He winces, growling, head shaking suddenly. His mouth sneers and he claws at his head.
“Kaden?”
He growls again, turning away from me. I grab his hand, pulling him back. I just need his eyes. A few more moments. That’s all. “Hold on, Kaden. Maybe we can try?—”
He howls now, throwing himself away from me. He breaks a tree, the splinters exploding into dead air. He finally looks at me and those amber eyes bleed to black.
The warmth is gone. No longer is he my mate, but the beast I must defeat to get him back.
With the wolves, my immediate reaction was to stop him from coming too close. It was just reflex, to pull on his blood—I never expected it to work.
But it did. I can control him when the beast pushes him away. Right now, if I listen hard enough and lower my mental shields, I can hear the faintest heartbeat. Proof that he is not my husband.
“Kaden, please don’t make me.” I hold up my hand, fingers-stained red. The beast sniffs, snarling as he realizes what I’ll do.
I don’t want to control him. It physically turns my stomach, bile sloshing up my throat to use my magic on him. At one point, I would’ve relished the idea.
But I love him now. And this isn’t my Kaden anymore.
There’s a crashing to my side and my attention shifts. In that moment, Kaden surges forward, wrapping his large paw around my neck and squeezes tight.
Air traps behind my closed lips. I open my mouth but nothing comes out. My lungs burn, and my heart hammers inside my skull. Time stops, until all I can hear is my labored beats as they slow down… and Kaden’s heart.
Thrashing, I try to focus on it, but he holds me too tightly. Blackness edges my vision and my mouth opens on a silent scream.
No.It can’t end like this.
My magic rises, ready to defend me, but before it can be summoned, Kaden is propelled from me. Falling to the ground, my legs take the impact, crumpling. Coughing and wheezing, I claw at my throat, willing my touch to end the pain.
I glance up through blurry eyes, to see the Hadeon standing over him. His massive body pins my mate to the ground, wide pawns pressing into his shoulders as his chest vibrates with the glowing red Hellfire he was born from.
“Wait,” I croak, but it’s weak and brittle. Kaden roars, flinging my companion away. Quickly, the Hadeon’s mouth clamps on to his wrist, swinging around into a full circle. Only then does he release his hold, nails sliding along the dirt to stand in front of me.
My protector.
Kneeling, I hold to the Hadeon’s thick neck and look to Kaden’s black eyes. He doesn’t recognize me, doesn’t see us. Only the blood in our veins—myveins, and he drools at the thought.
The Hadeon doesn’t wait and blows a long breath of fire at him as I cower, covering my head. A scream rips from my bruised throat, absolute agony. Kaden’s shrieks of fury are too loud to miss. Before I can look, two rough hands pull me away from the wretched flames.
The heat vanishes, replaced by stark coolness and silence.
Panting, I lean against a sculpted body as Mal holds me upright. His green eyes glare at Kaden, but it’s not with rage, but sadness. It’s the kind of sorrow that comes from seeing a once proud person fall and burrows deep into my bones.
I am not alone in wanting Kaden back.
Kaden notices Mal with me and lunges, but the Hadeon blows another stream of fire. The grass erupts into flames, acting as a formidable barrier and heat washes over us all. The beast swipes at the fire, as if to fight through. Thankfully, it’s too thick and Kaden hisses against the burns that melt his flesh.
“Don’t,” I warn, launching myself out of Mal’s arms. I need to stop him. The beast isn’t thinking clearly, driven mad with bloodlust.
But Mal doesn’t release, pivoting us away, shielding my face. “That’s not Kaden,” he reminds me, never looking away. “Stay back.”
How do I stay away?Moments ago, he was my mate. Now, he’s just a vessel for a terrible curse. And yet, I can feel him, under it all, still there. I want him back.
Reid appears, daggers drawn. Pulling me away from Mal, he curses the Gods and gently touches my neck. “Shit, Max. That’s bad.”
My eyes water as Reid inspects the damage, fingers tracing the marks. They’re deep, my throat is bruised and it hurts to swallow. It feels as if glass is lodged deep within. “How bad?”
“Reallybad.”
