Page 69 of Dark Company

Annora screams as Altris slams his fist down, nearly missing me. Bits of debris fly about, biting into my leg, but I ignore it. There’s something wrong. This isn’t him. It has everything to do with what Basq whispered into his ear. Working fast, I reach out to touch our bond again, but find that it’s still nothing but painful spikes and sharp razors.

The rage and pain I feel are nothing compared to the agony I felt when I was first bonded to him. It’s stronger. Forcing myself forward, I cry out as the anger surrounds me, flooding me, eating me up from the inside, but then it gives way.

I enter his brain and cover my ears, trying to drown out the sound that floods into me. It’s a single phrase that loops on repeat. It makes no sense, and it’s certainly not in a language that I’ve ever heard before. Groaning, I push myself into his mind, fully enmeshing ourselves until I can’t tell where he begins and I end.

Stepping forward, I fall to my knees in front of him, shouting my love into his mind as he comes near. His steps falter, as if he’s fighting against something, as if he’s struggling against my words. Again and again, I cry out, replacing the incessant phrase with words of love, longing, and hope.

As his hand comes down again, I close my eyes, preparing for his worst, silently praying to the gods to not hold his actions against him. He’s not in his right mind. None of this is his fault. Annora’s screams reach my ears, but I tune them out, concentrating on the feelings of peace that well up into my soul.

I must find a way to get through to him. There’s no way I’m going to let him die because of this, not when he’s not to blame. If only I can calm him down, stop the words, something. The clarity that surrounds me is like a funnel of calm amidst the howling storm, but I have to be that for him.

Altris was that unmovable pillar that saw me through some tough times of my own. Now it’s time to be steady and solid. Though deep down, I’m terrified, I know he’ll never harm me, not willingly.

Chapter 19

Altris

I stare down at my mate, trying desperately to move away, but something is keeping me there, forcing me to kill her. It’s like I’m trapped inside my own head, unable to break free from whatever spell encapsulates me. Her voice is soft and melodic in my head, just barely audible over the roar that fills my ears.

My arms raise as I move to crush her, and even though I’m screaming at myself to stop, it doesn’t listen. Annora rushes forward, grabbing her about the waist, pulling her back just as my hands bite into the concrete. Jaxxon’s bellow of rage doesn’t even touch me. All that I know is my mission.

Kill Karis.

Kill Annora.

I have no idea why I’m being forced to do this, and deep down, I don’t want to know. I don’t want to dirty myself with the mental workings of whoever is pulling my strings. I just want to stop. I want all of it to stop.

Listen to the bond.

The words from the little boy fight through and reach the small portion of myself that’s still rational, albeit not at all in control. The bond. Once more, I hear my mate’s voice, the quiet longing, the soft pressure at the corners of my mind. I force my way past the noise and focus just on her voice.

It’s like a cool breeze, a balm to my soul. I just have to follow her. I reach out, connecting with the sound in my mind, digging my fingers into the bond and holding tight. It vibrates with nothing but an outpouring of love, a far cry from the hate that pollutes my mind.

Crying out, I hold on to her, allowing her voice to get stronger, louder, until the phrase that bounces around my skull dissipates and only leaves her. My vision clears as I stare down at Karis, my heart beating so hard that I’m afraid it will leap out of my chest.

She’s below me, kneeling, the perfect show of submission. It’s a gift. Her gift. But that’s not what I want. That’s not who she is. Turning, I shove her out of my mind so I can clear the tent of the traitorous bastards that used me as a tool to harm my mate.

Now that I’m no longer in their control, they turn from Jaxxon and onto me. The four Alphas continue to hold him down as three betas run at me, their war cries echoing in my ears.

I race over to them and work my way through, pulling, clawing, snarling. Soon, the betas lay at my feet in a puddle of bone, muscle, and blood. Before I can attack the other Alphas, several of our own pour in, moved to action by the screams. They rip each of them to shreds, filling the tent with blood and gore. It covers my skin, coating my body with their death.

And then I see him. The traitor that greeted me like a friend only to stab me in the back. I stalk forward, my body rippling as I watch him shake with terror. Good. He should be afraid. Gripping him by the front of his shirt, I ignore the sparks of pain as he slams his hands down onto my forearms. I hear nothing. I see nothing.

All I can comprehend is revenge. Too many people have put Karis in danger, but this time, he will be a show to all of them what happens when you cross either the crown or my mate. “Keep the omegas inside. I don’t want them anywhere near this.”

Not waiting to see if my orders are being carried out, I storm out of the tent with Jaxxon close behind. Luckily, it seems like he understands I didn’t act out under my own control or mission; however, I did put his mate in danger, so he still might not be so forgiving.

Walking over to one of the nearby spikes, I order a nearby Alpha to hold it up at an angle. Basq twists and turns as understanding floods his brain and panic sets in. He keeps screaming out Anakara Elakasis Anoratorma, the phrase that turned me, but now that I have a handle on it and know what it is, I can fight it.

It still flutters about my mind, trying to take hold, but Karis’s presence keeps it from transforming me back into a mindless monster. Once the spike is where I want it, I reach down to grip the bottom half of Basq’s clothes and press forward until the tip rests against his asshole.

“Care for any last words?” I growl out, not even wanting to allow him that much.

I expected him to grovel, to beg for his life, but no. Instead, he waxes poetic about the High Echelon and their masterful control of Stanlion. It’s because of the fervor he has in his heart, the belief that he’s right, that makes him unafraid to die. I can’t take it anymore. I don’t want to hear any more of his violent rhetoric. In one fast lunge, I force the spike into his body, dragging it down.

Basq’s screams drill into my brain as I continue to move, forcing his body down the wood until the sounds stop. Not satisfied, I grip again and move once more until the tip bursts out of his throat, showering those around us in a spray of blood. I leave his body there, allowing the other Alphas to raise it high for the other to see and turn to kneel at Jaxxon’s feet.

“What the fuck just happened?”