A Cursed Bloodline
Page 79
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Something drizzled like water from an outside drain—drip, glop, drip—cutting through the threatening growls. I took a deep breath, scenting the air, and almost choked from a collection of weres surrounding me. Only the pure scent of water crashing over stones gave me hope.
Aric.
He was alive. The increasing growls belonged to him, Koda, and the two Geminis. They’d survived and judging by the intensity behind their snarls, they were furious—and hurt.
My lids fluttered slowly, betraying me and alerting my captor. Ice water splashed across my face. I leapt into a crouch, ready to fight, hindered slightly by the long brown slip dress covering my body. It smelled of Makawee. I didn’t understand until my glare met Anara’s.
We faced each other in the Den’s large empty ballroom, which had hosted the gala months before. Anara tossed a pitcher carelessly aside. It rolled along the dark wood floor, colliding against one of the floor-to-ceiling windows that made up one wall. Moonlight beamed brightly against the glass. I’d lain unconscious for a long time.
My eyes swept along the vast openness, taking everything in. What the elegant room lacked in furniture, it made up tenfold in horror.
Martin and Makawee hung bound by their feet from two crystal chandeliers, gagged and naked. Makawee’s long white hair swung as she took sharp intakes of breath. She didn’t struggle to free herself and neither did Martin. They stared ahead in a trancelike state as blood dripped from their slashed throats and into the two pitchers beneath them. Drip, glop, drip.
Anara kept them still and prevented them from healing, just like he had Bren. With no more effort than it took to glare, he held Aric and his Warriors against a wall with no windows, forcing them to maintain their beast forms. I leaned into my crouch and tried to shift my fingers. It didn’t work. The bastard constrained us all. He chuckled and gave me his back; it wasn’t like he had anything to fear. The wolves in human form surrounding us assured he’d stay safe.
Anara bent to lift the pitcher beneath Martin. Martin shuddered slightly. He remained in a trance, but the rage behind his blank stare was irrefutable. The Elders emitted power so fiercely, anyone could sense it—a command those without magic would misinterpret as confidence and superiority. Those who belonged to the world my sisters and I had stumbled into would recognize it for what it was: an atom bomb disguised as a lily, carefully contained and ready to erupt at will. I’d never cared for such power, but as I extended my senses toward the bound Elders, I really wished they had it back. They seemed weaker, vulnerable, human.
“You’ve made things so difficult for me, Celia.” Anara’s voice carried no trace of emotion. He poured Martin’s blood into a small glass bottle around his neck, similar to the one the witch had fixed to her staff. He then bent before Makawee and took her share.
He corked the bottle tightly and covered it between his palms, lowering his lids with ecstasy. The bottle glowed gold and, although sealed, stunk of the same dark magic the witch had cast. I cringed from the sickening stench of its poison. Anara in contrast moaned with perverse pleasure, high on the magnitude of his prize.
He’d used his packmates’ essence against them. That’s why they’d failed to suspect his actions and remained defenseless to stop him.
The Pack whined. I wasn’t were, but I understood the sacrilege behind his actions. My wolves, whose growls hadn’t stopped, were incensed. My eyes cut to Aric. Desperation to break free fired the fury in his light brown irises. He refused to bow down to this monster. And hell, so did I.
I straightened. “How long have you been controlling them?”
Anara finished his indulgence before answering. He quivered slightly, relishing the last of the blood’s effects. “Since the start of the war. For us weres to be attacked so easily told me we’d grown too weak as a species.” He scoffed. “All our so-called Alphas failed to see the threat to our beloved purebloods. They were responsible for their slaughter as much as the Tribe.”
Sure they were. “How did you do it?”
He walked over to Makawee and bent to stroke her hair. Her mouth grimaced with distaste from his touch. “She’s always possessed too kind a soul, even for an Omega.” His voice remained gentle when he spoke of her. “Did you know she took in injured animals she found in the forest?”
