“He shouldn’t have been left to reach that state,” Zev said.
Owyn’s mouth twisted into a snarl, fangs extending.“Are you questioning me, half-breed?”
“No.” Zev lowered his head again. “If I may ask, what caused it?”
“He lost his mate.”
Werewolves felt everything so deeply. Joy. Anger. Pain. But grief most of all was a treacherous trigger for Madness. Zev was constantly teetering on the edge of it.
Owyn looked past him to Dyna. “Who is this female with you?”
“She is family—daughter of my uncle,” Zev replied, hoping the fact would hold sway in his case. Owyn sniffed the air to verify the claim. While she wasn’t a wolf, there was no denying the scent of kin. “Faolan targeted her as prey. I had to stop him.”
Kenlan hovered between both human and wolf as he vibrated with rage. When he spoke, the strained words were more of a growl than speech. “It doesn’t bloody matter who the bitch is.”
Zev snarled, his wolf nearly surfacing at the insult.
“She’s not of the Pack nor are you. You had no right to take my son’s life. Now you will pay with yours!”
“Will you answer the challenge?” Owyn asked him.
Zev inhaled a deep breath to calm himself. He didn’t want to kill anymore. He’d done enough of that. “I don’t wish to fight.”
“Then do you wish to bear your neck?”
The question should have frightened him, but he was numb to it. He looked up at the Alpha, reading the verdict there. Kenlan was the second strongest fighter, and the other wolves were Pack warriors. They weren’t here as witnesses.
They planned to end him.
With life comes death. There was no chance of avoiding such a definitive end. And no matter what Zev did, death always followed him.
What kind of life was this? Belonging nowhere, shunned for what he was and always struggling to remain sane. Living had become too hard. He had no home to rest in. The home he once had was haunted.
His old house flanked by ash trees was nestled in a garden of wolfsbane. It was late Autumn when the yellow leaves had floated in through the broken window and stuck to the crimson splattered walls. His father’s mangled body lay on the floor, entrails torn out, blood seeping through the cracks in the floorboards. The stench of carrion filled his nose as his mother’s terrible screams echoed in his memories.
“You did this! You killed him!”
Weight compressed on Zev’s chest. He couldn’t breathe. Darkness clouded his vision, and a piercing ring filled his ears. All sound and surroundings faded. His very being plunged through him, as though the earth was dragging him down. The Madness was attempting to take him again. He fought to claw out of it. He needed to resist, but it whispered luring promises.
Give in to the wolf and rest.The words were a sweet luring caress—and a sharp whip.All you touch withers. All those you love die. Forget it. Be unburdened from pain and despair. Forget it all.
Forgetting. That would be a welcomed peace.
Yes,it hissed greedily.Forget what you have done. Murderer.
The accusation struck down Zev’s wavering will, and he let go. The Madness took from him, plucking away each fault.
Killer.
Destroyer.
Monster.
Each sin snipped away left him weightless. The ache in his chest eased, and he drifted away. The Madness would take him to a new home. To a place where there was no pain or grief. Where nothing mattered at all. As he faded into the void, he questioned why he had resisted to begin with.
“No, Zev. Come back!” a desperate voice cried out. “Don’t give in! Stay with me!”
His consciousness burst back to reality with an abrupt force. His soul barrelled through his body snapping into its rightful place—along with all of his sins. He fell on his hands and knees, gasping heavily as his black fur receded, and his elongated canines shrunk.
