Page 125

The menace of Boaz and Mak held them back.

Xander shifted to his human form and Savvine had never seen him appear so menacing, yet so freakin’ hot at the same time.

He prowled to Salvadore’s side and gazed down at the cowering man.

‘Is this what this feckless war is about? Genetics? We didn’t ask to be lycans. We are who we are, and we bleed the same at the end of the day. Well, some more enhanced than others. Still, at the core, we are human, all sons and daughters of Earth. Your war is not about heredity, but your decreasing power and reach. It’s fear-induced aggression, battling to stay relevant, instead of understanding that to survive, you must adapt.Sí?’

Xander cocked his head. ‘Any other course of action means you’re extinct.’

Salvadore spat on Xander’s boots.

The Signet leader huffed. ‘We didn’t choose to be spectral wolves. The lycan spirits chose us, which makes us worthy, too. As for losing your powers,naam, you played with fire and got burned. Tis the price you pay for starting a war, killing innocent souls, and waging terror across the flotilla. Deal.’

One of Salvadore’s lieutenants attempted one last defiant attack, lifting a plasma rifle to fire.

Xander didn’t flinch. He flicked a lazy wrist, and a black matter maelstrom erupted midair between them.

The man didn’t even scream.

He was there one moment, and gone the next, ripped backward with a sickening pop into the devouring swirl of dimensional void.

The vortex closed behind him, leaving nothing.

Xander sighed, brushing off imaginary lint on his trousers. ‘When will your men learn?’

He looked down at the trembling Don and tilted his head.

‘You may want to tell them to stand down,’ he rasped. ‘Lest they find themselves floating in the Lazarith Wastes, trapped in frozen aetherium, screaming for rescue that’ll never come.’

The mob boss shuddered, lips twitching, then with a snarl raised his hand. Around them, the remaining henchmen dropped their weapons one by one, faces gone pale.

Savvine stood at Xander’s side, breath still caught in her throat, eyes wide.

He turned to her with a quiet glance, hand brushing hers. ‘You good?’

She nodded, heart racing. ‘I think so. You went hard.’

He smirked. ‘All so I might save you, again,mireina.’

Their eyes locked, and once more, Savvine was rocked by Xander’s ability to make her feel like she’d met her fate in him.

Destiny sometimes appeared along the journey one took to avoid it.

She shivered, reminded of the words of that old saying.

They resonated deep within her, as if this was her truth now.

Still stricken before them, with his limbs slowly returning to life, Salvadore Lombardi glared at them, sweat glistening at his temples despite the frosty chill of the bridge’s climate control.

His fingers twitched at his sides, eyes darting between Savvine and Xander like a cornered animal trying to bluff strength. ‘Signet will pay for all its transgressions.’

‘Did I hear someone cry wolf?’ Xander drawled, tilting his head.

The mob boss erupted in a torrid stream of Italian, profanity-rich and spittled.

His spittle flecked the air, his face purple with rage.

Xander just stared at him, his lips twitching with amusement.