Blood Ties and Broken Bonds
Heather’s POV
My body trembled with fear as the Raven soldiers dragged me into the center of the grand hall. Their numbers were few, but their piercing eyes gleamed with malice, each gaze sharp enough to cut through my resolve. My mother, fragile and worn, was pulled alongside me—her frail form shoved forward by Colt himself. He positioned her in the middle of the hall, where a black altar stood, crafted from the grinning skulls of the dead.
“Kill her, and we will free our men! Kill her, and we will go to war! Rule this world!” Colt’s soldiers erupted into cheers, their bloodlust filling the air like poison.
“What kind of man are you, willing to sacrifice your own mother?” I spat, fury and disbelief cracking my voice. I lunged toward him, desperate to shake sense into the monster he’d become. But before I could reach him, the guard behind me yanked me back with chains. I stumbled, my knees hitting the cold stone floor.
Colt turned to face me, his lips curling into a venomous sneer. “I care less,” he hissed, his voice colder than death itself. “I grew up without a mother, without a father. I have no room for emotions—no weakness like you.”
He dragged my mother toward the altar. It looked like something out of a nightmare, its blood-stained surface glinting under the dim torchlight. She didn’t struggle. Her calm, resigned expression shattered me. My heart splintered into a thousand jagged pieces as I watched him force her head onto the beheading block.
“Why are you doing this?!” I begged, my voice raw with desperation.
“To teach you a lesson, dear sister,” Colt replied, his tone as sharp as the blade he was about to wield. “I know you escaped the spell I cast to spy on your thoughts. You betrayed me. And Janice…” His voice turned darker, a venomous whisper laced with hatred.
“When I find her, I’ll kill her too—for helping you. She deserves to die.”
I recoiled at the sheer malice in his voice. This wasn’t the brother I’d grown up with. This was a monster—a twisted shadow of the man Janice once described. No wonder she ran. No wonder she feared him.
“Don’t… Please don’t kill her,” I pleaded, my voice cracking under the weight of my panic. “I’ll get you the key. You can continue your mission. Free Raven… Just don’t hurt her.”
Colt laughed—a hollow, cruel sound that sent shivers down my spine. “Oh, my dear sister,” he said, mockery dripping from every word. “You accuse me of being a careless son, yet you’re no better. You’re a selfish daughter. You’d rather protect the man you love—our enemy—than save the woman who gave you life.”
Tears stung my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. Not now. I bit my lip until I tasted blood, forcing myself to stay upright. For her. For my mother.
Her voice broke through the chaos, soft but steady. “Heather. Colt. You are both beautiful and strong. I only wish…” She hesitated, a faint, wistful smile tugging at her lips. “I only wish we could have been happy together. A family…”
“Shut up, old lady,” Colt snapped. His voice was an unrelenting whip, silencing her. “You die now.”
I watched in horror as the blade fell, cutting her words—and her life—short. Blood spilled across the altar, staining the stone red. My mother’s lifeless body slumped forward, her sacrifice complete.
My breath hitched. No scream came, no sound left my lips. I knelt, paralyzed by the sheer weight of my grief. My legs gave out, and
I collapsed to the floor, trembling. My vision blurred as tears streamed down my face.
“No… This can’t be real. This has to be a nightmare,” I whispered to myself, clutching the ground beneath me. “I just found her… I just felt her warmth. Her hug…” My voice cracked. “I never had a mother until she came into my life.”
Colt’s hand gripped my face roughly, forcing me to meet his cold, unfeeling gaze. “Get back to work, little sister,” he growled.
“Bring me the key. Or your best friend Mona dies next.”
My eyes darted to Mona. She stood trembling in the corner, her face pale and streaked with tears. Fear radiated from her in waves.
“How do I find it?” I asked, my voice hollow, as I forced myself to stand. I couldn’t give in to the pain. Not now. Not when her life was on the line. I had to save her.
“Return to the opera house,” Colt commanded. “The place where you were taken. You’ll find it there. Time is short, Heather. Xael’s powers are growing. Kayden’s strength is returning. If you fail me, it won’t just be Mona’s blood on my hands—it’ll be yours.”
His words were daggers, twisting in my chest.
“Why do you push me toward Kayden?” I demanded. “You know he’s my mate.”
Colt stopped and turned, his face splattered with my mother’s blood, his smile wicked.
“Because, dear sister, when you and Kayden have a child, that heir will be stronger than anyone in this world. Stronger than you. Stronger to rule Ravens. After, I’ll kill every wolf, every lycan. And when there should be a Raven heir, I’ll mold your child into the perfect weapon. I have no mate, no heir of my own. You’re just a pawn, Heather. Nothing more.”
He walked away before I could respond, his laughter echoing in my ears, drowning out the sound of my own heartbeat.
“Heather, please save me!” Mona’s desperate cry pierced the silence as the guards dragged her away to the dungeons. Her voice was full of terror, and I swore to myself I wouldn’t let her die. Not like my mother.
The guard holding my chains made the mistake of loosening his grip. Fury erupted inside me, and I slammed my head back into his face. He crumpled to the ground, clutching his nose as I broke free. My powers surged through my veins, burning like fire. I ran at Colt, my vision red with rage.
But he was ready. He dodged my attack with ease, his hand shooting out to wrap around my neck. He lifted me off the ground, choking me as if I weighed nothing.
“You’re weak,” he sneered. “And I know why. You’re pregnant, after all.”
He threw me to the ground like a rag doll, laughing as I gasped for air. “Go do work, little sister. You can’t kill me. You never could.”
Before I could respond, the world shifted, and I was no longer at the base of Ravens. I found myself standing in the opera house, the dim, haunting structure stretching out before me.
In the distance, a shadow moved. A silhouette stepped forward, and my heart lurched in my chest as I realized who it was.