ZEDKIEL.
I refuse to believe this.
My heart is thundering and even Zerachiel is at a loss.
âF**k you, Ziahra!â Kash growls, pushing her hand off him. She smiles, grabbing his jaw painfully, clearly not getting the f*****g hint.
âNow, now, letâs not get that tongue dirty.â She whispers, slipping a finger into his mouth.
Iâm getting f*****g sick watching this, because he has the chance to bite her f*****g finger off and he hasnât.
âKash, kill her!â I snarl through the link.
A flash of guilt flickers through his eyes, as they blaze brightly, but Ziahra doesnât move her finger as if knowing he wonât kill herâ¦
He wouldnât betray me, not him.
Iâm done with this!
âWe need to kill her Zed!â Jeremiahâs sharp voice comes through the mind link.
Iâm about to get to my feet when I suddenly sense the darkness spreading from Evelyn.
âHow dare you!â Evelyn snarls, her eyes trained on Ziahra.
Ziahraâs eyes tuIn upon her, then in a flash, sheâs suddenly behind Kash, holding a long blade to his neck.
âStand down or he dies!â She warns dangerously.
âOn your signal, Zedkiel, one loss is something we can deal with!â Ragnarâs voice comes through the link.
I look at Kash whoâs watching Evelyn, and I just want to f*****g know whatâs going on.
âStand down!â Ziahra hisses.
âI donât really care if he dies.â Evelyn snarls back, darkness spreads from her rushing towards the Vampire.
Ziahra pulls Kash back, jerking her head.
Her braids whip across her face as a powerful blast pushes us back, only Evelyn remains in her spot.
âNo, wait!â I growl.
âDo it! Kill me!â Kash snarls. Iâm dying anyway, save yourselves!â He adds, his eyes finally meeting mine.
âHeâs a traitor! How dare he try to act noble now!â
Zerachiel snarls.
âGet them!â Ziahra growls, the vampires lunge at my own men, there are far too manyâ¦
Iâm trying to f*****g make sense of it all, and I look back at Kash.
âTell me you didnât betray me and I will believe it.â I say quietly.
He simply smirks slightly. I did.â
I almost scoff as the truth washes over me like a soothing wave, despite the clash of the vampires and werewolves around me.
Let him die!â Zerachiel hisses.
âHe didnât betray us. He said that, so itâs easier for us to get rid of him. I know my brother Zerachiel.â
Kash may not be my brother by b***d, but he was the closest person I had. He would never betray me.
I wonât ever believe it, not until I see that quilt in his eyes.
I donât buy it.â I say to Kash, who almost smirks despite his situation.
âWAIT!â I shout, rushing to stop Evelyn as she slices through a third vampire with her powers.
Stand down!â
âAnd die?â Ragnar growls, blocking an attack.
Jeremiah glances at me hesitating, as if not knowing if he should obey or not.
âLook, you wanted me, Iâm here.â I say, stepping forward and holding my hands up. âStand down everyone.â I let my Alpha command roll through me.
âZedkiel, no!â Evelyn says, her heart thumping.
âStand down, I got this.â I say to her calmly, before turning to Ziahra. âLetâs talk.â
Ziahra c***s a brow, holding the blade at Kashâs neck.
âAnd why would I trust you?â She questions dangerously.
âBecause Kash here told me you wanted me. right?â
Her brows knit together, as she looks at Kash.
âSo you did do as I said. even if itâs in your own way..â
âIf it was up to me, no, I wouldnât have.â Kash growls, shoving her away.
The blade slices through his neck quite deeply, spraying b***d everywhere, but it doesnât phase him.
âYou!â She hisses, as she glares at his neck.
Her fangs come out before she kicks him straight in the stomach, throwing him back.
He swears as he hits the ground, and she places one heeled foot on his chest, pointing the blade to his neck.
âBitch.â Kash curses.
âBastard.â She snaps back. âKeep talking.â She says, glaring at me before her gaze returns to Kash.
âYou wanted me, Iâm here. You promised if I showed up then you would back off.â I growl. âIâm here, willing to go with you.â
She frowns, looking at the men and women with her. âBind him, then weâll go.â
âHow about we talk?â I suggest.
âWeâll talk on my terms, not yours.â The blazing fire behind us is still raging high, and I know soon weâll attract far more attention.
If the humans come, we have links with the cops, and this will be covered up⦠But who knows what cops will come to the scene? So we need to clear out.
