He let out a small chuff of amusement. “I understand. You’ve got your father’s blood in you, after all.”
“Exactly.” I grinned. “Good ol’ Dad wouldn’t let this slide.”
“I’ll stay down here. Not because I don’t want to help, but because I know you can deal with this on your own. And honestly, I don’t want anything to do with Klimt, ever again.”
“I know, Remmy.”
Nero quickly kissed me on the top of the head. I stood back as he ran ahead and climbed up the short cliff, his strong back muscles flexing as he hauled himself quickly to the top. Klimt clearly hadn’t expected it because he darted back, teeth bared and hackles raised.
Remington
Even though Nerowas in his human form, he wasn’t intimidated by the growling wolf in front of him.
“Okay, Klimt. Let’s talk this out like alphas, all right? You’re going to stop this wastefulness,” Nero ordered, shooting a disgusted look at the pile blocking the river. “And you’re going to stop polluting the water, too.”
“Or else what?” Klimt said.
Nero narrowed his eyes. “How about you just do it and don’t argue with me? There’s no point. You only did this to get Remington’s attention and you failed. He doesn’t care about you. Get over it and move on.”
Klimt laughed coldly. “You don’t have authority over me, you fucking fish. I can do whatever I want.”
Despite not making any move to attack Klimt, I could tell that Nero was growing annoyed with him. But I knew my mate. He wasn’t going to do anything rash anymore. Avoiding a conflict to protect me and our child was more important than proving anything to Klimt. He wasn’t worth the effort.
“Actually, Idohave authority in this department,” Nero stated. “My father is the water spirit who reigns over this region. All this water is his domain. So if you want to avoid pissing him—and me—off, then I suggest you clean this up and take a hike.”
Klimt sneered. “I don’t give a shit about your father. Just like I didn’t give a shit about Remington’s father, either.”
My blood ran cold.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Nero asked angrily.
My body trembled with a flurry of emotions as Klimt turned his cruel gaze upon me. A slow, evil smirk spread over his lips and revealed his yellowed teeth.
“Before Remington turned eighteen, I had a little chat with his dear daddy,” Klimt said, never taking his eyes off me. “Tried to explain to him what a strong alpha I was, since I wanted his blessing to take his omega son as a mate. You see, back then Iaskedfor permission for things that I wanted. But there was no point. He refused me, told me to get out of his sight. Said no alpha like me would be good enough for his precious little Remington.”
My body trembled. The temperature around me seemed to plummet. Dread pooled in the pit of my stomach like tar, weighing me down.
Klimt’s chest fur fluffed up in some sick display of pride. “I thought of the perfect plan. By taking Remington as my mate, I’d have a fit young omega by my sideandall the inheritance that came with him. An omega, a manor, money… I’d have it all.”
“What the hell are you saying?” Nero snapped. He was openly furious now, as if he was feeling the emotions I was too shocked to feel.
Klimt smiled. He was still staring directly at me. “I’m saying that I waited for Remington to come of age, then as revenge for his father’s refusal to bless our coupling, I killed him.”
The whole world tilted, unbalanced. The awful weight in my gut disoriented and nauseated me, and I stumbled on my paws. My body was stiff and cold, frozen to the ground.
“No,” I murmured, barely able to breathe.
“You fucking bastard!” Nero snapped, his fists balled at his sides and trembling with unrestrained hatred. “How could you do that to him?”
“Like I said, it was a life lesson never to ask for permission again,” Klimt said coldly. “Thanks to my chat with Daddy Remington… Ialwaystake what I want.”
In the next moment, Klimt dug his claws into the earth and leapt down from the cliff, landing on the grass ahead with a thud. He ran towards me with a hard hunger in his eyes.
I was still frozen with anguish.
“Remington!” Nero yelled.
My mate’s body twisted in mid-air, slamming into the water as a shark. He bulldozed through the skeleton pile with incredible speed and power. The bones scattered, unclogging the water flow. Nero sped down the waterfall like a bullet. He was so fast I could barely see him.
