”
“Yes.” I was already scanning the room for the best weapon to take my life.
Tasha smiled even wider. “What perfect irony that you are finally ready to give yourself to me, but I have forty other Alphas to choose from.” She walked over to a dark-skinned enforcer and ran her hands down his chest.
The poor male didn’t move a muscle, but I saw the flare of panic in his eyes.
Tasha patted his stomach and turned her gaze back to me. “Although I admit, no one suffers quite like you Nathan. Seeing your daughter die might actually break you.” She choked Mira.
I slammed myself at the bars of my cage trying to get to her. “No!”
Zayn, of all males, stepped forward. “Mistress, stop.” I’m sure I only imagined the distressed look in his eyes. He was supposedly my father’s brother, but he’d never tried to protect me from the abusive tyrant he slavishly served.
“Yes?” Tasha hissed.
Zayn cleared his throat. “It’s bad luck to break an oath.”
Tasha rolled her eyes. “Fine. You do it then.”
The cursed male bowed and took my daughter from her.
“No. Let me be the one to do it,” Gabriel rasped, pushing himself up on his arms.
“You?” Tasha snarled. “The warrior who betrayed me twice? The only reason you still have your head is because your life is tied to the whore’s.” She motioned at Vana.
Vana was crouched over Mason. I couldn’t see what she was doing. Hopefully, not mating him. Damn the fates, it was a shitty time for her to be in heat.
Gabriel bowed before Tasha. “Please, my Alpha. The whore’s beauty seduced me. I know now that I made a mistake. I want to serve you and only you.” He stared at the long line of Alpha males. “And I want to lead the strongest fighting force this world has ever seen.” There was no faking the covetous look in his eyes.
“Zayn will lead them,” Tasha sneered. “You will spend the rest of your days in my dungeon.”
Gabriel scoffed. “Zayn is past his prime. You once said I was the greatest Head Enforcer you’d ever had. Let me prove that to you again.” Gabriel lifted his arms.
Every Enforcer in the room pointed their weapon at him.
Showing no fear, Gabriel brought his hands to his face and with a sickening squelch gouged out his own eyes.
Havana turned to look at him and screamed.
Fuck the fates. The male didn’t even let out a whisper of a sound as he ripped his eyes from their sockets and presented them to Tasha. “Give me one more chance, my Alpha.”
When Tasha did not take his offering, Gabriel laid the bloody orbs on the floor in front of her and bowed his head. Blood poured from his empty eye sockets and splashed onto the white floor.
Tasha looked down at Gabriel as if in contemplation. For some unfathomable reason, she’d always had a soft spot for the insufferable jackass. Will that and his blood sacrifice persuade her to forgive him?
Tasha nodded as if coming to a decision. Then she slid her long dagger from her thigh sheath and handed it to him. “Slay the child with this.”
Gabriel kissed the blade.
I took a deep breath to keep my fear at bay. The asshole has a plan. He has to have a plan.
As Zayn set Mira in front of Gabriel, I gripped the bars of my cage. If only I could get free.
I spared a quick look at Vana’s prison. Inside it, Mason was getting to his feet, Ty was shaking off his shackles, and Vana was using Mira’s hairpiece to remove her silver bands. If they were going to do something they had to hurry.
Every eye was on Gabriel as he leaned down over Mira and muttered something. Then he rose above her with the blade lifted. “I do this for Winterhaven.”
“Kill her now, Gabriel!” Tasha shrieked, her voice shaking with power.
Oh, fuck no! There was no way Gabriel could fight Tasha’s compulsion.
The warrior’s arms trembled.
Hope bled out of me. I shouted my daughter’s name wanting my voice to be the last thing she heard.
Gabriel brought the weapon down.
Zayn darted forward as if to grab the blade, but Gabriel suddenly threw it at Tasha.
“You fool!” Tasha ripped the blade out of the air before it could touch her. “You know better than to attack m—” She was interrupted by a tremendous roar that shook the cages still hanging from the ceiling.
