Chapter 74 Rule by my side, Brother.
Daevir's POV
Theron's head snapped to the side, dodging my punch. His boots skidded half a step across the dirt.
Then he laughed.
Not stunned. Not angered.
Delighted.
"Oh," he said, eyes alight. "There he is."
I barely had time to brace before he moved.
He was faster than anything being had a right to be. Faster than me, and I had just outrun the forest itself. His hand clamped around my wrist mid-swing, iron-hard, fingers digging into tendon and bone. I felt the shift of pressure an instant before pain detonated up my arm.
He twisted.
I screamed.
The sound tore out of me, raw and unguarded, as my knees buckled and I hit the ground hard. White sparks burst across my vision. I tried to wrench my palm free, but Theron's grip tightened, cruelly precise.
"That," Theron said calmly, "is what happens when you fight like a man."
He shoved my arm down and drove his knee into my ribs.
Air exploded from my lungs. I folded inward with a choking sound, vision tunneling as agony rippled through my side. I tasted blood. The night reeled.
I rolled, barely avoiding his heel as it smashed into the earth where my skull had been. Dirt sprayed my face. I scrambled to my feet, instinct screaming now.
I lunged.
This time, I didn't aim to punch. I aimed to break.
I caught his shoulder, drove us both backward into a tree. The bark cracked under the force. For a moment, just a moment, I had him pinned, my forearm pressed against his throat, my weight bearing down.
His eyes met mine.
Not afraid.
Proud.
"Yes," he murmured. "That's it."
Then his hands came up, and suddenly I was airborne.
He pivoted, using my momentum, and slammed me to the ground so hard the world went white. Pain tore through my spine. I gasped, muscles spasming, as he dropped atop me, forearm crushing my throat.
I clawed at him, nails scraping uselessly against leather and muscle.
"Shift," he growled softly, breathing hot against my ear. "Stop fighting it."
"I won't," I choked.
His elbow drove into my stomach.
Again.
Again.
I curled inward, my instincts warring. My human pride screamed for restraint while Ezriel howled to be let loose. My vision flickered, moonlight fracturing as my body begged for release.
Theron rose, hauled me up by my collar, and slammed me against another tree.
"You don't get it," he said, voice sharp now, stripped of playfulness. "You think restraint makes you better. It doesn't. It makes you weak."
I swung blindly.
He caught my fist.
Twisted.
I dropped, crashing to my knees, arm hanging uselessly at my side. I could already feel the swelling, heat blooming beneath the skin.
Theron stepped back, chest barely rising, not a mark on him.
I had never seen anything like this.
Not even Father's champions had moved like him. There was no wasted motion, no strain, only lethal grace honed by years of blood and moonlight.
He watched me struggle to my feet, expression unreadable.
"Again," he said.
I charged.
This time, he let me land a blow.
My fist cracked against his ribs. I felt something shift beneath my knuckles. Satisfaction flare…! But vanished as his head snapped forward, smashing into my nose.
Pain exploded. Warmth poured down my face. I staggered, disoriented, and his foot swept my legs out from under me.
I hit the ground hard and didn't rise.
The world rang.
For a long moment, there was only my breath, ragged, broken, and the taste of blood and dirt. My limbs felt heavy, distant. Ezriel stirred beneath my skin, furious, pleading.
Theron stood over me.
He could have ended it.
Instead, he crouched and extended his hand.
"Up," he said.
I stared at the hand and turned my face away.
Silence stretched.
Theron exhaled slowly, then straightened. "Suit yourself."
He studied me for a long moment, then spoke.
"You could rule with me," he said. "Not under me. With me."
I laughed weakly. "You want me as your pet?"
"As my Beta," he corrected. "My equal where it matters. Together, we'd end the farce. No more hiding. No more pretending to kneel to creatures who would butcher us if they knew."
I pushed myself upright. "I will never stand beside you."
Theron's eyes softened.
"Then you'll fall alone."
He stepped back, gaze lifting to the moon. "You can't hide what you are forever, Daevir."
I froze.
"On the fourth full moon of the third year," he continued calmly, "there will be a blue moon."
My blood ran cold.
I recalled my dream. The blue moon night where everything turned to blood and dust. The flashes of the images appeared to me once again.
My men, rotten and long dead.
My people, racing from all corners of the earth to see to my downfall.
And Ezriel, holding on to my skin and bones, locking me up in the cage of my own flesh and tearing my people apart one after the other, revelling in the bloodlust he stirred.
I only watched and saw him kill the people that served me, the people I live with, and I could do nothing about it.
"A blue moon doesn't care about crowns or vows. Even a wolf-less pup shifts under it. And you?" Theron's smile returned, sharp and knowing. "You won't be able to stop yourself."
He looked back at me. "They'll see you. All of them."
He turned to leave, then paused.
"Oh," he added lightly. "I hope you love the little bracelet I gave your girl."
My heart lurched. "What did you say?"
"Amarien," he said smoothly. "Such a shame. You let her go."
Rage tore through me.
I lunged! Fist swinging…and struck nothing.
The clearing was empty.
Only moonlight and silence remained.
And the echo of his laughter followed me long after he was gone.