He ripped the blade out of my lower back and slammed it into my shoulder. I kept my eyes on Rowan’s and my teeth firmly into the meat of my cheek to stop any sounds from escaping.
“Oh ho. Look at you. You think that keeping quiet is going to do you any good?” Garith growled.
Shannon snickered from where Rowan’s aura dropped her. I glanced down and saw that she had turned her face towards me so she could watch everything happening. Her eyes met mine, and she laughed. “You deserve every fucking thing you get today, Amy.” She sneered as she watched blood trail down my legs. “I can’t wait to watch you die. This will be the best mating gift anyone could have ever given me.”
Rowan growled, and it shook my bones. He turned to face Shannon. “The only reason I am not ripping your legs from your body is because I promised Amy that she would get to kill you.” He dropped to a crouch. “But mark my words. If she dies… then everyone here will become a resident of my torture chamber and will spend the rest of my life making sure you are as broken as I am.” He grabbed her face. “Death would be too easy. I will do unspeakable things to you. I will use your own mind against you. I will make sure your mind shatters so fucking completely that you will wish that you were dead.” Shannon trembled, and then the smell of urine reached everyone’s nostrils. My mate dropped her face, disgusted. Then he stood and looked at Garith, the threat clear in his eyes.
Garith just smiled. “You wouldn’t do any of that. You are too good.” He laughed, but my mate just smiled as all pretense fell away from his face. I think that in that moment Garith realized Rowan wasn’t joking, because even though he tried to hide it, I smelt a whiff of fear.
Rowan turned to look at me, and I could feel that he was about to snap. If I made a noise, he would lose the tiny bit of sanity he had left. So I mouthed the words I love you to him. I watched him shudder as the meaning hit him. His eyes bored into mine, and I blew him a kiss. I wasn’t afraid to die; I was afraid that this would break my mate. I pressed one of my hands against the bubble and waited until his hand met mine on the other side. His gaze trailed all over my face, as if he were memorizing it. I mouthed one more word to him. One thing that meant the world to me. Carly. He nodded.
Garith chuckled, covering his fear with weak amusement. “Saying goodbye already, granddaughter?” He nudged me, shifting the blade, but I held my pain inside. “Pathetic.” He ripped the blade from my back and pulled me away from the edge of the bubble, causing me to stumble. “I think this will be a better position. I want to see both of your faces.” Garith swung around to face me and slammed the knife into my stomach. He hooked his arm around my shoulder and pulled me back, close to the edge of the shield. “Yes, this is perfect. I can see both of your faces.” He chuckled as he leaned in and sniffed me. “I will say… you surprise me, Amy. You changed your scent so fully, I would have only assumed you were an omega if I had never seen your face before.”
Rowan hit the shield, pulling both of our attentions back to him. I stared at my mate, and something clicked inside of me. I don’t know what it was, but I felt it. “Let her go.”
Garith tsked him. “Now, why would I do that?” He grabbed my face as he twisted the knife. “We already know she is dead. She has been stabbed too many times with the knife. Even if you wanted to save her, you can’t.” Garith’s face was triumphant.
Rowan chuckled darkly. “If she dies… so does everyone here.”
Garith pulled his arm from me. “I still get what I want.” He shrugged as his hand slid the knife from my stomach. “You will be too shattered to lead, and the brotherhood will ensure my son takes his rightful place as king.”
Rowan’s golden hue was unlike anything I was used to. What’s wrong? Rowan opened his mouth to say something, but Nix shoved at the barrier between us. I turned to her, and I froze. Nix? She looked rabid. Her mouth was dripping with drool, and her eyes were… red. Gone was the Erubus told us, I just didn’t understand until now. Her eyes met mine, and I saw something new there. Power unlike any I had seen before. Lycans can always shift, Amy. Her face was moving, her snout growing smaller. I watched with confusion as she pushed past me.