“Derek!” Brandon tried to run to him, but Garith just laughed. “Are you stupid, boy? Or do you not listen? Everyone is frozen.” Garith shook his head. “Save him!” Brandon screamed, frustrated at losing his friend, but Garith just chuckled. “No.” “No?” Brandon’s face fell for a second. “What do you mean, no?”
Garith lifted a shoulder. “Well…no is a word people use when they are denying a request, which is what I am doing.” “But why?” Brandon sounded like a little boy. “Well, there are a few reasons. The first is that he is too far gone to save. The second is that he brought this on himself. He tortured this girl; it’s obvious. While I love a good torture session, he made the mistake of letting her live.” He leaned down to look Derek in the face again. “If you torture someone to the point their mind shatters, like this girl, then kill the person. Or else you end up here if you aren’t lucky. And last, I think this is an excellent lesson for you to learn, boy.” Garith turned to Brandon. “You won’t be able to rely on anyone but yourself going forward. You have spent too many years relying on this imbecile. And look where that has gotten you? You are mated to a she-wolf who is clingy, unranked, and carries herself as an Alpha. The delusion in this pack is insane.” He sat back again. “The boy deserves to die for thinking his rank would save him in this exact scenario.”
Brandon’s voice dropped low. “I will kill you.” He was staring at Garith. Shannon and Vince both whimpered softly. I think the sound woke him up, because Brandon turned to Lynn and snarled. “I swear it here and now, I will kill you.” Lynn just smiled. “Stupid boy. I died the minute he touched me. Nothing you can do will change that.” She cackled. If I hadn’t known any better, I would have sworn she was crazy.
“She’s playing them to think she was alone in this,” Megan whispered. “She thinks we are going to leave her to die.” “Well, she is as stupid as Brandon is,” Nix huffed. I agreed. She wasn’t going to be left behind. Never again.
Garith turned to Rowan. “Kids these days.” He shook his head as if he were one of their parents. “Stupid and disappointing. But what can you do…we need someone to carry on the line, right?” “You have a few, apparently. Verity…Gavin.” Rowan’s words rippled over the remaining men. A few guards looked confused as they waited to be unfrozen.
Garith chuckled as he nodded. “I do. But Gav…he got too big for his britches.” Garith repositioned. “That’s why I had his brother and sister. I had him exactly where I wanted him when I realized my mother was whispering to Gav.” Brother? My dad has a brother? Garith groaned. “My meddling mother…I was excited when she fucking died.” His words sent a shockwave through me. “Although I was disappointed that when I killed her, she had already sealed her magic away from me.”
He killed his own mother. Megan looked at me, and I could feel her anger. Our magic spiked, and the flame that she had been tending shot up. He killed his own mother…We were told it was rogues. Her words hit me in the chest. Rogues. Of course, it was rogues. I wanted to scream, to move, but I felt a hand on my shoulder. Calm yourself, my love. Her soft voice whispered next to me. I knew it was going to happen before it did. Carl helped me prepare. I felt her hand slide down my arm and slip around it, so she was holding me. I sealed my magic away in the book. When you found it and cracked it open, my magic transferred to you. You were always meant to inherit everything. And before you open your mouth, it was designed this way by the goddess.
Our magic settled, and she kissed my cheek. You know what you have to do, my heart. Stay the course. I don’t need to be avenged; I did that myself when I kept my magic away from him. Just protect your mate and save your kind. “You know…no pressure,” Nix scoffed as she stood. “But she is right. We might want to rush in and kill them all, but we have to be smart about it and wait for the perfect opportunity.”
I agreed and stayed silent. Verity stood up from wherever she had sunk off to and started walking up the aisle. “How is she moving?” Brandon’s eyes rolled between Garith and Verity. Garith shook his head. “She is my daughter.” “So?” Garith shook his head. Verity passed Brandon and Shannon, and she patted his cheek. “You really are stupid, aren’t you?” Shannon growled low, but Verity just kicked her. “I have my own magic. If you know the spell, then you break it with the counterspell. Obviously.”