Page 60 of Fate of the Fallen

Now, I didn’t even consider myself a person. I was something completely different.

Something that lived, breathed, and thrived on darkness.

Slow footsteps approached from behind and I didn’t bother trying to maneuver my body that way to see who’d come. Iknewwho’d come, could feel his life source coursing through my veins like it was my own.

“We’ve reached a crucial point in our time together, Nicholas,” Sebastian sighed. “It’s been brought to my attention that ourotherguests have been … released without consent,” he shared. “And I’m certain you’re aware of why I can’t have that.”

Even before he’d come in with the update, I knew Evie had gone, because I felt her. My sense of her had gotten so keen in the passing days, I knew exactly how many yards separated us. Knew exactly how many steps I’d have to take to get to her.

Sebastian circled me once before coming to a stop at my feet. He scanned me, his eyes tracing the dark veins that lined muscle—muscle that had swelled to nearly twice it’s size with the transformation. At the sight of my new appearance, a pleased, wicked grin parted his thin lips.

“I haven’t come around to visit in a day or two, and it looks like you’ve … come into your own,” he remarked.

The very next second, he gestured for a guard to approach.

“Keys,” he stated, holding his hand out expectantly.

The guard’s gaze rose to meet mine and I noted the fact that he didn’t seem as sure of this as Sebastian did. However, he had no choice but to obey.

I focused on the glint of metal in his palm, watching as he took it upon himself to release the chains that weighed down my ankles. The prospect of being released had my heart racing double time.

Sebastian leveled a glare as he gestured for a second guard to lower me from the rafter I’d been strung from since I first arrived.

A mechanical whirring filled the room and my chest heaved with relief the second my feet were flat on the ground. The chains around my wrists rattled when my arms lowered, no longer stretching the sore tendons beneath them.

I had Sebastian’s full attention as he stared through me. I guessed he was only hesitant because, with me being different, he couldn’t be certain the sire bond had taken completely.

I didn’t move, just stood in place as he observed, and eventually used that same key to undo the chains on my wrists. Again, the pleased smile twisted his otherwise darkened expression.

“Well … I suppose we can consider our little experiment a success,” he announced, his deep voice reverberating off the walls.

The few guards who stood watch around the room were still visibly skeptical—maybe because a few had taken advantage of my immobility and used excessive force just for kicks and giggles. Now that I was free, they seemed unsure of what my next move would be.

“How do you feel?” Sebastian asked.

A question to which there was only one answer. “Never better.”

“That’s what I love to hear,” he said approvingly, backing away before testing the next leg of this process. One I enjoyed based purely on the sheer terror it brought his guards when he uttered one word.

“… Kill.”

A deep roar forced its way from my lungs. I was instantly on one of Sebastian’s men, feeling the resistance of his flesh beneath my claws just before the satisfying tear as they first pierced his arms, then his legs … his eyes. Once he was effectively pinned and defenseless, I bit down on his neck. The taste of his blood only made me stronger, more ferocious. I locked my teeth around an artery and ripped it free, causing blood to spurt from the gaping wound and onto the floor and wall.

This, the killing was … satisfying.

“Enough,” Sebastian called out, prompting my entire body to freeze other than my heaving chest and shoulders. “That was all I needed to see. You’ve convinced me of your loyalty.”

I stood to my feet, covered in the slick blood of the lycan I attacked.

Sebastian approached, looking me over with pride behind his gaze. “You’re ready for phase three,” he said, holding my attention. “I tried to keep the hybrid alive, but she’s proven time and time again that she will never cooperate. So, it is with regret for what could have been, that I have to send you out into the world to do what it is you were born to do.”

Excitement rose within me, anticipating what his next charge would be.

“Bring her to me,” he ordered. “Dead or alive.”

***

Evie