GRAYSON
I couldn’t see Belle, telling me she was somewhere behind Gulius’s invisible shield, but I could smell her. I could hear her strangled, terrified gasps. And that would be enough to guide me to her location.
I was still in wolf form when I started running in the direction of her scent.
Azazel’s clones had definitely done a number on me more so than I’d like to admit but the pain hadn’t hit me yet.
The adrenaline racing through me made my injuries completely tolerable, if not altogether painless. My sole focus was on saving my distressed mate.
The moment I passed through Gulius’s shield, I froze, stopping dead in my tracks. That nasty, old warlock had Belle pinned against a tree by her throat, her feet dangling at least a foot above the ground.
My goddamn heart lodged beneath my jugular. She was covered in blood. It splattered over her face and drenched her white shirt. It dripped from her shoes.
Her wide eyes met mine while she violently struggled against his hold. F*uck, she looked so small compared to Gulius. And delicate.
My innocent, helpless little mate was being strangled by one of the most powerful men in the world. It was my worst nightmare taking place right before my very eyes.
Something wet beneath my feet stole my attention for a single second. I was stepping in blood.
And there was someone lying on his stomach just feet away from me, his lifeless, red eyes seeming
to look directly at me..
Azazel.
Azazel was dead.
“Take one more step,” Gulius said, “and I’ll snap her neck.”
I forced my wolf to give up control so I could shift into my human form. Once I was again standing on two feet, I addressed Gulius in what I hoped was a calm, even tone.
“Put my
mate down, Gulius.” The power of the Mortars passed from my mouth and onto him, forcing him to heed my command.
He roared as he released his hold, and Belle went tumbling to the ground. She immediately started gasping for air, violent coughs making her whole body convulsc.
A small amount of tenseness was released from my chest.
“Step away from her,” I continued. Gulius did, taking several steps back. “Look at me.”
The moment he was facing me, a level of fear I was not expecting became clear. Genuine terror was painted all over the warlock’s withered face.
Although I had never met him, I had always respected Gulius Mallor. I’d grown up hearing stories about him and his kind nature..
He was once regarded with great prestige, even a consultant to some of the greatest kings of Zaweth..
my mate. So
But now he had hurt my mate. So now I wanted to rip his head from his shoulders.
“He made me do it,” Gulius tried to explain. “He used the power of the Mortars to force me to take the borders down and hurt all of those people. I had no choice.
“I would never try to remove you from the throne. You are a wonderful ruler.”
”
I nodded slowly. “You claim that he used his powers to force you to do his bidding?”
Gulius nodded his head vigorously. “Yes!”
“How did he find you?” I asked.
Gulius frowned. “What?”
“You have lived in Zaweth all of your life,” I said in a low tone. “In fact, you’re known for your refusal to leave the kingdom grounds. You are often referred to as a hermit or a bit of a loner.
“But our records show you leaving Zaweth for the first time in hundreds of years just a little over a week
ago.
“I looked at Belle, checking to make sure she was okay.
She was still coughing, but it was gentler than before, and she had managed to bring herself up into a sitting position. She was going to be fine. I let out a breath of relief.
“Now, normally, I wouldn’t think twice about this information. You’re free to come and go from Zaweth as you please. But it is the timing that makes me question the true motives behind your visit.
to the human world.”
“Azazel made me do it!” Gulius exclaimed. “He forced me out of Zaweth!”
I grit my teeth together. I hated liars.
“Azazel isn’t allowed within the borders of Zaweth.
“There is no way for him to get information in either. He had absolutely no way of reaching you unless you reached out to him first. Unless you left Zaweth to meet with him.‘
11
Gulius swallowed, his mind visibly racing to come up with an explanation to justify his strange
behavior. “I–I…”
“But you could have left for another reason,” I kept going. “Maybe to visit an old friend or travel the countryside for a while.
“It seems a reasonable enough theory that Azazel could have tracked you down after you left kingdom grounds and forced you to do his bidding then.”
Gulius was nodding again, agreeing with everything I was saying with wide eyes.
I took another step forward, muscles bunching in preparation for the attack that was about to take place.
“But, you see, Gulius, if that were truly the case, an innocent man wouldn’t threaten to kill the girl who had just set him free. He wouldn’t strangle the mate of the king who he claims to respect.”
Gulius knew that it was all over. I could see it in his white eyes. Defeat. Acceptance.
He took in a shaky breath.
“I was once great. Not so withered and old. The kings of the supernatural once sought my advice. But now…” He trailed off, wincing as though the rest of the sentence caused him pain to think
about.
“I thought I could have been great again. But it seems as though I have found myself on the wrong side of history. And now, after all these years, that is all I will be known for, isn’t it?”
I didn’t answer. He didn’t want an answer.