Gabriel slid back to allow Mira, who’d taken hybrid form, to stand.
In an impressive show of strength, my daughter roared again and gnashed her dagger-like teeth at Tasha.
Tasha gaped at her for a second. Then, seeming to remember herself, she snarled at Mira. “One little hybrid is no match for me.”
“What about me?” yelled Mason, shoving the prison door open. The lock fell to the floor, my daughter’s butterfly hairpin inside. The blond male lifted his shackle-free wrists and took his monstrous hybrid form.
The sight of the doctor’s massive jaws, and gleaming gold fur brought a collective gasp from the Enforcers.
“And what about me, Mother?” shouted Ty, stepping out of the same cell. With a toss of his head he assumed an even larger hybrid form.
Shocked beyond words, I stared at the bristling black fur coating Ty’s bestial body. In all our years together, I’d never known Ty held the power of the Originals.
Based on Tasha’s look of surprise, neither had she. “Y-you have the gift, Tyberius?”
His answering howl sent murmurs of unease rippling through the Enforcers. No doubt seeing three creatures whose strength and near immortality were legend among our species scared them shitless.
Tyberius stomped over to my cage and ripped off the door.
I stepped out, still in awe of his ability. “Brother, you kept this secret all this time?”
He lowered his snout, to look at me. “I feared what you would think of me and I feared Mother using me as a weapon.”
I clapped him on his furry back. “Someone wise once told me that a life lived in fear is no life, brother.” Squaring my shoulders, I faced the Alpha of Winterhaven. No longer would Tasha rule us all in fear and blood. “I stand with these others against you.”
Tasha’s fury-filled gaze bounced between Ty and me. “I raised you both—gave you two everything you could ever want, and you reward me with betrayal?”
“You gave us nothing but pain and suffering,” I said, leveling an accusing gaze at Zayn.
The senior Enforcer looked away as if ashamed.
Gabriel rose, turning his empty eye sockets on Tasha. “I stand against you.”
Liam jumped to his feet. “I too, stand against you!” He bulldozed through the Enforcers standing around him and punched his giant fist through a nearly invisible panel on the
side wall.
The hanging cages fell.
20
Havana
As the metal cages dropped from the ceiling, Tasha and the Enforcers rushed toward the door. I can’t let them escape. Putting every bit of strength and power into my voice, I shouted. “Freeze.”
Everyone, except Zayn, turned into statues.
The gray-haired Enforcer rushed to Tasha’s side only to be trapped by the large silver cage that fell over the two of them.
A riot of emotions crashed over the bitch’s face—confusion, disbelief, and then helpless rage. “How can you have more power than me? You were just a half-human whore.”
“So much better than being a psychotic monster,” I clapped back.
Tasha’s gaze filled with cold fury. “Attack them!” she yelled to the dozen Enforcers who hadn’t been trapped by the cages. But those warriors were frozen too. “Zayn do something!” she shrieked to the Enforcer standing behind her.
Zayn bowed his head at me in respect.
“It’s game over for you, bitch,” I said, stepping around their cage. “You won’t hurt anyone ever again.” I put a healthy kick of compulsion in my voice.
Tasha shrieked. “I’ll crush every bone in your body then leave you to die—” She stopped mid-sentence as if she could somehow see Zayn lifting his curved sword behind her.
Her eyes went wide. “Stop! Zayn you serve me!”
Seeming unswayed by her attempt at compulsion, Zayn brought down his blade, slicing her head clean off.
Shocked silence descended in the room.
“Now she'll hurt no one,” Zayn announced.
Holy shit. I opened and closed my mouth, not knowing how to respond. I watched in fascinated horror as Zayn pulled off his shirt and laid it over Tasha's corpse.
“Beautiful, do you mind unfreezing us?” Liam shouted, bringing my attention back.
Realizing that I’d frozen my mates as well as my enemies. I called out, “All my allies are free.”
Immediately, Tyberius, Nathan, Mason, Liam, and Mira broke from their statue poses along with several Enforcers I didn’t know.