Page 4

Chapter 4

Eirik

B lood filled my mouth, my own and that of the guard that bounced off the marble floor, thrown away as the light faded from his eyes. The taste of honey tinted ash lingered, reminding me too much of the Mer that I'd eaten at Valen's. Saliva followed the sickness in my stomach, my eyes blurring as my body tried and failed to absorb the foreign blood.

It didn't matter, not now. The pain was irrelevant, the splintering of my skin nothing more than a push forward. My wrist pulsed, driving my urgency and erasing any rational thought, leaving me with just one goal. Get to Aaliyah.

Archon's home became a war zone, my senses honing as the skin of my face pulled taut. My wolf watched on with gleeful ferocity, his hackles raised as I bared my teeth at those left, the soon-to-be-dead men that still circled me with their weapons raised.

As if they thought to threaten me with them.

I was moving before any of them could rise to strike me down, my teeth in another throat, a growl buried by the gurgle of blood under my fangs. My wolf howled, screaming our victory with my own as I released the body and charged at the next.

Each one gave way to another, an endless stream that Archon had no issues with sacrificing to me, as he hid behind them. Whatever magic he'd spelled his home with kept my wolf locked away, and I felt that fact with every inch I conceded to his mob of toy soldiers.

The room seemed to close in, the aged marble of the floor warping as my vision went fully red and my shoulders cracked in preparation for a shift that would never come. I was cornered, my lips pulled back, exposing teeth, gaze snapping to the door when Archon clicked his tongue.

"Leaving so soon? Without your brothers?" Malice distorted his words. The smug resonance behind them was infuriating … and distracting enough for a guard to sneak past my defenses. His blade struck my side, digging through muscle and hitting my ribs.

I barely noticed, too horrified by the sight of watching my brothers fall, overwhelmed by the guards that descended on them.

Pain coiled behind their eyes, rolling them back as they clutched desperately at the lavender marks on their wrists. My own seared a hole straight into the core of my beast, the monster going feral beneath my skin.

A tortured groan spilled out of Fallon, matching the writhing cry from Adrian. My beast's attention split between them.

Pack.

Another man came running in loud metal armor that clattered and creaked as he drew a sword high. There was a fear in him that he couldn't hide, the scent like a drug.

He died at my feet.

The burn, the ache . My wrist felt like someone had taken a hot iron to it, and that pain sank into my nerves. I couldn't take it any longer. My wolf tipped his head back, his howl deafening my ears as my soul revolted inside my body.

Mate.

" Move ," I snarled.

The part of my mind that knew to step back had faded away, trapped behind the push of a wolf looking to hunt, behind the drums of war that pounded in my ears like Archon's stuttering heartbeat.

My rational side would have urged me to consider my options carefully, would have lit the Flame and roasted the remaining guards alive, but this wasn't me, not anymore. Right now, only the beast remained.

Only the beast mattered.

I rushed Archon, not even getting close before I was snagged to a stop. I fought every second that led to my knee on the ground, collapsing under the weight of gold as Archon's magic tipped the balance in the air. The rush of Archon's men surrounding me fell into the background as my wolf's cries grew so loud they were all I could hear. A shock hit my side like a cattle prod, sending me the rest of the way down.

Then the tap of heeled boots across an aging floor, slow and meticulous.

The mark on my wrist shuddered, ripped away as I let out a scream before it slowly faded back in.

Archon hummed, crouching down. I knew the eyes of a coward, the eyes of a man that held nothing but slime beneath his skin, and Archon wore them both well.

"Such a proud úlfhéeinn , with the strength of a monster and the loyalty of a dog, " he said as my drive for blood spiraled.

I wasn't able to form words, to rip him apart with my hands or with the thoughts that tore through my mind, only a snarl finding a voice. My skin stretched painfully. Adrian's cry echoed, followed by the wet squelch of a blade slicing through skin.

"Take them below." Archon stood, looking at Adrian and Fallon, and I watched in horror as their slumped bodies were dragged away. Blood trailed under Adrian, his eyes closed. Fallon still fought; his cries were the last I heard before they faded entirely. My wolf's rage turned to a sharp whine, the agony in my smár Valkyrja 's bond akin to a severing of my heart from my chest. I had no fight to push against it when Archon brushed me off with a flick of his hand, that gold in his eyes seeming to glow. "Take him to the waiting suite. I have someone who wants to say hello."

Then he was walking away, his steps as hollow as the beat of his heart. The guards dragged me to my feet, and I was powerless to fight against it. What little strength I had ended with a few more dying, my claws ripping them to shreds, just to be replaced by more.

The halls passed by, seemingly fucking endless, and by the time I was forced into a room, lit by candle fire and smelling like smoke and burned cedar, I was barely conscious.

Another cry echoed from my chest, and I wasn't even sure if it was the wolf or me that let it go. What an unholy fuck-up … tonight put every single mistake I'd ever made to shame.

It was my job to protect them. Adrian, Fallon, and Aaliyah. It was built into my genetic code somewhere, right alongside the bonds that flared in my chest and the one that sat aching on my arm. They were my pack, my family, and I'd failed at the one thing I'd always sworn to do.

I couldn't protect them like this.