He nodded slowly and then gently shut his eyes. “Just make it quick.”
And I did. He was dead and on the ground, his neck snapped, mere seconds later.
It wasn’t because I felt pity for him or wanted to grant mercy–it was because I had a mate who needed me, and I didn’t want to waste another moment before making sure she was okay.
Belle whimpered my name when I pulled her into my arms, tears of relief cascading down her checks. My own relief was so great that I nearly sobbed myself.
“Are you all right?” I asked as I brushed her messy hair from her face. Her small body was shaking against mine, the trauma of the night taking its toll on her.
She nodded. “Are you? Y–You’re hurt. Your legs-”
She was talking about the wounds on either of my legs where Azazel had ripped pieces of my flesh.
out with his teeth.
I shushed her, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead to try to calm her worries. “They will heal. I. have dealt with far worse than a few measly bites.”
She was quiet for a few seconds while she searched my expression. Then she said, “You’re naked.”
I couldn’t help the laugh that rumbled from my
chest. “That’s what you’re worried about?”
I wiped a finger over her cheekborie, smearing some of the splattered blood on her face. My smile. dimmed. “Did you kill Azazel?” My voice was gentler now, filled with concern.
Her blue eyes rimmed with more tears before darting over to where Azazel’s body still lay on the
ground.
Then she did something I wasn’t necessarily expecting. She looked down between us at her shirt and grabbed the fabric, holding it out for me to see.
“He got his blood on my shirt. I think it’s ruined. I don’t think I’ll be able to get it out.” She chewed on her lip while trying to keep her tears at bay, still looking at the blood–stained shirt.
“I didn’t know there would be so much b–blood.”
My heart broke the tiniest bit. I tilted her head back up and placed my forehead against hers, trying to get her to look up from the blood all over her.
“I think you’re in shock, sweet girl,” I told her, continuing to smooth her hair back. “We’ll get you a new shirt. You don’t have to worry about that.” I kissed her lips once. “You saved ΠΙΕ, Belle.”
“You were doing a terrible job on your own,” was her response.
I laughed again.
“If you ever lock me up and then go risk your life ever again,” she continued, “I’ll kill you. I’m not kidding. I’ve already killed one person. I know how to do it now.”
Fu*ck, this girl was cute. And very serious when she was threatening someone. “Consider me warned,” I relented. We would just have to cross that bridge when we came to it.
“And you can’t block your emotions from me either.”
“What?” I asked. “I didn’t…” My voice trailed off while I searched through our bond, only to find that she was right. I had been keeping my emotions from her, and I wasn’t even aware of it.
“I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t know I did that. It must have been some sort of instinct–my wolf trying to keep you from worrying.”
“Well, all it did was make me worry more. It’s why I knew I had to come find you. The only reason you would have done that was if you were in real trouble.”
“While we’re on the subject, how exactly did you get away from Liam? And how did you get here so fast? Last I checked on you, you were still in our apartment.”
Belle looked around at the forest surrounding us. The sun was starting to rise, so everything was a little clearer now as the morning mist caught in the light. It was beautiful.
“I–I honestly don’t know. I don’t even really know where we are-
Her eyes stopped on something and narrowed while she tried to determine what it was. Fear immediately took over our bond. “Is that…?” she asked..
In an instant, she was gone from my arms. I veered back, looking down in confusion at the spot. where my mate had just been.
“Belle““” I roared.
My mate had just disappeared like f*ucking Houdini. Here one second, gone the next. The only explanation was magic.
My gaze found Gulius, thinking he had to be the culprit, but he was still very much dead behind me..
“Oh, my god…”
My head snapped toward where Belle’s voice had come from, only to find her now several yarils away from me, kneeling on the ground.
I would have been more confused over how she had gotten all the way over there if it weren’t for the thing she was looking at.
“K–Kyle!” she sobbed while taking in his mangled form, still exactly where I had left him. “Oh, my
I used my vampire speed to get over to her quickly, knelt down next to her in front of my dead beta.
Belle barely managed to speak through her sobs. “W–What h–happened? What d–did this to h–him?”
My throat suddenly felt too thick to speak. With everything that had happened, I had momentarily been able to push the horror of my best friend’s death aside.
I’d had to focus on defeating Azazel. I’d had to avenge him. I couldn’t have let myself get overwhelmed by his death.
I wished I could have just stayed in that state of mind forever.
Now, kneeling next to his body, his blood still fresh on the ground, grief like I never could have imagined consumed me like wildfire.
Half of his body was completely destroyed by the force field.
The wound was gruesome, bits of his flesh hanging from him in some areas while his bone was visible in others. His right eye had been ripped right through.
How… How were we ever going to let Elijah see his mate like this? It would break him. Fu*ck, it was about to break me.