I stared back at him. It’s not like he truly wanted me to answer. The wolves quieted, remaining furious but needing to understand how a valued Elder had turned against their kind.
Makawee’s hair slipped through Anara’s fingers as he continued. “Rather than letting the worthless creatures perish as our laws of nature allow, she brought them back to her chambers. Many died, but some—even those too feeble to live—returned to their fullest health. No one understood why nor would she speak of it. One day curiosity got the best of me and I invaded her chambers in her absence. I found a vial with her blood.” He shook his head. “Poor Makawee used her spirit to mend another’s broken one. I didn’t take it with me that day, of course. I chose to wait until the time was right.” He smiled almost fondly. “She had no reason to question my scent in her quarters. After all, we met for tea there most nights. Isn’t that right, Makawee?”
Aric released a warning growl as Anara abandoned her to stalk to my side. Anara ignored him. “I solicited the assistance of a witch—” He swung his fist, missing my nose when I ducked. The wolves behind me lurched forward and wrenched my arms behind my back, facilitating Anara’s next strike. His backhand to my face snapped my head back and instantly swelled my cheek. I spat blood. My wolves went ballistic, thrashing and shaking. But like flies caught in a web there was nothing they could do.
Anara persisted as if uninterrupted. “You might remember the witch. I had Virginia hire her to poison you and set the fire. Excellent wielder of magic she was.” He paused to narrow his stare. “Until you tore out her throat.” That earned me another shot to the face. My wolves howled with rage and my tigress clawed at my rib cage, fighting to emerge. My breath shuddered in deep gasps as I glared at him. If I could have broken free, I would have sliced through his jugular.
“Once I had Makawee under control, I used our united power to seize Martin. It was almost too easy.” He waved his hand casually in Martin’s direction. “But that’s what happens when you put a non-pure in charge of a Pack where the Omega and the Beta are of untainted blood.” Anara peered out the window thoughtfully. “Did you know before coming here, we were all Alphas of our own smaller Packs?” He glanced over his shoulder and smiled at my disbelief. “Then I supposed you don’t know once you’re an Alpha, your control over your Pack follows you forever.”
Aric.
He was alive. The increasing growls belonged to him, Koda, and the two Geminis. They’d survived and judging by the intensity behind their snarls, they were furious—and hurt.
My lids fluttered slowly, betraying me and alerting my captor. Ice water splashed across my face. I leapt into a crouch, ready to fight, hindered slightly by the long brown slip dress covering my body. It smelled of Makawee. I didn’t understand until my glare met Anara’s.
We faced each other in the Den’s large empty ballroom, which had hosted the gala months before. Anara tossed a pitcher carelessly aside. It rolled along the dark wood floor, colliding against one of the floor-to-ceiling windows that made up one wall. Moonlight beamed brightly against the glass. I’d lain unconscious for a long time.
My eyes swept along the vast openness, taking everything in. What the elegant room lacked in furniture, it made up tenfold in horror.
Martin and Makawee hung bound by their feet from two crystal chandeliers, gagged and naked. Makawee’s long white hair swung as she took sharp intakes of breath. She didn’t struggle to free herself and neither did Martin. They stared ahead in a trancelike state as blood dripped from their slashed throats and into the two pitchers beneath them. Drip, glop, drip.
Anara kept them still and prevented them from healing, just like he had Bren. With no more effort than it took to glare, he held Aric and his Warriors against a wall with no windows, forcing them to maintain their beast forms. I leaned into my crouch and tried to shift my fingers. It didn’t work. The bastard constrained us all. He chuckled and gave me his back; it wasn’t like he had anything to fear. The wolves in human form surrounding us assured he’d stay safe.
Anara bent to lift the pitcher beneath Martin. Martin shuddered slightly. He remained in a trance, but the rage behind his blank stare was irrefutable. The Elders emitted power so fiercely, anyone could sense it—a command those without magic would misinterpret as confidence and superiority. Those who belonged to the world my sisters and I had stumbled into would recognize it for what it was: an atom bomb disguised as a lily, carefully contained and ready to erupt at will. I’d never cared for such power, but as I extended my senses toward the bound Elders, I really wished they had it back. They seemed weaker, vulnerable, human.
