Page 35 of Dissection of Immortal Hearts

“You’re morphing, Victor! Please stop, before anyone notices!”

He exhaled, reining in his impulse.

“That’s it. Stay calm. No one saw. It was just your eyes changing…” Alex continued to whisper, her grip firm on his arm.

Only. For. Her.

This wasn’t over.

Viktor’s blazing gaze returned to the General, who now sat beside Elisanda.

“…and I don’t wish for my presence to alarm you,” Petrov was saying. “I’m simply curious about you and your work, so I’ve been granted permission to observe your operations…”

The psychopath would enter the OR?

“…I want you to be comfortable around me. I am your friend…”

Tonight. Viktor would tear him apart tonight. Damn everything else! He would embrace death, but not before exacting his vengeance.

“Viktor, they’re telling us to leave!” Alex’s voice brokethrough his rage.

He snapped back to reality. The crowd was already dispersing.

“Viktor, come with me to the lab,” Alex urged. “I need to show you something.”

He decided to humour her. Better yet, he’d go with her first and then hunt Petrov down. It wouldn’t be hard to track him, even across ten floors. The man’s scent was seared into his mind.

They reached the lab, Viktor moving on autopilot while Alex chatted away. He barely nodded in reply. Once inside, she disappeared into the small storeroom to fetch something. Viktor gripped the edge of the lab table.

Yes, yes, yes!The wolf within revelled, catching the scent of blood.

When Alex returned, Viktor barked, “What is it?!”

As soon as the words left him, he realised they had come out too harshly. He needed to be more careful, or she might get suspicious.

“To apologise,” she said, the corners of her mouth lifting even as a crease of tension cut between her eyebrows..

He frowned. “For what?”

“For what I’m about to do…”

Her next action took him by surprise.

17

Amelia

The following morning, the Queen summoned Amelia to her chambers.

Amelia approached with a determined stride. She was resolved to negotiate and demand a meeting with Mikhail before the day was over.

Shame washed over her at the memory of last night’s vision, of how quickly she had assumed the beast had been him. No matter what, Mikhail would never hurt her. The other man, however…

She shivered at the recollection of his human face, revealed after he’d subdued her in his monstrous form. Fear tried to claw its way up her spine, but she forced it down. ‘…the Oracle’s visions are merely vague images from which you must draw conclusions…’Gea’s letter said.But what could she conclude from what she’d seen?

No, don’t think about it now. She needed to stay focused. On Mikhail. If her suspicion that the first vision was linked to him proved correct… Her chest heaved with dread. She would make the Queen regret everything.

Upon entering the room, she nearly recoiled. A jolt of terror lanced through her. Overnight, the massive portrait had migrated from behind the curtain to a place of honour on the wall. The man’s honey-coloured eyes seemed fixed on hers, even as she took her seat opposite the Queen.