And the worst part was, he wasn’t the only one like this. There were many warriors stationed around the border when the force field went back up.
Likely, not everyone had been standing directly in the zone that could have killed them, but I knew
there still had to be some.
Who knew how many of my people–my family members–I had lost today?
Belle’s sobs were loud and gut–wrenching. She kept saying his name over and over like she was going to make him wake
I put a hand on her back. “He…” I swallowed. Why couldn’t I talk? My mouth felt numb.
My entire body felt numb while I started to come to terms with just what a significant loss my kingdom was facing today.
The need to cry was strong in my chest, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. “He was standing at the border when the force field went up. It tore through him.‘
Belle shook her head, her movements jerky and frantic. She placed a shaking hand on the check that
wasn’t cut and caressed his skin with her thumb.
“He’s going to be okay,” she whispered. “He’ll besky.”
Her entire body was shaking again. The trauma of this day was taking its toll on her, and she was no doubt still in shock from killing Ararel.
This was the last thing she needed right now. I wish I had protected her from this. I would have told her about Kyle’s death eventually, but not right after everything she had gone through today.
The last way I wanted her to start grieving for him was seeing his body like this.
“Belle, we should go back.” I said to her. “We need to bring his body to Elijah. We need to let him know what happened.”
My heart sank just thinking about it. Elijah already knew his mate was dead–he would be able to feel it through the bond.
Seeing his body like this would be grueling, and I doubted that Kyle would want Elijah to witness him like this, but I wouldn’t be the person to keep Elijah from seeing him.
If Belle died, there wasn’t anything on planet Earth that would prevent me from seeing her, from holding her against me one last time.
Belle shook her head again. “No!” she shouted. She put her hands on either side of his while she continued to sob. “No, he’s going to be fine. I’m going to make him fine. I’m not going to let him die.”
Heavy–everything felt heavy, my eyes, my heart, my limbs. This was all too much. Belle wasn’t making any sense. She was in deep denial. I needed to get her away from here before she completely broke.
“Belle….” I started, keeping my tone as gentle as possible. “He’s already dead. He’s been good while. There’s nothing we can do now but bring him back.”
ngone
for
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I put my hands on her waist, getting ready to physically pull her away when she started to scream again.
“No! No, don’t touch me! Don’t touch me!” She shoved my hands off her.
The way she looked at me with her red–rimmed eyes made it feel like I was being pressed down into the earth, both of our sorrow threatening to bury me.
“I’m going to help him,” she whispered. She sounded so desperate. “You have to let me help bim. Just give me a few minutes, please. Then we can go back. But I need a few minutes. He’s not gone yet–he’s just not.”
I stared at her, trying to understand. What the hell did she think she was going to be able to do for him now? Kyle died the moment the force field had gone up.
The only good thing we could take away from that was that it was painless and quick. He didn’t
have to suffer.
But if trying to help him now would help her go to sleep tonight, would help her to know that she did all she possibly could, then I would let her stay a little longer.
“Okay.” I nodded. “A few minutes.”
Intense relief surged through the bond. “Thank you,” she whispered.
She looked back down at Kyle’s barely recognizable face and put a hand on each cheek, in the same spots they had been before.
This time, though, she put her forehead down against his, closing her eyes tightly. She simply held him like that for a long moment, tears racing down her cheeks and onto his.
After a few more seconds, she started to speak. “You’re okay. You’re okay, Kyle. You’re going to be fine. Please, please be fine.”
This went on for several minutes. She whispered to herself while she held him, repeatedly saying that he was going to be okay.
I sat back and watched in silence, my heart breaking more and more with every second that passed. How long was I supposed to let this go on?
Her grief was causing her to hallucinate, to think she could bring a corpse back to life. To say I was worried was an understatement. Could all of this have something to do with her dad dying?
Maybe she felt like she could have done more. Was it possible that she blamed herself for his death?
Nearly ten minutes later, we were still there. I knew I had to pull her away eventually. I had a whole kingdom to take care of. Kyle was likely not the only person who died today.
I had to be there for my subjects. And this couldn’t be good for Belle, taking it upon herself to heal a dead man. What did it say about her mental state?
I was just about to put my hand on her back and tell her it was time to go when I heard someone approaching. The person’s footsteps moved quickly, telling me it was a vampire.
Minnie appeared a moment later. I wasn’t unhappy to see her. Maybe she could help me convince Belle to remove herself from Kyle’s body.
I wasn’t surprised to see her either. As the Mortar healer, she was called to where people were hurt.
She took in the scene silently. She looked at me first. She seemed unfazed by my nudity, but her lips turned down when she noticed all of the wounds I was sporting from Azazel and my battle.
