The huge double doors to the dungeon at one of Knox's estates slid open, revealing his towering figure. An oppressive air accompanied him, making it feel as if the very atmosphere held its breath in his presence. Dark tendrils like mist swirled around him, and his eyes that was always cold, blazed with a fury that made them appear even icier than usual. His mind was still reeling from the hateful words Serena had hurled at him in the car earlier, and in a moment of desperation, he had teleported himself here.Knox despised himself for losing control and slapping Serena in a moment of anger. He couldn’t forgive himself, especially when the thought crossed his mind that perhaps Sirona had found a way to bypass his restraint meant to keep her in check, and had gotten into Serena’s mind. More than half of him believed the venomous words Serena had spoken weren't hers but were instead Sirona’s doing. This belief drove him to the dungeon, determined to confirm his theory.His eyes lan
Knox felt as if the entire world had collapsed around him, with a devastating blast of despair and despair threatening to break what little remained of his damaged psyche into a million shattered fragments. The sheer, all-consuming agony that had lanced through him was unlike anything he'd ever experienced before. It that it defied description… as though every nerve ending in his immortal body had been set ablaze and doused in acid simultaneously.The air became heavy and oppressive as the full impact of what had happened started to sink in, and the cold stone of the dungeon walls seemed to close in around him.Knox simply couldn't - no, he utterly refused with every fiber of his being to accept the cruel reality that his worst fears had been realized in the most brutal and decisive way imaginable. Serena. His beautiful, precious mate...the very radiant light in his darkness...she was gone. Why? The question kept coming back to him, echoing through the vast emptiness of his head, e
"I'm the only woman alive now who can give you an heir, bear you children to carry on your bloodline..." Her words were a hushed whisper. "I am your rightful mate at long last. We were always meant to be together as one, you and I. Two halves of the same whole."She sniffled again as a fresh wave of tears spilled forth. "You should have accepted my request earlier, when I simply wanted to enjoy one night with my betrothed...to bask in the warmth of your embrace, as is my right as your—"Her words died on her lips when Knox suddenly closed the distance and wrapped his hand around her slender throat in a grip, wrenching her forward until her feet left the ground. Then he slammed her head back against the stone wall with brutal force to crack her skull. Sirona let out a pained, wheezing laugh as she stared up at him with wild, unfocused eyes. A thin trickle of crimson seeped from the corner of her mouth, tracing a macabre path down her chin."You...you wouldn't dare..." she choked out
Meredith's heart thundered against her ribcage as she paced the length of Knox and Serena's bedroom suite. Her footfalls echoed with a hollow resonance that belied the emptiness gnawing at her very soul.The incessant rattling and banging against the thick oak door grew more insistent with each passing moment in a cacophony of destruction that served as a reminder of the hellish forces laying siege to their home. Beyond that rapidly crumbling barrier, chaos ruled in an unholy storm of violence that threatened to devour all Meredith held dear.Shrieks of unimaginable agony intermingled with roars. Each haunting wail, each guttural bellow, sent a fresh wave of anguish coursing through Meredith's immortal frame. How many had already fallen? The question burned in her mind like acid, eating away at what little composure she managed to maintain. How many brave warriors, loyal protectors of the estate had lost their lives under the claws of these abominations? The faces of those she had
Meredith drew on her newly regained powers and unleashed a torrent of energy at the beasts. The demons recoiled, shrieking in fury and anguish as magic seared their rotting flesh. The stench of burning meat filled the air, mingling with the miasma that clung to the creatures.Meredith maintained the onslaught, driving them back through the shattered doorway with relentless determination.Next, she sealed the room with an impenetrable barrier when the last of the abominations stumbled back into the hall, wailing in pain and wrath.She turned to face the trembling girl. "Stay here if you wish to live, child," Meredith instructed. "This madness needs to cease, and soon, before it swallows us all."Then she swept from the chamber and out into the chaos that had engulfed the estate's once-clean halls. The hallway ahead was a nightmare come true, with claw marks on the walls, bloody paintings, and the crushed bodies of fallen defenders strewn over the floor like discarded objects.Meredi
The sight of everyone she loved fighting for their very existence against such overwhelming odds...it was a blade twisting in Meredith's heart.A searing agony lanced through her and she knew Enzo was injured. It was the effect of a mate bond whether fated or chosen. She stumbled, gasping for air as she clutched at her chest. The pain was almost beyond endurance… like a molten lance of agony that threatened to bring her to her knees. Tears burned in her eyes and her sight blurred as the true gravity of their situation hit her like a battering ram. Any wound inflicted by these abominations was fatal. Their claws, fangs, and very essence were imbued with a poison that corrupted all it touched.“Is there no way?” Her mind reeled like ashes on the wind as another spasm of anguish gripped her in its merciless talons. “Is there no way to save them all? To avert this future I've foreseen?”Her body trembled violently and her legs threatened to give out beneath her as she watched her love
Tears burned hot in Meredith's eyes at the brutal truth of Enzo's words. She had failed - failed utterly to protect Knox, failed to prevent this future from becoming their new reality. Deep in her soul, she could feel the ancient spirits of Queen Minerva and Princess Myra weeping bitter tears of sorrow and regret. Their sacred bloodline, their eternal legacy was now irrevocably tainted by this unraveling of fate.A choked sound somewhere between a sob and a bitter peal of laughter escaped her lips when Sahar's severed head came rolling to a stop at her feet with her dead eyes still holding a mocking glint of triumph even in death. The twisted wench had achieved her ultimate goal - to bring about the utter ruination of their legacy, the destruction of every last Cavalieri-Delgaard dynasty. All around them, the battle raged on with no end in sight, the air thick with the sights, sounds and smells of death. Killian's towering Lycan form, battered and bleeding from a thousand savage
Knox simply remained there for long, excruciating moments, taking in the sight of her serene repose as if etching every line and curve into his tortured memory so he wouldn't lose even the tiniest detail.Suddenly, Serena's body was engulfed in a dazzling burst of light, with glowing tendrils extending outward to encircle Knox's form. He pulled the light within, absorbing it as if he were a hole eating the stars. It was the portion of his soul he had given Serena in both their past lives and this current one, now being reclaimed after her death. Then Knox rose to his feet with fluidity, seemingly defying the rules of gravity once the last remnants of that magnificent essence were sucked back into his form."Let us never meet again!" he intoned, his voice a discordant rasp that held no trace of anything remotely human. The words carried such weight, such profundity of power that the trembling maid instantly crumpled motionlessly to the floor. Her mind simply could not withstand the