Chapter 44

Jameson.

I looked at her, pitiful and almost dead. She had always been that irritating little daddy's girl. Her mouth was slightly ajar as though her body was still trying to breathe, trying to keep her alive. She had to die and die now.

It was so obnoxious of her to not die when I slit her wrists. She was always annoyingly resilient. It was that trait of hers that I hated the most. She never gave up, and now as she lay there motionless, her chest barely rising, it was time that she drew her last resilient breath.

"We have to go, Master," Reiner said, covering his face with his mask. The other men were already getting set to escape.

It was frustrating. "Why did that bastard have to ruin my plans," I scowled. I had wanted to draw this out for so long that she would lose her mind. That even if she did survive, she would be nothing but a hollow shell of herself. That was what she deserved, what Raphael deserved. A Hannes would take another valuable person from them. A Luna-to-be. It was deliciously diabolical; it made my head tingle with anticipation.

This time it would not be an assassination ordered by a Hannes; it would be a fate directly delivered by one. What would my father have thought if he were alive? He would pat my back.

"Master," Reiner urged again, his tone growing anxious. "We have to go."

"What about her?" I asked.

He looked down at her and shrugged. "We've had enough fun with her, and she is weak. Just slit her throat."

"It was you that had all the fun. I barely even started."

"But Master--"

"I have a plan," I said as I got a wonderful idea. "They are mates, and he can sense her. That was how he could find her and why he would be able to pinpoint her location."

It took a minute before it could sink in for Reiner. He snapped his fingers. "That is true." He gasped. "There is no other way that he could have found her so fast."

"Why didn't my assassin think of that?" I demanded.

"He should not have been able to do that with all that had happened between them. Their bond had weakened with the allegations against her," he was saying.

"He is the red-eyed Lycan for a reason. He would be able to sense even an enemy like a bloodhound." I rolled my eyes. "It is her wolf that he can sense, it is the true wolf's aura that is strong."

Reiner glanced at the door, his normally neutral features strained with anxiety.

But I smiled. "We are not leaving just yet, we just have to get rid of her wolf."

Reiner turned slowly, realization dawning on him. "Wolfsbane," he muttered.

If he were not a precise killer, I would have gotten rid of him by now. Intelligence was not really his strong suit.

"Get the wolfsbane elixir," he ordered one of his men.

The man left immediately to do as he had asked. In less than a moment, he was back with a black vial in his hand. It was passed to me, and without wasting any more time, I proceeded towards her body. Her body was paler than it was before; she seemed to be dying but with her wolf's goddess-bestowed gift, I knew that even if I slit her neck and left her to bleed out and die, she would still survive. My resilient little idiot.

I knelt beside her, raised her head in my arms, and pulled open the cork on the vial. I did not have time to cringe at the smell; my wolf reeled back from the odor. I put it in her mouth and made her drink. Normally, for Wolfsbane to work, she just needed two drops on her tongue but what the hell. I made her drink it all.

At first, nothing happened, then she began to shake. Her movements grew more and more violent, until her body began contorting painfully. She was not awake, still, at least not fully. It was her wolf that was struggling within her. I moved away from her as we all watched. Fur grew from her skin, her claws pulling out of her fingers and in again as her wolf fought against the poison. The sight was both fascinating and horrific. Her body convulsed violently, her wolf instinctively fighting to purge the wolfsbane. I knew this would be the end of her wolf, the one thing that connected her so deeply to her mate.

"Master, we must go now," Reiner insisted, his voice trembling with urgency. The other men shifted uneasily, clearly disturbed by the spectacle.

I couldn't help but smile at the sight. "Let her suffer," I whispered, almost to myself. "Let her feel every bit of pain."

Her body continued to thrash, the transformation half-completed, grotesque and pitiful. Her eyes flickered open for a moment, a flash of consciousness before the agony overwhelmed her again. Her mouth opened in a silent scream, her voice lost in the turmoil of her dying wolf.

"Master," Reiner said more firmly, grabbing my arm. "We need to go. Now."

Reluctantly, I nodded and stood up. "Fine. Let’s leave her to die in agony."

We turned to leave, the sounds of her suffering echoing in the room behind us. As we exited, I cast one last glance at her, satisfied that my plan had succeeded. Even if she somehow survived, she would be broken beyond repair, both in body and spirit.

The night air was cool and refreshing as we made our way through the corridors and out into the open. It had just finished raining. The guards were waiting, their expressions tense.

"Everything is in place?" I asked.

"Yes, Master," one of the guards replied. "The escape route is secure."

"Good," I said, taking a deep breath. "Let’s move."

As we made our way to the rendezvous point, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of triumph. This was just the beginning. With her out of the way, Raphael would be vulnerable, and I would have my revenge and finish what my father had started.

Suddenly, Reiner stopped, his eyes wide with realization. "Master, if he senses her pain, he might come sooner than we expected."

I smirked. "Let him come. By the time he gets here, it will be too late."