He turned back to stare at Garith as he slowly tightened his hand. Verity went from choking to completely silent; all the air was cut off. Her face cycled through the new colours as she hit, kicked and fought for her life.
But Rowan squeezed until a sharp crack was heard. Verity slumped. “I swear I will cut her fucking heart out.” Garith screamed as he turned towards me, the knife pressing into my chest. But he froze when he looked down to find his heart already in my hand. He coughed once, blood pouring from his lips. “How?”
I dropped my concealment spell and watched as his eyes grew wide. I was still short for a Lycan at six foot seven, but my black fur covered my wolfman body, and my fangs glistened in my snout. “Lycans can always shift.”
Then, I ripped his heart back through his chest and dropped it on the ground.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Vince and Brandon looked at Garith’s dead body, and I could see the panic in their eyes. The bubble burst as Garith gave his final shuddering breath. I stepped up to Rowan and licked his face. He lifted a brow, and I just shrugged. “I don’t know how to shift back, and I wanted to kiss you.” He threw his head back, laughing. I held out my hand. “I need your phone.”
He slid it from his pocket and handed it to me. It was my turn to raise my eyebrow. “What?”
I raised my clawed hands. “A little hard to dial here.”
He looked from his phone to my hands and then back to my face. “Right…who?”
“My father first.”
Vince opened his mouth, but it was Morgan who screamed. “What the fuck did you just say?”
I turned to look at the pale man on the ground. “I’m calling my father.”
Vince shuddered but then rallied. “He’s dead.”
“I think you overestimated my death there, Vince.” My father’s voice rang out over the speaker. He sounded exhausted. “My King…is everything okay?”
“I wanted him to call you.” I stepped closer to the phone. “How is it on your end?”
He sighed. “We are still in the caves. They ran deeper, and we’re chasing them. What about you?”
I looked down at the bodies at our feet. “Verity and Garith are dead. Vince, Brandon, Shannon and Morgan are subdued for now.”
“Are you going to kill them?”
I looked at Rowan, but he just shrugged. “It’s your choice, mate. Ru says to kill them, but he just wants you safe.”
I turned back to them and I smirked. “I haven’t made the decision yet…” Shannon whimpered, which made me smirk.
“You can’t.” Vince’s voice sounded stronger than it should have in this precarious situation.
I turned back to him and tilted my head in confusion. “And why not?”
“Because you already have us under control. The accords of the council say-”
“Say fucking nothing,” Rowan screamed. I turned, surprised to see him so agitated. “The council is over, their power gone, and their accords are in the trash. They lost all power the moment they went behind my father’s back and colluded with Garith to kill the Lycans, my family and my mate.” He took a step closer to Vince and dropped low enough to look him in the eye. “You have no standing, no backing, and you are charged with treason, murder, and conspiracy. Your life was forfeit the moment you agreed to work with Garith.”
Vince paled. “You can’t make that decision.”
“I AM THE KING!” Rowan roared, and everyone on the ground trembled.
There was silence for a few seconds before my dad started to chuckle. “I am the king.” My dad mimicked my mate. “So scary.” Rowan snorted as he turned to the phone.
“You are lucky you are now my father in law, Gav.”
“Oh, I know.” I could hear the grin in my father’s voice. “How do you feel, pup?”
I pretended to hesitate. “I don’t know. I feel like it’s possible that they might have been spelled.” I heard a confused intake of breath.