âYou can talk without binding him!â Kash snarls, knocking the blade aside and yanking her by the arm. Heâs fast, but in his injured state, sheâs far stronger. She pins him beneath her, backhanding him across the face. A g***n leaves him.
Can you f*****g stop arguing with her!â
âÅheâs just like you in terms of violence!â He g****s.
I know what that means⦠but right now I donât want to think about it. What she is to me⦠I donât want to go there.
âWhy so protective?â She hisses, grabbing him by the throat.
âGet off him!â I growl, shoving the vampire next to me back and storming over to Kash.
I glance at Evelyn, making sure she has her power surrounding her. Her defences are up and that calms me.
Watch Evelyn.â I command Ragnar. He obeys and backs up beside her, despite the anger in his burning red eyes.
âYou can bind me. Let him go.â I growl.
She smirks, getting off Kash and with a snap of her fingers, four vampires bring forward chains.
They sure came prepared.
âZedkiel no!â Evelyn shouts.
âItâs going to be ok⦠Little Lamb.â I say quietly, not wanting to get her riled up.
Her heart thuds, and to my surprise, I see her eyes well with tears before she looks away as I stand there, letting them bind me.I refuse to bend my head, nor do I reign in my aura that radiates off me in waves that I can feel are affecting them.
Ziahra finally gets her foot off Kash, motioning for two of her men to hold him.
âF**kâ¦â He g****s, rolling over.
Why the f**k did you open your mouth when youâre not in your best state to fight⦠Unless you like being f*****g beaten by a woman?â I remark through the link.
He glares at me, and I frown back. But Ziahra comes in the way, blocking my view of him as she steps closer to me, looking me up and down, as if sizing me up.
âWho are you?â I ask, unphased by the chains or the poison that coats them, biting into my skin.
I donât think she realises Iâm a hybrid and what exactly that means.. The effect of the poison is almost fully nullified by my vampire side.
âZiahra Aton, first daughter of Zeina Aton, the rightful Queen of the Vampires.â She clenches her jaw and looks at me fiercely. I can feel her power exuding from her, but itâs nowhere near mineâ¦
âZedkiel Vilkas, Son of Ambrose Vilkas, the Lycan King and Zeina Aton, your queen. You know exactly who I am.â I say quietly yet clearly.
Her heart thuds as our eyes meet. Both of us know exactly who we are to each other..
I find myself studying her face, trying to see if thereâs anything of myself in there. Her eyes are similar, although hers are a little more gold than mineâ¦
âThe High Steward Vadam Exodus requests for you to be brought to him.â She declares.
âOh yeah? And what will you get in return?â I ask challengingly.
She clenches her jaw before looking at one of her men.
âThatâs none of your business. Since you agreed to come with me, letâs go.â
She looks tense, which means thereâs definitely something.
âWhy would he want me?â I push.
I have my ideas..
Why? Because he wants to be king, you stupid fool! He will chop you into cubes and feed you to his dogs!â Zerachiel growls.
I frown but I wait for her to reply, âThatâs not my business. We have who we need.. let the rest go.â
She commands, and I see her eyes flicking to Kash.
Their eyes meet, and I f*****g feel like Iâm missing out on something.
Thereâs something there, I can feel it. Iâm missing a big part of this f*****g puzzle and I want to know.
Now.
âWe arenât going anywhere without Zedkiel,â
Evelyn hisses, as she strides over to us. âListen to me little vampire, either watch-â
Several vampires move in, but the moment Evelyn raises her hand, her powers swirling around her, they step down.
âAs you can see, we arenât completely at your mercy.âI say quietly. âHow about you untie me and we talk?â
âIm no fool, nor do I trust you. What are the chances you wonât try to escape, once things donât go your way?â She sneers,
âWe came willingly. Who said we canât leave right now if we wanted to? Why would we try to escape when speaking to the vampires was the damn goal?â I counter.
I want to know how they were so close to our allied territories?
She seems to be hesitating.
âLetâs go somewhere and talk.â I say, hearing the faint sound of sirens.
âI donât trust you.â She says,
âIm not telling you to trust me⦠I just said hear me out. The cops are on their way, letâs clear out.â
Sheâs debating it before she nods.
âOn one condition.â
âWhat?â I growl.
âWe blindfold and bind you all until we get to a safe location. Do we have a deal?â She says.
We donât have many options, and the wailing of the sirens is getting ever louder.
âYou have a deal. Bring our injured comrade.â I command.
I can feel my team looking at me, but if getting to talk to her means agreeing to her condition, then so be it.