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She crouched by him, gazing into his soul with a stark madness that was so potent it was nearly tangible. Mithelda’s eyes ghosted white, a tell-tale indicator that she was about to use a phenomenal amount of psychic power.
Remmus didn’t even know to be scared.
When Mithelda spoke, her voice was laced with her psychic gift of coercion. “Never apologize, Remmus; regret makes you fragile. Never forgive; it is the ultimate sign of weakness. You’ll take it from your flesh when you fail.”
The psychic power of her voice entrenched within Remmus’ mind, below his paper-thin layer of shielding that’d yet to mature. It snaked itself around his psyche, melding with the core of who he was, and stained his mind.
The white that’d colored his mother’s eyes bled back to brown, and her mouth stretched into a maniacal smile. “Apologize to me, Remmus.”
Blinking wide, guileless eyes at his mother, Remmus followed her command. “I’m sorry, mommy.”
Without his consent, his right hand grabbed the sharpened stick—his latest treasure—and dragged it across his left forearm. Blood welled in its wake, drawing a startled noise from the two-year-old child. Lower lip quivering, Remmus stared at the crimson beads dotting his arm, too scared to sob.
“Again, Remmus.” Mithelda grew haunty, the elegant lines of her features sharpening in glee. “Apologize to me again.”
His lip quivered, and when the tears threatened in his eyes, Remmus let them fall. “I’m sorry, mommy.”
Another line of blood, drawn by little hands. Another. Another.
His mother was only satisfied when he’d refused to repeat the mantra once more, giving him an approving nod. “Don’t be weak, Remmus; I won’t stand for a pathetic progeny. I’d rather kill you first.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
A mournful howl carried on the wind, the bitter chill brushing cool fingers through her coat as Ava continued her blistering pace through the mountains. The voice behind her begged her to stop but didn’t contain the command she knew her alpha could voice.
Riaz wasn’t asking her to yield yet, but he soon would.
Her alpha was an enormous mahogany wolf who was faster than her, but Ava had a head start, and she needed every stride she could get before he demanded answers.
Another howl that she refused to answer. Closer this time.
Her wolf insisted she echo the call, but the woman within denied it. The pain at Remmus’ revelation bordered on being too much, and Ava had to process it alone. All this time, she’d been attempting to desensitize herself with Remmus when he was the monster she’d needed to find.
For ten more minutes she ran, the cries of her alpha becoming closer with every passing second. Ava didn’t stop, and he didn’t demand that she did. She hadn’t bolted without a plan, knowing instinctively to remain close to the den but out of earshot of any curious packmates.
The loop trail didn’t carry her more than thirty minutes away from the den at any time, and she’d taken it because in her heart, there was an almost painful urge to return. Not to her den, but to her mate.
Remmus. Ciru.
Through their bond, she felt Remmus’ agony, a pain that was so sharp it was nearly blinding. Snarling toward the heavens, she cursed the bond that tied them together. She’d finally found her mate—the one fate had decreed she would love forever—and he’d been the one that’d cut her deepest.
Her heart, lanced open and bleeding at her feet, no longer beat with hope.
Now, it beat with revenge.
When Riaz’ whine sounded in her ear, she lashed out with tooth and claw, the anger inside boiling over.
Teeth met flesh and claws scrapped muscle. Her snarls echoed against the stark winter landscape, all the other animals going silent as she locked onto the bigger predator. Riaz didn’t fight back, didn’t raise a single paw to her, only shielded himself from the worst of her blows.
When Ava came back to herself and her wolf realized who she was attacking, she yelped and flung belly up in the dirt below his paws. Riaz shifted a split second later, assured she was once more in control. She followed suit.
“Ava.” Her name was a prayer on his lips, and her cries became muffled as her alpha dragged her into his arms. “Ava, sweet, what’s wrong?”
But she couldn’t answer. Fisting hands in his woolen sweater, Ava nuzzled her nose into his chest. She needed the tangibility of the alpha she’d pledged her loyalty to. Instead, Riaz asked another question, his voice low and unreadable.
“Why is there blood all over Remmus’ quarters?”
Startled at the change of direction and the frostiness of his tone, Ava threw herself away from her alpha. “It was there when I got to him! I hope he suffers.”
