Page 29 of Adding Fuel To The Flames

“Me,” another voice came from his right.

Salem turned and saw a smaller man walking out of the darkness. His hair incredibly long and pure white, but it was his lavender eyes that gave Salem pause. This man may be smaller than his own six foot six, but he was built like a warrior, and exuded great power.

“And me,” another voice came, followed by a cacophony of voices chiming in as one by one other men stepped out of the darkness, circling him. Some of the faces he was familiar with, but hadn’t seen in over ten years. The large black man he knew was the dragon, Morgan, then there was Illan’s own son, Daytona, and the one that looked like Jett, his twin brother, Finn. But he didn’t know the others and they smelled of a few different breeds.

“Am I supposed to be scared of all of you?” Salem asked with a laugh. He didn’t know what they thought they could do to him, but he had a little surprise for all of them. He would syphon all their powers, then destroy them all one by one. Then he would hunt down his pathetic son and make him watch as he tortured his mate.

“Only if you were smart, but we all know you’re not,” the large dragon who appeared next to Illan first said.

“And who might you be, whelp? I like to know the names of the men I kill before I watch the life bleed from their eyes.”

The man gave him a mischievous smile and took a step forward. “You may have heard of me,whelp. The name is Wyndingo. Second oldest living dragon, new Battalion chief, and the man who will rid this town of scum like you.”

Salem paused for a moment, feeling the massive amount of power radiating off this dragon even from the distance between them. Yes, he had heard of Wyndingo, and knew he was a fierce warrior. He was not as powerful as Illan, but he was close. This man actually may be a formidable foe, but he was no match for Salem’s powers. He returned the man’s smile, letting him see that Salem wasn’t impressed. “So, my son hides behind all of you like the pussy I have always known him to be. You thought you could take my son from me and make a man out of him, Illan? I see you have failed miserably.”

“I’m more of a man than you will ever be, Salem,” Zev’s angry voice came out of the darkness. Salem turned his head and watched as Zev stepped out of the tree line, his hand clasped with his mate’s.

Salem let his eyes roam over his son’s form. Yes, he had grown some since Salem had last seen him and was now very large and looked mean as hell, but Salem knew the truth. He knew what a weakling his son was. And Salem also knew Zev’s biggest weakness. His mate.

“Well, if it isn’t my worthless son. Walking out of the woods with such false bravado, thinking you can shake me. But you forget, I know you,boy. I know what a weak, pathetic, excuse you are for a man. Walking out here, holding the hand of that creature only proves how weak you are. You can’t even face me alone. I should have culled you from birth and saved myself the embarrassment of having a useless son like you,” Salem sneered.

Zev released Jett’s hand and took a step away from him, closer to Salem. “I’m not the defenseless child you once tormented, Salem. Or the terrified man who thought you would hurt his mate. I am no longer afraid of you, old man. You hold no power over me,” Zev replied between clenched teeth.

Salem chuckled evilly. “That is where you are wrong, boy. I hold all the power.”

Zev smiled at him, the motion giving Salem a sinking feeling, but he refused to show his concern, keeping his face stoic.

“Are you sure about that?” Zev asked calmly.

Salem flinched slightly, a new wave of unease hitting him. He raised his hand toward Zev and closed his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he tried to push his power out into the night to grasp a hold of all the other power around him, but he couldn’t feel his own. He shook his head and tried again, but there was nothing. He couldn’t connect with his power.

“Something wrong, whelp?” Wyndingo asked mischievously.

The tone of his voice made Salem’s eyes snap open and he focused on the large dragon. This man knew something. Could he be a siphon too and had taken Salem’s power from him while he was distracted?

“Missing something,father?” Zev taunted, saying the last word as if it were a curse.

Salem tried again to connect with his power, but it wasn’t there. He met Zev’s victorious gaze. “So, have you turned out like me after all, boy? Is that it? Have you been gifted with the same power from the gods that I have?” Salem asked, seething.

How could he let his guard down and allow the distraction so that Zev could syphon his powers? He needed to find a way to get them back from him.

“I will never be anything like you, father. You deserve to rot in hell for the crimes you have committed,” Zev replied through clenched teeth.

“All I ever tried to do for you was to make you a man, but you couldn’t even do that right. Now you hide behind all these people and take my power away so that the fight won’t be fair,” Salem argued.

“Like you would ever fight fair,” Jett seethed.

Salem turned his attention to the twin. His anger boiling inside him for this man who was the catalyst to him losing his son. Salem’s jaw clenched so tight he could feel them grinding and creaking as if they would break under the pressure. He wanted to lash out and grab the dragon, make him suffer as he flayed the skin from his bones. “You are still alive because I chose to keep you that way. So keep your mouth shut,” Salem ground out harshly.

“Talk to my mate like that again and I will take more than just your power from you, Salem,” Zev threatened.

Salem looked back to Zev, meeting his rage-filled gaze. “And what are you going to do about it, whelp? We all know you are no match for me. You are not even a real man. How many times have you bent over and taken it up the ass from that thing? No real man submits to anyone, much less another man.” He needed to get Zev angry enough to attack so that he could touch him and regain his power, also strip Zev of his own, then finally kill the worthless child.

“And what were you planning on doing to Rhys, his nails? Or were you planning to rape him? Wanting sex with other men makes you as gay as I am, Salem.”

“You being gay was never the issue, Zev. Being a weak pussy was. Taking it up the ass is what makes you so weak and pathetic. No real man allows another to fuck them. Submitting to them. Real men do the fucking. Real men are the dominant ones. The takers of what they want. And you just standing here trying to talk this out only proves to me that you are still a pussy,” Salem taunted, an evil smile spread across his face as he watched the rage engulf Zev.

“You are the weak, pathetic piece of shit here, Salem. You talk a good talk, but I can see that all you are doing is stalling as you try to figure out a way to get your power back so that you can beat me. Because you and I both know it is the only way you can defeat me now.”

“I have never needed powers to kick your ass, whelp, and I never will,” Salem sneered.

“Prove it. Fight me now. Man to man.”

Salem’s lip raised in a smirk. Now he had Zev right where he wanted him.