Chapter 21 021
~DERRICK~
My eyes darkened the instant her words registered.
For a moment, I thought I had misheard her....but the audacity in her gaze told me otherwise.
She was serious.
“How dare you?” I growled, disbelief coursing through me like wildfire. “Are you mocking me?”
My blood roared in my ears as rage surged unchecked. Before I could stop myself, my body moved on instinct.
“What are you saying?” I thundered, my voice shaking the walls. “Are you truly courting death? I warned you....I warned you....never to think of that!”
I lunged at her in a blur of motion, pinning her down with brutal force. My hand closed around her throat, the urge to crush overpowering every shred of reason left in me....
Then I saw the bandage.
White. Fresh. Stained faintly with blood.
My grip loosened instantly.
Damn it.
I stepped back sharply, my chest heaving as I dragged in a harsh breath. I couldn’t hurt her. No matter how infuriating she was, no matter how reckless her words were....I couldn’t.
She was provoking me. Testing me. Trying to gain leverage.
But she should never have tried that with me.
“Is this how worked up you get just because I mentioned being your Luna?” she mocked coolly, rising from the bed with defiant grace. “Don’t tell me you’re this petty.”
Her glare met mine head-on.
I laughed darkly, though there was no humor in it.
“I truly underestimated you,” I said, my voice dripping with menace. “How dare you covet my pack? Are you so tired of living?”
My aura flared violently, the pressure thickening the air around us. I knew my eyes were changing color now....burning, dangerous.
Yet she didn’t flinch.
Not even once.
He was stirring.
If I wasn’t careful, he would take charge.
Be careful, Derrick. He’s going to take over if you don’t stop now, Charles warned urgently.
I exhaled slowly, forcing my claws to retract, my shoulders stiff with restraint. She wasn’t going to win this....not today.
“I will find the person responsible for poisoning you,” I said tightly. “You will stay still. And you will do nothing.”
Her lips curled into a sneer.
“Why?” she challenged. “Can’t you do it?”
My hands trembled at my sides, claws itching beneath my skin.
She was pushing me. Deliberately.
Please....hold on. We can’t let him win again, Charles urged, his voice strained.
I clenched my fists, forcing myself to remain still, even as whispers filled my head....dark, insistent, hungry.
She stood there, sharp-tongued and arrogant, watching me unravel piece by piece.
“What’s happening to you?” she asked cautiously.
I turned my face away, refusing to answer.
It was that time again.
The dangerous time....when every second mattered.
“Don’t entertain such absurd thoughts,” I roared, turning to leave. “It will never happen!”
I was almost at the door when her voice stopped me cold.
“But don’t blame me for being brutal,” she said evenly. “Whoever did this to me should expect their punishment tenfold.”
I closed my eyes briefly.
That wasn’t an empty threat.
If I let her loose, blood would spill....and not just the culprit’s.
“Don’t even think of it,” I snapped, storming out of the room.
I heard her curse behind me, but I didn’t slow.
I didn’t know how much longer I could tolerate her presence....but I did know this:
She had to stay here.
If only so I could protect her.
“Bring Scott to the dungeon,” I ordered the guards sharply. “I need to visit someone.”
One of them ran immediately.
My fury burned hotter with every step. The man rotting in the dungeon knew more than anyone about what had happened.
That vile creature.
The moment I entered the dungeon, the sound reached me....the low, ominous sizzling of my dragon restrained in the adjacent chamber.
I ignored it.
Instead, I stormed into the opposite cell.
The man inside was barely alive....skin torn, body broken....yet still clinging stubbornly to life.
“How did you like my reception?” I asked, smirking coldly. “You won’t find a better host than me.”
He groaned, lifting his head with effort.
I never understood how he was still alive after years of torture. I should have killed him long ago....but his persistence fascinated me.
That was why I kept him.
For my amusement.
“For a reception,” he rasped, “it was impressive… though the sound of that beast next door is unsettling. Still, I can’t blame you....the one living inside you is far more vicious.”
My vision flashed green with rage.
“How dare you!” I roared, lunging forward.
My claws sank into his flesh, tearing through skin and muscle as his scream echoed through the dungeon.
“How does it feel?” I snarled. “Had enough? Or should I....”
“Something happened,” he interrupted suddenly, laughing hoarsely. “You’re here for a reason. Has your Luna reappeared?” His eyes gleamed madly. “Or don’t tell me....she’s already been visited?”
I punched him hard, silencing his laughter with a sickening crack.
A darker presence seeped into me without warning.
“Do you truly think you can get to me?” I asked, my voice husky, unnatural. The air around me thickened as my aura deepened.
He shrank back in fear.
Pathetic.
“All that bravado earlier,” I sneered. “What happened now?”
“You can never have a Luna!” he screamed hysterically. “You are cursed! The darkness will never leave you!”
He burst into maniacal laughter.
A slow, dangerous smile curved my lips.
“Is that so?” I murmured, stepping closer. “Let’s see if you still have the courage to say that when I’m finished with you.”
That presence surged fully to the surface.
And I welcomed it.