Page 55 of Destined to the Lycan (The Shadow Realms #3)

“You’re not worth my time,” he replied dismissively. “I’ve squashed bigger beasts than you without breaking a sweat.”

You will pay dearly for this disrespect.

Snarling, fangs bared, I dropped to all fours and ran towards him. His relaxed stance as he calmly watched me approach had a red haze of rage descending before my eyes.

“You know, maybe I will kill you after all and turn your pelt into a decorative carpet,” he said pensively as he watched me barreling down towards him.

Moments before I would reach him, he threw his legs over the railing of the staircase and casually slid down the length of the railing to the ground floor.

I growled in frustration before racing down the stairs after him.

“Yes, I’ll make love to Amara on your pelt in front of a fire,” he taunted, his elbow resting on the railing at the base of the stairs.

Images of him rutting over my woman had me foaming at the mouth.

I emitted a savage roar and swiped at the male’s face, who was still casually leaning against the ramp.

To my dismay, my claws passed through a mirage that vanished into smoke.

Then I saw the bat again, flying half the length of the corridor before turning right into an open door.

My heart soared, realizing the foolish male would soon run out of place to flee. He should have exited the house instead of seeking refuge in its bowels. A single thought dominated my mind: catching and eviscerating my prey. I would bathe in his blood and feast on his heart.

The coward continued to flee, leading me to the lowest level of the house.

I couldn’t even enjoy the thrill of the chase.

He had me too enraged, and the absence of the scent of fear deprived me of that extra jolt of adrenaline.

The wretch had no scent at all . He didn’t scream, only mocked and laughed at me.

A triumphant roar bellowed out of me when the fool ran the full length of the lower floor into a dark room at the end. There would be no exit, no escape for him. Now came the time for retribution.

I ran on all fours to the entrance of the room, then rose to my hind legs as I filled the doorframe.

The male stood with his back to the wall, a defiant glimmer in his red eyes.

Only then did it finally register that he wasn’t some powerful sorcerer with glowing runes on his body.

He was something else, as per his red eyes and vertical pupils.

But whatever he was, his death would come at my hands.

“I will feast on your innards!” I hissed before dashing forward.

The male remained still instead of trying to run away. A sense of doom crashed over me when he gave me an eager, almost victorious smile. Something was wrong, but I was already mid-leap.

Then I felt it.

A tingling sensation washed over me as I crossed an invisible field of magic.

A few feet before I would land half-on top of my prey, I crashed into an invisible wall, then fell down onto the stone floor with a loud thud.

Half-dazed, I shook my head and jumped back onto my feet only to see the dreaded familiar circle illuminate around me as magical symbols came to life.

“No, Remus. You won’t,” the male said, sounding almost bored. “Enjoy your time out, pup.”

Without another word, he casually strutted out of the room, circling around the magical cage that kept me trapped.

I screamed, howled, and trashed pointlessly against it.

I knew this magic. I couldn’t remember when or how, but I’d been confined by it before.

No matter how viciously I battered the invisible wall, it wouldn’t yield.

I was trapped.

I stirred, feeling like death warmed over, lying on the cold hard floor, my cheek pressed against the unyielding stone.

Every muscle felt sore, and my fingertips ached as if someone had attempted to rip my nails out.

My eyelids fluttered as I groggily pushed myself up.

As the fog clouding my mind lifted, I glanced around the room.

My magic circle!

I couldn’t remember the event of the previous night.

But I shouted with joy upon realizing that some way, somehow, I had found my way back into the restraining circle.

I jumped to my feet only for my joy to instantly shatter.

The taste of iron lingered on my tongue, and streaks of blood had dried around my claws and fingers.

Human blood.

Amara’s blood.

“My Flame,” I whispered, horrified.

I darted out of the room, the wards letting me through as I no longer represented a threat.

I raced up the stairs, nearly losing my footing in my haste to reach my woman.

I shouted her name, fear twisting my insides upon seeing the damage my werewolf’s claws had left on the railing of the stairs leading to the second floor.

I irrupted into Amara’s room, further distraught by the destruction of her dresser before my gaze finally landed on my woman.

A choked sound of relief escaped me when I found her lying peacefully in the bed.

She was wearing a different nightgown than the last one I had put on her.

That one now lay in a shredded pile next to the dresser.

I snorted with conflicting emotions upon seeing a neatly folded pair of pants on top of it.

I addressed a silent thank you to Lyall as I approached Amara. My chest constricted upon finding her skin completely cold. She wasn’t breathing and had no pulse.

My mate was dead.

But more importantly, she was still whole. The vicious scar of my bite on her neck had been properly cleansed. I didn’t have to ask who had done it. Even the sheets had been changed so that she wouldn’t lie on blood-stained blankets.

Once more, I silently thanked the doppelganger.

I had no memory of what transpired last night, but the traces of claws on the dresser and my Flame’s lacerated nightgown hinted about how savage I had become.

I didn’t know how Lyall managed to get me in my cage while ensuring that I didn’t maim Amara to the point that rebirth wouldn’t be possible. But I was grateful to be alive.

I gently kissed my mate’s cold lips, fetched the pants and put them on, then began the long wait until her rebirth.