Dust sat on every surface, the reds and flashing golds sticking out as I was chained and collared, metal shackles at my wrist strung to the ceiling as I thrashed.

The magic of Archon's home was stronger than I'd ever given him credit for, built into the chains, and short of chewing off my own arm, I wouldn't be getting out of them. Even if I was at full strength, I doubted my ability. My wolf slammed against my mind, rattling my teeth, a partial shift making me scream as we fought the spell.

My senses sharpened, my vision homing in on the flicker of the flames burning from the table.

The first crack of the whip was barely a thought, the slash of it as muted as the sound of a door opening before clicking closed. It tore through my shirt, dragging me back to the last time I'd been strung up, the vicious memories I'd shoved down now rearing forward. The next strike made me snarl, arching as I looked over my shoulder at the boy doling out the blows. He was young, a Lycan like me, with a collar around his neck that made my wolf pace. His face was shining with sweat, his sunken pale-blue eyes wide as he swallowed.

The deliberate use of a Lycan tipped me off to who Archon sent my way. The scents in the room filled with iron, then to honey as the cedar turned to oak. Familiar and fucking revolting. I looked forward again.

The last time I'd smelled it was the day I'd died, a rusted saw accompanying the distinct scent as I'd slumped to the ground like garbage to be thrown out. Which was why I wasn't surprised when Brazen walked in front of me, stopping with his hands behind his back as the slash of the whip echoed in the air again. His face and body were lithe, a telltale sign of a man who'd never seen a hard day's work. And he hadn't, not once in his long life had he had anything that wasn't given to him on a silver platter, me included. His Tiger rolled behind his eyes, the feline grace was wasted on a snake, the raging of a beast feigning power … even now shying away as my wolf bared his teeth.

I watched as his fury rose when I didn't cower, and just like every time, Brazen's jaw clenched when our beasts went head-to-head.

Mine had always won, and I'd been on the wrong side of his whip more times than I could count because of it. It was worth every beating to see the fire toil in his eyes, the rage he couldn't help but flash with a crack of his palm.

"Mutt," the voice of my old master called, that condescending power to it enough to make me see red. Even through the magic, my fangs fell. "After Sebek took you, I figured that'd be it. I'd lost my favorite mule."

My eyes flashed, my skin straining in an instant. For a second, not even the magic held as I jerked forward. The ceiling cracked, and my voice barely came out past the growl as it shook the floor, and when it did, it wasn't mine. " We are not yours. "

My wolf's hatred for him was nearly as strong as mine, his fury settling in my stomach as he paced behind my eyes. The intense, predatory hunger that overwhelmed me promised carnage.

"I'm not crazy enough to think I could own a Turned of the coveted Sebek Ra," Brazen said, chuckling.

My wrist burned, my chest aching as the bonds in it quivered. I strained against the chains binding me again, snarling when they didn't give. He wasn't worth the response, so I kept my head down, rolling my neck as the wounds on my back closed. I felt them stitch shut, grunting when a dull ache was left behind.

"But this I do enjoy," he said, not hesitating to lean in close, growing some spine, and I had to fight my instinct to flinch. His hand came to my neck, hovering over the scar that stretched across it. I ripped my head back when he touched the gnarledskin, snarling low. I should have known better than to take my eyes off him as his hand wrapped around my wolf emblem necklace.

The one Nero had given me, which I'd held on to like a lifeline, a final reminder of my brother. The metal bent under the force of his hand. I struggled, furious under the weight of my weakness.

My growl stuttered as he ripped it off my neck.

"I hope you don't mind. I want a souvenir to remember this moment," he said, tucking it into his coat pocket as I thrashed against the chains again. The door opened, and another scent filled the air. Something freshly cooked and spice heavy, obnoxiously intricate. "Seems my dinner is here."

I couldn't form words as my wolf howled and screamed. Brazen sat as a dish was served in front of him, the clattering of silverware following the sound of him humming contently.

Torture was useless, especially now that I had a couple of centuries to live through, and Brazen knew that. The one thing he'd never broken was my pride, even at my lowest. This was his way to combat that.

It made me feel like a beast to be poked and prodded while he watched. He liked to see me beaten, liked the humiliation he knew it brought.

I steeled my mind, closing my thoughts and letting myself drift into my own head. I'd dealt with pain, with torture. It was only a matter of time before I got out, then I would destroy this place for thinking it could hold a Vivas.

Then I'd save Adrian and Fallon, like I was meant to. This was nothing new. Nothing I couldn't handle. I closed my mind to the world and focused on the only thing I could.

Aaliyah, my Valkyrie. I held onto her; the lingering remains of lavender that now sat muddled by the scent of blood. I let the fires of her mark burn me to ashes and I embraced that pain, refusing to give up even that. It was mine.

My fear for her blended with the keening cry of my wolf, a fear I had to beat down with vicious intent. Whatever was wrong, Osiris would handle it, and it was on me to get us through this. Protect my brothers and get out . So we could get back to her.

"Gadlen, if you would?" Brazen asked, his mouth full as he took a sip of what smelled like red wine.

I shivered, closing my eyes, blocking it all out. Locked away where it couldn't be a problem … before the whipping began again.