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The last frayed thread of restraint within me snaps. "What could you possibly want with her, you psychotic bastard?" I roar back through bared teeth.

He throws his head back and cackles with genuine, twisted delight, savoring my torment. "She's insurance, Rhyland. You've somehow got yourself a truly rare and valuable prize in that girl, though I doubt you fully comprehend the true nature of the power she harbors."

I clench my jaw, refusing to indulge his stalling game for even a second longer. "Enough bullshit, Marcus," I snarl back harshly. "Tell me where in the hell she is right now, or I fucking end your worthless life right here in this goddamn clearing!" To emphasize my sincerity, I unfurl my fingernails into razor-sharp talons.

Marcus steps closer, sizing me up with cold calculation, though I easily detect the lurking spark of fear burning in his eyes. He knows with chilling certainty that I hold the overwhelming advantage in one-on-one combat.

"Well now, guess you'll just never find out what I have planned then," he says, aiming for nonchalance though his words betray the creeping doubt in his mind.

My last shred of restraint and reason snaps with his parting taunt. This twisted bastard has sealed his fate. An inarticulate roar of murderous fury erupts from my throat as I launch myself without warning at Marcus's unprotected torso, slamming into him with the force of a speeding truck and sending us both violently crashing down to the unforgiving earth.

As we grapple and roll, I frantically claw for purchase around his thick, corded neck, my fingers digging ruthlessly deep into his throat's vulnerable flesh and muscle. Through sheer berserker rage, I'm able to pin him momentarily beneath me, cutting off his airway as I use my whole body weight to squeeze the life from his form.

In desperation, Marcus summons his own considerable strength to land a swift, glancing blow to my face, finally managing to dislodge my constricting chokehold on his neck and allowing him to suck precious air back into his tortured lungs. He immediately scrambles back and out of my reach, dragging himself to his feet though that infuriating smirk still twists his bloodied mouth.

"You're too late! You can't possibly stop what's already been set in motion. Azrael will have your precious Danica soon, no matter what futile machinations you attempt here."

His taunt ignites an explosion within me. "That will NEVER happen while I still draw breath!" I snarl back with unrestrained venom.

Marcus's body begins to ripple and contort violently before me, his hands elongating into claws and dark fur erupting across his warping frame. At last, a massive black wolf stands tensed before me on all fours, saliva dripping in viscous strands from its gaping maw to expose rows of deadly fangs.

I stand my ground, fangs bared in response, as the monstrous creature steadily stalks toward me, each thunderous step cracking the earth beneath its massive paws. As it draws within striking distance, Marcus throws back his head to unleash an earth-shaking howl of challenge, his rancid breath washing over me before he finally lunges.

But I easily sidestep his reckless attack and grab Marcus viciously by the scruff of his neck mid-leap. With a guttural roar, I use his body weight and momentum against him, heaving with all my might to send the wolf hurtling throat-first directly into the unyielding trunk of a nearby towering pine. I'm rewarded by the snapping of multiple bones within Marcus's brutish body upon impact, matched by a truly pathetic high-pitched yelp of pain.

Howling now in unrestrained agony and mounting rage, Marcus peels himself from the shattered remains of the tree. He instantly launches himself at me once more, clearly determined to rip my throat out by any means necessary. I raise one palm and blast him backward with a concentrated wall of telekinetic force, leaving him to crash haplessly through the dense underbrush and saplings, further delaying his advance. But despite grievous injuries, he's up on his feet again in mere moments, fixing me with a look of such utter bloodlust that, for the first time, I comprehend this will only end when one of us lies dead.

Marcus recklessly continues his relentless assault, forcing me to unleash the full devastating scope of my vampiric gifts against him. With an almost casual wave of my hand, I envelope his charging form to suspend him helplessly in the crushing grip of my invisible chokehold. I slowly close my fist, relishing Marcus's strangled whimpers before I hurl his immobilized body savagely back down, the impact shattering thick tree roots. Without pausing, I follow up with a devastating punch fueled by telekinetic force, sending the wolf rocketing backward through the forest to leave utter devastation in his wake.

I storm over to where he now lays in human form, too critically wounded to maintain his lupine shift. Without even a flicker of hesitation, I plunge my arm elbow-deep into Marcus's exposed chest cavity, clasping his wildly flailing heart in an iron, unyielding grip. Utter shock and soul-deep agony flood Marcus's face in his final living moments.

"Go fuck yourself," I growl before viciously ripping the beating organ completely free from his body in one wrenching motion.

Marcus's corpse spasms once then goes utterly and permanently still atop the gore-soaked earth. I examine the dripping heart critically for a moment, then let it slip from my fingers to land with a wet splat beside its former owner.

"Rot forever in hell, you worthless bastard," I spit down at Marcus's glassy, sightless eyes. This rabid cur will never harm another living being.

Erik's urgent voice suddenly echoes in my mind. "Rhyland! We need you here now!"

In an instant, I appear at his side, a fresh wave of wolves converging on us. My hands drip red with Marcus's blood, my body coursing with adrenaline. I unleash an ear-splitting roar, making the pack hesitate.

"Get the fuck out of here if you want to live!" I bellow. Shocked murmurs ripple through them at the news of Marcus's demise. One brave wolf shifts to human form.

"Marcus is dead? Truly?"

My voice hardens to steel. "Yes. And you'll share his fate unless you flee now." To punctuate the point, Erik, Adrian, and Lucian step up beside me, eyes blazing with power.

The pack surrounds us, their guttural snarls and snapping jaws filling the air with the promise of violence. We're vastly outnumbered, but I welcome their suicidal attack. Exchanging a single nod with my brothers, we brace for combat as the frenzied wolves close in.

Danica

59

Asudden chorus of agonized screams and inhuman howls pierces the air, jolting me violently from my fitful, drug-induced stupor. Azrael must have arrived to collect on Marcus's twisted bargain and claim his prize—me.

Sickening dread clutches at my heart as the full peril of my situation crashes over me. I desperately struggle against the coarse, filthy blanket they'd hastily wrapped my naked body in, but my efforts are feeble at best, my limbs leaden and clumsy. The cruel plastic zip ties binding my already abraded wrists slice deeper into the inflamed flesh with every panicked jerk of my arms.

After Marcus's repeated attempts to "break" me through violent coercion, my throat feels savagely inflamed, every swallow sheer biting torture.