The moon shone brightly tonight, and he hated it. Hated how it illuminated the grounds, how it took away the shadows he so relished. The deep frown marring the man's face said enough about his annoyance.
The nighttime had always been his favorite time. He loved how dark it got; he loved how it shielded him, giving him the perfect cloak to move freely around town.
From far ahead, he caught the silhouette of the person he was meeting. With great care, he turned his head to scan the area; even though the street was empty and its silence deafening, he still couldn't take the risk of being caught meeting this person. It would be detrimental to his long, well-laid plans.
With sharp, brisk strides, the man reached Dimitri soon enough. The frown on his face deepened when he saw the state Dimitri was in—his breath came out heavily, his skin seemed unhealthily pale, and his face was twisted, indicating he was in severe discomfort from simply standing.
“What happened to you?” he asked in a harsh tone.
“It’s nothing,” Dimitri managed. Even his words came out with great strain.
“Good,” he said, nodding. “What do you have for me?”
He watched as a flitting look of worry crossed Dimitri’s features while he hesitated with his answer, the silence even more prominent this time.
He wasn't one to allow an absurd emotion like fear to cloud him, but right now, despite himself, he could feel an uncertain sensation trailing down every nerve in his body before finally settling itself in his stomach.
“She has found her mate,” Dimitri finally said, his head bowed down.
Suddenly, all of his senses became even more heightened.
He could hear the stillness of the night. He could taste the saltiness of the air.
And he could hear Dimitri’s words resound over and over again in his head, inflicting in him an ache that ran through him, making it almost hard for him to breathe.
His chest felt heavy, as though suddenly ladened with something unseen. The pain was excruciating. He wanted to scream and have the sound of his own voice bounce back to him as it reverberated through the night. He had always thought of himself as quite calm and composed. Ridiculous things like revealing one’s emotions were beneath him. They were things best acted upon by women; real men remained practical even at their most terrible moments But now, he wouldn't mind letting the scream tear out of his throat. Somehow, it was the very thing he craved—an outlet.
He could feel the world crumbling around him, crumbling beneath his feet, and he could almost swear the grounds quivered, or maybe he was the quivering one. His legs didn't seem able to hold him up well.
Dimitri finally looked up to him. “I’m sorry, sir. I never in my wildest dreams thought—”
“Who is he?” he managed.
He would be able to curtail this. Sophia’s mate was likely some lowlife who would be easy to get rid of. It would be simple, it would be fine. This was just a small glitch. Of course, things couldn't go perfectly his way, but this? This was something he could vanquish without any effort.
“What?” Dimitri asked, perking up.
“Who is he?” This time his voice was louder, his tone calmer.
Dimitri’s eyes darted around frantically before he said in a pained voice, “The Alpha of the Black Tide Pack.”
And this time, his world truly collapsed. There was a sudden ringing in his ears that he couldn't make sense of, and for a split second, complete darkness clouded his vision.
“But you have nothing to worry about,” Dimitri added hurriedly, his words coming out with a wheeze. “Alexander won't let her go, and I believe—well, I believe Sophia feels the same way too. You have absolutely nothing to worry about. I think she might reject him.”
“She will!” his sharp response came.
“What?” Dimitri asked, momentarily confused before nodding quickly. “Yes, yes, of course, she will.”
“She will because you won't let her do otherwise,” he said, taking a closer step toward Dimitri, who shuffled back, his dismay naked on his face, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down as he swallowed nervously. Dimitri's face was still scrunched up in severe discomfort as he tried averting the man's eyes.
“I will do my best. I promise.” Dimitri’s pleas came out heavily, laced with a mix of fear and desperation. He stumbled on himself as he trudged backward.
The cloud cracked, announcing the incoming downpour as the night slowly descended into darkness. He could feel the cold air bite into his skin, and somehow, it sent a wave of pleasure through him.
He yanked Dimitri by the collar, his huge size a heavy advantage over the other man. Dimitri dangled pathetically from his hold, and he felt the splitting urge to hurl him across the other end, discarding him, but he put a lid over the urge. Dimitri was still useful to him, and until he wasn't, he was going to stay alive, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to have fun reminding Dimitri what his life was worth.
Dimitri had always been dull-witted. Perhaps with not having punished him enough in such a long time, he might have become a little hard with having instructions vocalized. He let go of him, leaving him to crash to the floor unceremoniously.
The man brought out a tiny blade from the inside of his pocket and dropped it, letting it fall to the floor beside him; the tiny metal clanged at the impact, and it caused him great satisfaction when he saw Dimitri flinch at the sight.
“Pick it up,” he said in a rough voice.
He watched as Dimitri picked it up, his hands trembling. It almost dropped from his hold.
He crouched down to Dimitri’s level. “Let that be a reminder that I shall not only kill you but every single member of your family if you do not make certain the union between Sophia and her mate doesn't happen.”
Tears ran down Dimitri’s face just as the first few droplets of rain landed on them.
“Your left hand,” he said.
Dimitri was trembling now, his whole body jerking from fright as he placed his left-hand flat down on the cold surface of the ground.
“Thumb.”
He watched as Dimitri shut his eyes, his right-hand tightening on the blade it held right before he brought it down, swiftly slicing off his own thumb. Blood gushed out of the space where the finger had been, but better than that was the gut-wrenching scream that filled the air, running far into the night.
The man stood up, closing his eyes to savor the sound. It filled him with greater ecstasy than he could have hoped to attain tonight, his euphoria so substantial he barely cared about the blood that had splattered on his garment.
With one last glance at Dimitri writhing on the floor, one hand clutching the other, he walked away, the sound of the heavy rain that erupted from the sky drowning the screams that had so thrilled him.