Rowan snorted out loud. “The first family? Of course, I’m from the first family.”
“Not Lycan’s, you idiot. The first family of wolves.” Garith’s face morphed into something close to devotion. “If I can get close to the first family…any child I have with someone from that family would be strong.” Then he turned back to Rowan. “Then I would just kill the rest so no one could interfere.”
Rowan laughed. “What would you do if they wanted nothing to do with you?”
“Simple…I would cull them…like I did when the King turned down giving me his daughter.”
The room plummeted into icy silence.
Rowan’s eyes flashed to the icy blue I loved. “What did you just say?”
Garith laughed. “You didn’t know?” He threw his head back and twirled the knife in his hand. “Your mother was pregnant with a she-wolf. He was so excited for a second pup. As I heard Lycans only have one pup, right?” He grinned. “So when he scented the pregnancy, he threw a party. Apparently, his finding out he was having a girl triggered something inside of him. He wanted some Alphas to pass down the torch, so to speak. He said that times were changing, and he wanted to make sure we were changing with them.” Garith shook his head. “He grew soft. So I offered him a deal.”
“A deal?” Brandon jumped in. “To step down? Why?”
He turned to my ex-mate and glowered at him. “Cause I was thinking bigger. You all think so small. But I told the king that if he promised me the hand of his daughter, I would step down happily.”
“She wasn’t even born, and you were trying to marry her?” Rowan growled.
Garith waved his hand. “He said no; your father wasn’t great at thinking big picture either. He just said that the Goddess would pick her mate, and that was that.” He laughed low. “Or so he thought.”
“What do you mean?” Shannon asked, obviously confused.
“Well…” Garith shrugged. “He could have mated his daughter to me, and none of this would have happened. But instead…” He looked at Shannon and dropped the act. His eyes turned cold, empty. He went from being a vibrant man to looking like he was dead inside. And I in many ways, he was. “Instead, I gave up my pack, sure, but I killed his mate, his child, his entire race.” Garith laughed, but his eyes stayed dead. “I killed all the Lycans, wiped out his line well, most of his line…until today.” He turned back to Rowan. “But hey, better late than never, right?” And then he slammed the knife into Rowan.
I screamed. It wasn’t even a thought. It must have surprised everyone because they all turned to me. Garith chuckled as he wrenched the knife out of Rowan’s leg. My mate just grunted as the blade was ripped from him. “I love Omegas. They are always so theatrical.” Garith mimicked my scream. “Ah!” Then he doubled over laughing. Everyone else around slowly joined in, but I caught a few women who weren’t laughing. “Come close.” Garith waved everyone closer, but no one moved. “Oh! Right. Itsi blugh dor not ihnas provon ti.” The remaining people all closed in, with Brandon turning away from Garith and heading straight for Lynn.
“I’m going to kill you.” His threat hung there as he reached for Lynn. Her eyes flashed to me, and behind the slight panic, there was acceptance. I watched her eyes as acceptance won over. She was okay with this outcome. She nodded once towards me.
Then she turned to Brandon and smiled. “Sure you are.” She cackled once more before swinging on him. I screamed again, no words, just pain that I couldn’t get there. This wasn’t right, but I was stuck in place. I felt hands on my arms.
“You can’t.” A soft whisper was the only thing that held me back.
“Stop.” Garith slapped the command on Brandon, and I watched him almost fall. “I released everyone to come watch the downfall of our king, not so you could get revenge on a fucking she-wolf boy. Either you come watch, or you stand there and glare at the bitch, but until I’m done, you don’t fucking move. Understood?”
Brandon glared, but then he nodded. He turned back to Lynn and smiled. “You get an extra bit of time, but I swear here and now, I will kill you.” He snapped his fangs, trying to intimidate her.
She laughed. “You think you are scary? You look like a little boy trying to play werewolf.” She laughed again, and a few joined in.
“Enough.” Garith turned back to Rowan, who was just watching everyone with glassy eyes. Something close to panic curled in my belly, but I trusted my mate. “Now, I don’t want anyone interrupting me when I am having my fun. So…it lor kina size.” I felt the spell settle on everyone again.
When a murmur went through the crowd, I whispered the counterspell. “Itsi blugh dor not indi ahsa.”
“My King.” Garith twirled a knife. “It must be tiring being the last of your kind. Lonely even.” He smiled as Rowan seemed to slump down. Acting as if the silver they pumped into his body was taking effect. “Look at you. Barely holding it together. The burn in your stomach? The silver we slipped into your drinks. It should have made it through out your system by now.”
Rowan just smiled. “Doesn’t matter.”
Garith laughed. “Why do you say that?”
Rowan tilted his head as he slipped another inch. “I can still shift. Lycans will always shift when they feel threatened.”
Garith nodded. “As I learned with your mother.” He pulled down his shirt and showed a scar on his chest. “She almost got me. She sadly, had horrible aim.” He laughed. “Missed my heartby a fraction. Can’t blame her though. Hard to aim while you are fighting for your life.” Garith laughed.
I felt my arm tremble. Thankfully, the long sleeves were hiding the fur that was rippling down my arm. Rowan growled. “You bastard.”
Garith nodded. “I am. But it’s okay; my mother knows all too well. And if I kill my own mother, I mean, what does your mother hope for?” He turned to me and grabbed another knife. “While I would love to just kill you, sadly I have to take my time, heartbreaking I know.”
“Why not just kill him and get it over with?” Shannon asked, boredom creeping into her voice. “We still have to eat.”
