Killian ended the call with a flick of his thumb and slid his phone back into the inner pocket of his impeccably tailored suit jacket. He turned his attention to the two figures approaching him, his sharp gaze missing nothing as he took in every detail with the scrutinizing eyes of a predator evaluating its prey. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips – a smile that held a hint of mischief.As Jenkins opened the rear door of the luxury sedan, revealing Serena, Killian's smile broadened into a genuine beam of excitement and anticipation, lighting up his chiseled features with an almost feral gleam. His eyes drank her in hungrily, devouring every inch of her delicate beauty as if committing her to memory.Serena felt her mind whirling in a dizzying vortex the instant her eyes landed on Killian for the first time. A flurry of questions and uncertainties raced through her thoughts like a hurricane, threatening to sweep her away in their turbulence. Was this the mysterious hus
Killian cradled Serena's unconscious form tenderly in his arms and lifted his gaze towards the car's inner roof. He knew there was a camera hidden there, and he was certain that Knox was watching his every move. A slow and wicked grin spread across Killian's lips as he wondered what Knox's reaction looked right now on seeing his precious new bride held so closely by another man.Killian knew he was treading dangerous waters by intentionally provoking Knox, but he couldn't resist the temptation to draw a jealous reaction from the man who was as cold and impassive as the Arctic ice. There was a certain thrill in poking the bear…. in testing the boundaries of his dear Friend's legendary self-control.A soft chuckle rumbled from deep within Killian's chest. He knew that Knox hadn't been quick to save Serena; the only reason she wasn't currently rotting in a cell was thanks to the intervention of the one person Knox couldn't refuse. If it had been left up to Knox alone, Serena wo
Serena stirred awake, her eyes fluttering open as she slowly emerged from the depths of a dreamless slumber. For a moment, she felt completely disoriented, her mind struggling to catch up with her unfamiliar surroundings. The room she found herself in exuded a sense of grandeur and masculinity that left her feeling slightly out of place yet filled with warmth.The walls were adorned with rich, dark colors that seemed to absorb the soft light filtering in through the heavy curtains framing the large windows. The room had a chilly, almost somber feel to it, like a mausoleum of sorts, and Serena shivered slightly.The bed she lay in was massive, a four-poster monstrosity with intricately carved posts that loomed over her like sentinels. The sheets and duvet were a luxurious blend of silk and satin that caressed her skin like a lover's touch, but instead of feeling comforted, Serena felt a sense of unease creep up her spine.She pushed away the cozy duvet and realized with a start
Serena followed the maid down the magnificent hallway and through a door that brought them to a very beautifully designed staircase, leading to another hallway. Her steps faltered slightly as she took in the grandeur of her surroundings. The place looked like a maze, so she wondered how big it was. The corridor depicted in the image was an epitome of elegance and sophistication. It featured a long, straight passageway with high ceilings that created an airy and spacious feel. The walls were adorned with intricate moldings and wainscoting, painted in a soft, neutral color that enhanced the natural light flooding in from the large windows.Beneath her feet were polished oak boards so thick and luxurious that she felt as though she were walking on clouds.Along the length of the corridor were several beautifully crafted doors, each with ornate handles and decorative trim, leading to various rooms in the luxurious house.Serena noticed that the maid leading her was different from t
Serena trailed behind Knox through the plush hallways. Her head was hung low as the mortifying scene she'd inadvertently stumbled upon replayed vividly in her mind. She couldn't expel the lurid images of Killian and Seven entangled in a passionate gang bang feast. That raw, intense show burned into her consciousness no matter how hard she tried to shake it off.Serena found herself inexplicably and intensely drawn to the man leading her whose unmistakable aura of danger and smoldering desire seemed to radiate from his very being, surrounding him in an intoxicating force that commanded the air itself. Her eyes traced the contours of his broad, muscular back and his confident, predatory stride that exuded an almost feral power barely restrained. There was something about this mysterious man that both scared and tempted her, wanting his hands on her body despite her fear. Something so alluring that she followed him blindly, without question. ‘Oh lord… What games are you playing wit
A ghost of a smirk played across Knox's ruggedly handsome features. "Knox," he stated simply, betraying not a flicker of emotion. Serena dragged in another deep breath through her lungs, giving voice to the question that had consumed her from the moment she first laid eyes on this devilishly good looking man. "Are you...my husband?" The tremulous words were laced with a potent mix of trepidation and breathless anticipation. Knox shook his head slowly and deliberately, his piercing amber gaze never wavering from her face. "I am!" Confusion clouded Serena's delicate features as a torrent of new questions flooded her mind. "Why did you marry me?" she pressed, frustration mounting at his evasive, cryptic responses as the burning, insatiable need for answers raged within her like an inferno. His amber eyes were fixated on her, piercing into her very soul. Thy were like twin pools of liquid fire that threatened to drown her in their fathomless, smoldering depths. "Taken responsib
Serena was displeased. “Do not expect me to be loyal to a man who isn’t loyal. If you choose to fuck someone other than me, your wife, expect me to do the same!” The atmosphere within the room instantly turned chilly at her words. "The one thing I will never tolerate is betrayal," Knox growled, his amber eyes boring into her with an intensity that made it difficult to draw breath. "And the only result of betrayal is death. If you ever betray me, I will make it my personal mission to ensure you cease to exist in this world. But not…" he continued in a tone of soft, terrifying menace, "Not before I torture you in every way unimaginable. Until you're left a whimpering… a broken thing begging for the sweet release of death as your only mercy." Serena felt the blood draining from her face, her heart pounding a frantic staccato against her ribcage as Knox's chilling words seemed to leech the very air from the room. She opened her mouth, but no sound would emerge past the constric
Serena left the lounge after managing only a few desultory bites of her dinner. Her mind was still whirling from that intense, unsettling conversation with Knox. A potent cocktail of jealousy and confusion roiled in her gut as she dwelled on the reality that he was intimately involved with another woman - that she didn't have his fidelity or loyalty despite the marriage binding them together. She wandered the labyrinthine halls of the huge villa in a daze, trying to get her bearings in this gilded cage that was to be her new home. Serena stumbled upon an exquisite, open staircase with ornate wrought iron railings and plush marble floor leading down depths below. She descended the stairs absentmindedly but was jolted from her reverie by a familiar, angry voice that sent a jolt of surprise through her. "Let me see her, damn it!" Jenkins' raised tone echoed through the cavernous space, berating the stone-faced guards barring his path. "I need to make sure you haven’t done s
Only the monsters remained a seemingly endless horde that would continue to ravage and destroy until the entire world was little more than a barren, lifeless husk. Knox could not, would not, allow that to happen. Not after everything, not after the unfathomable sacrifices that had already been made in the pursuit of preventing such a future from coming to pass. Too much had been lost, too many lives extinguished in the fires of this onslaught. Darkness swirled around him and began coiling outwards to merge with the torrential downpour. The vortex rapidly expanded, growing in size and ferocity until it became an all-consuming maw ready to devour everything in its path. The earth itself seemed to tremble by the vortex of annihilation taking form, as if the very world were protesting the profane nature of the forces being brought to bear. The air itself seemed to warp and twist, reality buckling under the strain of the immense power being channeled. Each bolt of lightning tha
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
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
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
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
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
"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
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
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