Then her eyes moved to Belle crouching over Kyle. I saw the moment she realized exactly what had happened. Her body deflated before she looked back at me and shared a look of devastation and
sorrow.
She came to stand next to us.
“I’ve been going around the border healing people who were affected by the force field,” she explained softly, her arms crossed over her chest.
“Many people have only been affected by the blow of it going up without actually getting hit. But we haven’t yet accounted for everyone…” she studied Kyle with red–rimmed eyes.
“Numerous people were beyond help. They…They were already gone.”
I nodded slowly. “I thought that would be the case. Thank you for helping the people that you did.”
“I’m sorry for your loss, Alpha. He was a good beta,” Minnie continued.
“He’ll be missed,” I responded. “As will everyone we lost today. It’s a sad day in Zaweth.”
Minnie looked back at Belle. She was still crying, whispering words to Kyle that I could barely
make out.
“Is she saying something?” Minnie asked.
“She’s telling him that he’s going to be okay. She said she’s trying to heal him,” I explained.
Minnie’s dark brows pulled together in confusion. “Heal him? Doesn’t she know he’s…?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. She’s in shock. She’s been like this for ten minutes.”
Minnie let out a heavy sigh. “All right. Well, maybe we should-?” She cut herself off before she could finish, her eyes widening. “What the hell?”
I followed her line of sight until I was looking at the same thing she was. What the hell was right.
Kyle’s foot used to be in two pieces, split down the middle until halfway up his ankle, where it became one long cut. But that wasn’t the case anymore.
Emergency calls only
101085% 12:13
His foot…seemed to have mended itself. There wasn’t even a cut anymore, just a white scar.
And that scar traveled all the way up his leg, stopping right at his lower abdomen where I could literally see the skin repairing.
It was healing. His wounds were healing.
“How…? Is…Is the luna doing that?” Minnie asked, looking just as flabbergasted as I was.
“Fairy.” It was all I could bring myself to say because it was the only thing that made any sense. “It’s her powers.” I looked up at Minnie. “She’s using her fairy powers.”
Minnie’s eyes widened. “Because the two of you mated. The prophecy.”
When I looked back at Kyle’s body, his gruesome gash was still disappearing, turning into nothing more than forgotten trauma that seemed to have happened years ago.
I couldn’t help the way my chest filled with hope. Was it actually possible for Belle to heal Kyle after everything that had happened to him? To bring him back to life?
Belle was still kneeling over Kyle, her forehead to his, her hands grasping his checks.
“You’re going to be okay. You’re going to be fine, Kyle. I’m not going to let you die. I’m not going to let you do that to Elijah. You’re going to be okay.”
She whispered things of that nature nonstop. I wasn’t even sure if she knew what she was doing, her eyes shut so tightly.
Hopefully, she could feel it, though–hopefully she knew about the magic that was taking place. right now because of her.
It was several long minutes before his face started to heal, all of it slowly repairing itself like two pieces of fabric being sewn back together.
The scar was impressive, fully healed and spanning down the entire length of his body. Minnic and I sat in rapt attention, holding our breaths while we waited to see what was going to happen next.
“L–Luna?” Kyle’s voice suddenly groaned out. “Ooohh, you’re going to be in so much trouble when the alpha finds out you’re here.”
Belle finally leaned back to look at him, her breath catching in her throat. “Kyle?” she whispered. “You’re… You’re okay?”
Kyle tilted his head in confusion. “Of course I’m okay. Are you worried about the explosion? What the hell even was that? And how did you get here? Does the alpha know you’re here?”
He sat up a bit, so he was leaning back on his elbows. “Is that blood on your face?”
Belle tried to laugh, but it came out more like a gasping sob. She covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh, my gosh, you’re okay.” She launched herself into his arms.
Kyle caught her with a surprised grunt.
“I–I’m so glad you’re okay…,” she sobbed.
“What…?” Kyle asked, completely flabbergasted by Belle’s odd behavior. He finally looked at me, noticing my presence for the first time since he’d woken up.
His eyes widened. “I swear she hugged me, Alpha.”
His attention swung over to Minnie when she let out a giggle. “You saw it, right?” he asked her. “I had nothing to do with this!” He gestured down at my sobbing mate on his chest.
My laugh was deep and genuine and filled with relief. He thought I was pissed that he was touching Belle. Usually, that would be true. I would make an exception for today, though.
“What happened to you?” Kyle continued as he took in my appearance.
I was sure I looked pretty rough, still all bloody and bruised from the battle.
“Did you shift?”
Belle sat back, finally releasing him. She laughed while she wiped her nose and sniffled. Her gleeful eyes found mine. The broad smile she offered me may have been the sweetest thing I had ever seen.
It looked like Kyle was going to be okay. Azazel was dead. And my mate was a fu*cking badass fairy..