Saying her name out loud is like a dagger in my heart.
Samuel shrugs. “She was in the wrong place at the wrong time. But the power in her blood was much more potent than the human girls, so it worked out better for me. She was a sacrifice worth making.”
I blink in disbelief. My body is completely frozen to the spot.
He sacrificed Lola for the power her blood offered. A fresh wave of anger surges through me, and I lunge for him. Samuel lifts the gun and shakes his head. “Trust me, you don’t want me to use this.”
I stand there, my chest rising and falling with rapid breaths as I try to keep my anger in check.
“Now move!!” Samuel snarls, grabbing my arm painfully and jerking me out the door again.
“Where are we going?” I ask, only to receive a push in the back as an answer.
We walk into the woods in silence, the sunlight filtering through the trees and reflecting off the snow-covered ground. The only thing that breaks the silence is the sound of our feet crunching in the snow.
As we move further into the woods, I take the time to process what he said. Determination wraps around me like a thick cloak. I take a moment to assess Samuel. Even though he’s much bigger than I am and has a gun, I didn’t earn my position by being weak.
Samuel looks my way, and his lips curl up into a smirk. “After I’m done with you, I think I’ll pay that detective of yours a visit.”
Something inside of me snaps at those words. “You will not touch my mate,” I roar and lunge for him. The gun goes off, but I am already shifting. I collide with him, taking him to the ground. But he doesn’t shift, which just confuses me. I bark at him and snap my jaws toward his face. Samuel scrambles back, sweat dripping down his face, as he grabs the gun and points it at me.
“Shift,” he orders.
I lower my head and snarl at him. ‘Fight!’ I growl back.
Samuel laughs, the sound unhinged. “I can’t shift. I made a little deal, you see. You should thank me, you know, for interfering with his plans. At least this way it’ll be a quick death.”
Confused, I shift back into my human form, needing to speak to him. “What the fuck are you talking about? Who? What did you do, Samuel?”
His eyes seem to burn with madness, and his smirk is unnerving. I blanch as I attempt to control my breathing, my skin tingling with a sense of dread.
“I have the power of an upper-level demon with me.” He taps his temple with the gun. “He’s in here, and he isobsessedwith you. But he’s taking too long, playing and taunting you. I’m the alpha, and I want my fucking pack!” He screams the last bit, his face turning red in anger.
A shiver of fear trickles down my spine as I stare at my brother in horror. My mouth opens and closes several times. My dickhead brother made a deal with ademon?
“Are you mad?” I whisper, knowing full well my eyes are as wide as saucers.
Samuel shrugs and pulls the trigger. Pain blooms in my stomach, making me stumble forward a step. I glance down, my hands automatically going to my stomach. I feel the wetness there as red spreads across my gray sweater, and I look up to meet his gaze.
“Those women . . . he was using them to feed his hunger, playing with them. Testing out the ways he was going to use you. Lola, though . . . She was the perfect sacrifice to boost the demon’s power. Shifter and virgin.”
“You’re going to die,” I growl.
Samuel shakes his head. “No, sis. You are.”
He fires again, this time hitting me in the shoulder. I stumble back a step as he curses at me. He was obviously aiming for my heart and missed. Samuel thuds his head with the heel of his other hand, growling under his breath. He’s acting like a crack addict looking for their next hit. I snarl, my claws extending as I lunge for him. Surprise widens his eyes, and I take us both to the ground. The gun slips from his grip, falling into the snow. I wrestle him for the gun, desperately trying to keep him from getting a hold of it. My claws slash at his face.
“That was for Lola, you piece of shit!” I scream, taking another swipe at his face. Pulling back slightly, I sink my claws into his stomach, leaning down in his face. “That is for Mom and Dad.”
Deep-seated hatred burns in his eyes, and I withdraw my claws. With a shout, he reaches up, digging his fingers into my wounded shoulder. I howl in pain. Dizziness swamps me, and I fall backward off him, panting.
Fuck, that hurt.
The bullets must be spelled, because I’m not healing, and I can feel the poison working its way through my body.
I lean to the side and spit out a mouthful of blood before peering up at my brother. He is standing with the gun again, this time pointed at my head. A feral feeling swamps me, and I grin, showing off my bloody teeth.
“You’re a dead man,” I promise.