“You’ve made things so difficult for me, Celia.” Anara’s voice carried no trace of emotion. He poured Martin’s blood into a small glass bottle around his neck, similar to the one the witch had fixed to her staff. He then bent before Makawee and took her share.
He corked the bottle tightly and covered it between his palms, lowering his lids with ecstasy. The bottle glowed gold and, although sealed, stunk of the same dark magic the witch had cast. I cringed from the sickening stench of its poison. Anara in contrast moaned with perverse pleasure, high on the magnitude of his prize.
He’d used his packmates’ essence against them. That’s why they’d failed to suspect his actions and remained defenseless to stop him.
The Pack whined. I wasn’t were, but I understood the sacrilege behind his actions. My wolves, whose growls hadn’t stopped, were incensed. My eyes cut to Aric. Desperation to break free fired the fury in his light brown irises. He refused to bow down to this monster. And hell, so did I.
I straightened. “How long have you been controlling them?”
Anara finished his indulgence before answering. He quivered slightly, relishing the last of the blood’s effects. “Since the start of the war. For us weres to be attacked so easily told me we’d grown too weak as a species.” He scoffed. “All our so-called Alphas failed to see the threat to our beloved purebloods. They were responsible for their slaughter as much as the Tribe.”
Sure they were. “How did you do it?”
He walked over to Makawee and bent to stroke her hair. Her mouth grimaced with distaste from his touch. “She’s always possessed too kind a soul, even for an Omega.” His voice remained gentle when he spoke of her. “Did you know she took in injured animals she found in the forest?”
I stared back at him. It’s not like he truly wanted me to answer. The wolves quieted, remaining furious but needing to understand how a valued Elder had turned against their kind.
Makawee’s hair slipped through Anara’s fingers as he continued. “Rather than letting the worthless creatures perish as our laws of nature allow, she brought them back to her chambers. Many died, but some—even those too feeble to live—returned to their fullest health. No one understood why nor would she speak of it. One day curiosity got the best of me and I invaded her chambers in her absence. I found a vial with her blood.” He shook his head. “Poor Makawee used her spirit to mend another’s broken one. I didn’t take it with me that day, of course. I chose to wait until the time was right.” He smiled almost fondly. “She had no reason to question my scent in her quarters. After all, we met for tea there most nights. Isn’t that right, Makawee?”
Aric released a warning growl as Anara abandoned her to stalk to my side. Anara ignored him. “I solicited the assistance of a witch—” He swung his fist, missing my nose when I ducked. The wolves behind me lurched forward and wrenched my arms behind my back, facilitating Anara’s next strike. His backhand to my face snapped my head back and instantly swelled my cheek. I spat blood. My wolves went ballistic, thrashing and shaking. But like flies caught in a web there was nothing they could do.
Anara persisted as if uninterrupted. “You might remember the witch. I had Virginia hire her to poison you and set the fire. Excellent wielder of magic she was.” He paused to narrow his stare. “Until you tore out her throat.” That earned me another shot to the face. My wolves howled with rage and my tigress clawed at my rib cage, fighting to emerge. My breath shuddered in deep gasps as I glared at him. If I could have broken free, I would have sliced through his jugular.
“Once I had Makawee under control, I used our united power to seize Martin. It was almost too easy.” He waved his hand casually in Martin’s direction. “But that’s what happens when you put a non-pure in charge of a Pack where the Omega and the Beta are of untainted blood.” Anara peered out the window thoughtfully. “Did you know before coming here, we were all Alphas of our own smaller Packs?” He glanced over his shoulder and smiled at my disbelief. “Then I supposed you don’t know once you’re an Alpha, your control over your Pack follows you forever.”
