But I didn’t look out the window. I didn’t care for the scenery.
All I could think of was her. Of how desperately I wished I could take her place. How much I wished the universe had chosen me to carry that pain, instead of her. How much I hated myself for being too late. For not finding her sooner. For not shielding her from a world that had tried to crush her, and how badly I wanted to fix this.
But I couldn’t.
No matter how strong I was, no matter how many armies bowed before me, I couldn’t take her pain away.
Joe.
That name, just three letters, burned like acid against the inside of my skull.
She had said it. And that was all the confirmation I needed.
He was the monster in her nightmares. The shadow that hovered behind her eyes when she flinched. The reason her body trembled at the slightest touch. And tonight… tonight I was going to pay the fucker a visit.
My eyes darkened with the weight of the thoughts swirling in my head. Thoughts so vicious even hell would pause. I would break him. Slowly and systematically. And when I was done, I would hand his head to her on a silver fucking platter.
Because no one hurts my mate and walks away breathing.
Even if she weren’t my mate… Even if she were a stranger bleeding on the streets, I would’ve intervened. There are laws, protocols, and processes. A mere werewolf alpha had no authority to imprison or torture anyone, let alone another species.
He bypassed the entire judicial process. And worse, he did it without fear of consequence for three fucking years.
But I am the consequence.
And now, he’d know what it felt like to be a prey.
The limo pulled up to the palace’s main entrance. Felipe stepped out and opened the door without a word. I cradled her close and stepped into the quiet night.
Eyes turned toward us the second we entered. Guards, nobles, and servants. Their gazes flickered between me and the delicate form in my arms, and I pulled her tighter, angling her face into my chest so only I could see her.
They all bowed in silence, no one dared to speak, not when the rage rolling off me was so thick it made the air feel like iron. I didn’t say a word or break stride. Just ascended the grand staircase two at a time and came to a stop in front of the elevator. I placed my thumb against the scanner, waited for the quiet chime, then stepped inside.
The doors closed with a soft click.
The elevator chimed and opened into the private wing. I moved quietly, entering my quarters. The lights were low, and the fire in the hearth flickered lazily. I crossed the room and placed her gently on the bed.
She didn’t stir.
I tucked the sheets over her, brushing a strand of hair away from her cheek. Then I stood, cracked my knuckles one by one, pulled out my phone, and typed a single message to Lupercus.
Let’s pay a visit to our favorite criminal.
The reply came instantly.
On my way.
I glanced at her one last time.
And then I turned and left the room.
Sargis’s POV
I tapped my boot in agitation against the stone floor of the elevator. The door slid open on the fifth floor and in walked Lupercus casually, but the glint in his eyes was anything but. He wore his signature black mask and gloves, the same pair he never used unless it was going to get bloody.
He didn’t speak. He didn’t need to.
He punched in the code. 0.
The keypad beeped, and the elevator lurched downward with a low mechanical groan like a coffin sinking into the earth. We were descending into the bowels of Khragnir Palace, the dungeons. The scent of blood and mildew began to snake through the ventilation.
The underbelly of Khragnir Palace wasn’t a place people spoke of in polite conversation. Not even nobles liked to admit it existed. But it did. Oh, it did. Carved out of obsidian and brimstone.
The elevator doors creaked open with a hiss.
Lupercus stepped out first, whistling a cheery little tune that didn’t belong in a place like this.
“God, it always smells like fermented ball sacks,” he muttered, pulling on his black leather gloves with a snap. “Did we ever get that ventilation fixed?”
“No,” I retorted, stepping out after him.
“Thought so.”
I didn’t answer. I didn’t need to. My mind was already ahead of me, down the hall, past the locked iron doors, to the cell at the very end where the monster sat.
Joe.
The name burned like acid on my tongue.
We moved past the other cells, some filled, others empty. One inmate whimpered at the sound of our footsteps. Another backed into the shadows with wide eyes. They knew what it meant when the supreme alpha walked these halls in silence. Things were about to get messy. I rarely ever had a hand in the torture of prisoners. But in the dire situations that threaten the affairs of the kingdom, I occasionally stepped in. And I was ruthless in my interrogations, much worse than anybody is ever capable of, even Lupercus couldn’t hold a candle to me.
We reached the final cell.
Lupercus pulled out the key and twirled it around his finger.
“Ready for the grand reveal?” he grinned. “Drumroll, please…”
“Just open the fucking thing.” I cut him off impatiently.
He shoved the key in, twisted hard, and the heavy door groaned.
There he was.
Joe.
Or what was left of him.
He was curled in the corner like a dog who’d been kicked one too many times. Pale, shaking, and filthy. He had shed a large amount of fat, evident from his flabby skin. He was barely clothed, and his ribs jutted out. Scars ran across his torso like ink-stains of violence.
Lupercus had been… efficient.
Lupercus let out a low whistle. “You’re looking a little worn for wear, my pal,” he waved mockingly.
Joe flinched. Pathetic.
A slow smile crept onto my face. He was afraid of Lupercus. How quaint. He hadn’t realized who the real nightmare was in this room. Lupercus was a scalpel. I was the inferno.
The stench of piss and fear clung to him like a second skin.
He looked up. His one unswollen eye widened.
“Your Majesty,” he rasped, trying to rise but collapsed under his weight. “Please…I…I didn’t know….I didn’t mean…”
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