He launches Dominic off of him, his wolf crashing into the cabinet at the far end of the room, snapping his neck in the process. My face stretches in horror, but I don’t have time to even dwell on the fact that his lifeless body rests on the floor.
There’s too much at stake.
When Ryker pushes himself up, I lock my eyes onto him. I zone into my emotional state and hold him in place as I reach for the machete beside my feet. It’s still dripping with his guard's blood.
A low groan of frustration falls from his mouth as he remains frozen from my focus. He might think he’s invincible, but eventually, the drain from his powers will make him weaker, and I know from experience that when things don’t go his way, he deteriorates quickly.
I take slow, steady steps towards him as adrenaline and fury pump through my veins. Even when I think my focus will slip, it doesn’t.
I, Caleb Vella, reject you, Evan Wolfe.
Please don’t, Caleb.
I love you.
My head begins to vibrate as I zone into his lifeless gaze and somehow find myself slipping inside his mind. His eyes glaze over with a misty haze as his lips part, and for once in his life, he looks helpless. A sight I will drown myself in.
Ryker yells out, and the veins in his neck start to protrude. The pressure inside my head is nothing compared to the crushing I’m doing internally to his brain. His bellowing screams bounce off the walls around us.
“Where is he? What did you do to him?” I demand through gritted teeth.
Ryker attempts to struggle, but he can’t move.
“Where is he?”
“I should have killed him,” he groans between breaths.
There’s a wave of relief through me at his words, but that doesn’t guarantee his safety.
“Tell me where he is,” I shout as I intensify the pressure inside his head.
He cries out as his face scrunches up. “I don’t know.”
“Liar.”
I push through his mental barriers as they slip, and faint images of Evan play in my mind from his memories. I can’t hear what they’re saying, but one moment, they’re talking, then Evan’s on the ground with his leg broken.
A deep growl ripples through me as I watch Felix drag him away. That’s it, nothing more. I release the memory, and Ryker gasps for breath, choking on his saliva.
“Yes, Father,” I rasp as I inch closer. “I do think I can defeat you. And I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with the manIlove.”
I watch as his hands fight to press against his ears to ease the noise and pressure that’s rattling around inside his skull, but it won’t help. Not when I’m inside his brain, making myself known.
When I stop directly in front of him, I stare back at the man who has continuously ruined my life and never accepted me for who I am.
“You don’t get to hurt people anymore,” I whisper, my voice dark. “And I promise, this is the most liberating thing I’ll ever do.”
I raise the machete in my hand before plunging it into his chest, straight through his heart. He groans, blood immediately starting to pour from his mouth. My hands are still wrapped around the hilt as I shove it an inch deeper, his flesh and bone slicing open.
I tug back the machete as he cups his hand over his chest before stumbling backwards, trying to grab onto anything before he falls to the floor with a deafening slam.
My body screams in agony as exhaustion starts to creep in. All my energy has been zapped from me. My chest heaves as I stand over him, watching him take his last breath before his body remains still and lifeless. I keep my eyes on him for a few seconds.
He’s dead.
He’s fucking dead.
I cough up blood that has been crawling up my throat for the past twenty minutes. Without hesitation, I spit it down beside Ryker’s head and wipe my mouth with the back of my hand.
