GRAYSON
^HALF AN HOUR EARLIER^
After hundreds of years, the invisible border protecting the kingdom of Zaweth and preventing just anyone from wandering in was taken down, and we had no idea how or why.
I didnât even know that it was possible. The warlock who put them up all those years ago, Gulius Mallor, was still alive and had been a resident of Zaweth his whole life.
While not immortal, warlocks were some of the longest-living creatures in existence. They were often referred to as the sea turtles of the supernatural world, living on average for a thousand years.
They were also incredibly rare. Gulius was one of few in existence and also one of the oldest at 912 years old.
And he was missing. The only man who could do anything to help was nowhere to be found.
The supernatural kingdom had a lot of enemies who wouldnât think twice about taking advantage of our borders being down. For all we knew, they could already be in Zaweth.
Kyle and I scrambled to protect the borders before it was too late. At least one hundred of our best warriors were stationed around the entirety of Zaweth, and we were recruiting more volunteers to take shifts.
We had been patrolling the borders for the last several hours. It was dark now, the night sky blanketing us with dark shadows and moonlight.
The forest was quiet at night and brought my wolf and me great peace.
I wasnât able to enjoy this peace though because Belle was upset with me. I felt her seething and worrying through our bond, taking advantage of our new connection and constantly checking in on me.
I wholly regretted not teaching her how to mind-linkâan ability that she would be able to take advantage of now that we were fully bondedâbefore I left her.
It would have been an extremely useful ability to have, especially since I took her phone so I could be the one in charge of what information she was exposed to.
I tried sending her soothing vibes through our link but they did little to calm her. This was to be expected.
It was hard for newly mated couples to be apart from each other, even when both were in safe environments and not possibly facing a battle with a psychotic vampire.
I hadnât been kidding yesterday when I said I planned on keeping her in bed for the rest of the week. And I still planned on doing exactly that as soon as I knew that my kingdom was safe.
I reached out to Belle through the link, checking in on her. She liked feeling my presence because it ensured her that I was all right. She calmed just slightly, but her worry for me was still strong.
I sighed. I hated leaving her with Liam. It wasn't easy to be away from her after mating, especially since she hadnât shifted into a fairy as I had been expecting her to after we were done.
Had the prophecy been wrong? Or was there a shift still coming?
I pulled out my phone and sent a quick text to Liam, asking him to tell Belle to stop worrying and to go to bed. I would be back with her as soon as possible. Her anxiety was completely unnecessary.
This entire situation felt all too familiar.
Leaving Belle right before mating and being pulled out to protect the borders from an unexpected breach reminded me a little too much of the night that Azazel took control of my body.
I had no doubt in my mind that he was the one behind all of this. Kidnapping Gulius Mallor, despite being a harmless old man, and coercing him to remove the borders was not beneath Azazel.
If my suspicions were correct, all we had to do now was wait for Azazel to act on whatever ridiculous plan he was cooking up.
And then I would kill him, make him pay for what he did to my mate.
And then I would return to said mate, throw her down on the nearest surface, and let her continue with whatever she planned to do to me before we were interrupted.
Then I would plow into her repeatedly until we were both too exhausted to continue.
Maybe I would take her from behind this time. Or watch her face twist with pleasure while she rode my cock and dug her nails into my chest like I knew she loved to do.
âYou know, I gotta tell you, this whole âbeing a hybridâ thing is seriously proving to be both a blessing and a curse,â Kyle said to me, feigning exasperation.
We were walking through the woods, checking in on our warriors around the borders to make sure there wasnât any land that wasnât covered. Kyle hadnât stopped talking the entire time.
I could have done this on my own.
Still, Kyle insisted that I not be left alone since the last time Azazel was on my territory without permission, he took advantage of my solidarity, taking over my mind and body for several months.
âWhat are you going on about?â I responded.
âWell, thank you for asking,â Kyle started. âBecoming a hybrid comes with a lot of benefitsâbigger, faster, stronger. An all-together better warrior. And thatâs all great.â
He let his gaze slide to me. âWhat they donât tell you about becoming a hybrid is that you have to fucking smell it every time your alpha is thinking about mating with his luna.â
I grinned. His comments about my potent sex pheromones didnât bother me nearly as much as they did before I had finally taken my sweet little mate.
My temper was much more manageable now. My wolf was at ease for the first time since I had become old enough to find my mate because Belle was mine in every way, shape, and form.
I had everything I had ever wanted.
But my need for her was still at an all-time high. Mating with her had only made me more insatiable.
I wanted to fuck her blind. Nonstop. Forever. To watch her face scrunch up adorably with constant orgasms. To pleasure her until she was just as addicted to me as I was to her.
I seriously doubted that need would ever go away. Kyle would soon realize that and learn to ignore it.
At least he was the only one with senses strong enough to sense it every time I was thinking about sex with my irresistible mate.
My pheromones werenât nearly as strong as they were before, so no one besides him would be able to sense them. It was only Kyleâs burden to bear, and I was fine with that.
âBreathe through your mouth,â was the only solution I provided for him.
Kyle groaned. âI thought it would get better after the two of you finally did the hanky panky.â
âThen youâre an idiot.â
He chuckled, shaking his head. âGuessââ
He didnât get to finish that sentence because, at that very moment, a blinding light took over the space around us, and an invisible source slammed into my body.
It lifted me off my feet and threw me to the ground at the base of a tree. The wind was knocked out of me, and I grunted from the impact, coughing several times.
What the flying fuck was that?
I rolled to my side as I tried to get my breathing under control and groaned at the intense pain in my shoulder. And then I realized what had happened.
The invisible force field protecting Zaweth was back up. I could see the dome-like enclosure just barely visible and glistening above me.
âHow the fuckâ¦,â I murmured.
I sat up and searched for Kyle, my heart nearly stopping when I found him.
~No, no, noâ¦~
I was up and sprinting over to him in less than a second and fell down to my knees next to him.
Kyle was lying on his back on the ground, unmoving, showing no signs of breathing, unseeing eyes looking up at the sky without emotion.
A deep wound, thin as if it were made by the cut of a knife, started at the top of his head and ran down the entire right side of his body, all the way to his feet in one long, gory line.
It cut through his right eye and ran down his cheek, the side of his throat, chest, stomach, and leg.
Blood pooled from him and formed a puddle around us, completely soaking my jeans and filling the air with the scent of iron and death. It was a scene straight out of a horror movie.
The force field had cut right through him. His right foot was nearly in two pieces, sliced right down the middle, severed up to his ankle where the wound morphed into a grisly flesh wound.
I had no doubt that if I were to roll him onto his stomach, the gruesome, cable-like wound would be running up his backside as well.
It created a perfect line that circled the length of him in the way that the force field appeared around him, starting at his feet and then moving upward.
âNo. No. ~No!~â I shouted. I grabbed his shoulder, shaking him, trying to get him to move. âKyle!â He didnât even twitch.