Feeling disgusted by the amount of his blood in my mouth, I let go. He staggered back, gasping and whimpering like the pathetic creature he was. His eyes were wide with shock and pain. Blood gushed from his wound. When he spoke, his voice sounded nasally, like he had a cold.
“You…”
“I warned you,” I said, licking my lips and spitting the blood out. “Want to try me again?”
Neil seemed torn between wanting to attack me in retaliation and running off with his tail between his legs.
Unfortunately, his fight response won out. Of course Neil the alpha couldn’t lose a fight to Matheson the omega. In his eyes, I’d been the one to ruin his life, even though it was his own damn doing.
Neil attacked me, forgetting his place. He snapped the air frantically, trying to bite my muzzle, but I was too quick. On top of that, the blood and tears blurred his vision. I stayed a step ahead of him and bared my red fangs to show him I still had some fight in me.
But Neil was mad. His rage gave him a momentary edge. He shouldered me hard, catching me off guard and I flipped over with a cry. He pinned me down, using his weight to keep me from getting up no matter how much I clawed at his underside.
He put his paw down hard on my throat, starting to choke me. Blood from his nose dripped down onto my face. His eyes were glazed over, and for the first time I was truly afraid of him.
I tried to choke out words, but he pushed down harder, cutting off my air. Panic set my blood on fire.
Then my baby kicked.
A ripple of power thrummed through me, turning into a massive shockwave that sent Neil flying. He smashed into a marble pillar and fell, startled and clumsy, on all fours. “What the hell?”
I stood, breathing heavily. The sudden surge of strength in me didn’t fade. In fact, it seemed stronger than ever. Clear magic pulsed through my veins like it was my blood.
A sudden idea struck me.
Is the strength of my magic related to my pregnancy somehow? It wasn’t this strong before my baby magically grew bigger…
That idea linked into my thoughts of the prophecy. It was still unsolved, but somehow I felt like I was closer than ever before to solving it.
But first, I had to get out of here.
Neil acted foolishly. He was so absorbed with rage that he ran at me again, completely unaware of my magic surging.
A sense of calm came over me. Despite my anger, I didn’t want to kill him. That wouldn’t help me escape. But something else would.
Just as he bunched his muscles to spring, I reached out to his mind with invisible tendrils of clear magic.
Stop.
He stopped.
I paused a moment, waiting to see if he would break the spell, but he didn’t. He remained frozen. His eyes glazed over, not from fury anymore, but they looked distant, like he wasn’t in control of himself. Which was exactly what I wanted.
Sit down.
Neil sat.
A laugh burst out of me, and I cackled until the sound filled the room. This was good. This was very good.
Neil apparently had a fragment of control over his mind, because he asked in a quiet voice, “What… are you doing to me?”
I glared at him sharply. “What Blaze did to me. And exactly what you deserve.”
I spoke to his mind again.
Release me from this room, and take me to Noro.
Neil’s body twitched like he was trying to resist me, but in the end my magic won over. He jerkily turned around and unlocked the door, letting both of us go.
