Page 26 of Wrath
I squirmed in my seat, feeling uneasy as I knew where this was headed.
“We all wanted the same thing: take possession of the strongest among them,” Varnog continued, his black eyes devoid of sclera going vague as he reminisced. “I saw my future host and immediately knew he was the one. But many of my brothers also coveted him. It was a race as to who would claim him first. He ran with nowhere to go while trying to bat away the creepy little creatures crawling all over him. He didn’t realize that we were also fighting each other, even killing some of our own brothers to claim him. But I was the strongest. I reached his neck and jabbed my claws at the base of his neocortex. My spindly legs and my tail embedded themselves along his spine, taking over his nervous system.”
His hands reached behind his head, his fingers absentmindedly rubbing the remains of the scorpion like creature he had originally been. It was now fully fused with the body of his host. I shivered, trying not to think of the child that had once inhabited that body or the terror he had felt while trying to flee.
“For a while, we shared his body. Although I could hear him in my head, I had full control,” Varnog said with a self-derisive smile. “The sadist in me enjoyed watching him slowly die until there was only me left. I loved what I had been created for and all the killing that I would be doing on behalf of the General. But I was still too young in that childish body and had to go to the training camp to learn how to battle and not just mind control. That’s where I met Bane, the male who completely changed my life.”
My brows shot up, and my eyes widened with curiosity. I had met Bane—Dread’s older brother, the firstborn and leader of the Dragons. He was a fascinating male, eerily beautiful with his half-human, half-Kryptid appearance, his terrifying strength, and incredible devotion to his brothers and those he considered his people. I had heard many stories of him, and the way the Scelks, the Mimics, and his brothers looked at him only confirmed those tales.
“You see, the General made a big mistake,” Varnog continued with a strange grin. “He had wanted us to take over the bodies of the Janaurians because, although they did not naturally possess psychic powers, their brains acted like amplifiers for our own. But as we fully merged with our hosts, gaining access to their higher functions, we also developed a conscience.”
My jaw dropped, realizing I, too, had not thought of that. The insects they had been would only have had instinct. But the full brain of an evolved species, not to mention the memories and emotions inherited from the host, was bound to influence the being that had taken over.
“All the Kryptids we interacted with saw us as the monsters they had created us to be. But not Bane. The first time I met him, I read his mind like I did with every being I encountered,” Varnog said, his face softening. “He did not see me as a monster, but as someone he wanted to save, as someone he wanted to do right by instead of allowing me to be used and eventually discarded by his sire.”
“That must have messed with your head,” I said in a gentle voice.
Varnog snorted. “That is quite the understatement, my dear. I did not know how to handle it. A part of me felt that I should tell the Kryptids about his treacherous thoughts. But another was intrigued. No one had ever seen a potential for something greater in my brothers and me. No one had ever… cared. And so, I allowed him to approach me and eventually, I followed him.”
“And you became the great man he always believed you could be,” I said with a smile.
He stared at me for a moment with that odd expression again until I started squirming in my chair.
“I do not know that I am a great man,” Varnog said pensively. “I know that I love who I am becoming, who I am in the eyes of my mate and in the eyes of my team. I am enjoying a life that never should have been mine to begin with. This body belonged to another, a young Janaurian boy named Fedun, who had many hopes and dreams that will never be fulfilled because I stole that from him. And yet, I can never regret finding my little Firefly and all that I get to do because of it. It is a guilt that constantly gnaws at me knowing that the beautiful soul that was Fedun had to die so that I could have this wonderful life. And so, I have made it my duty to honor that sacrifice by making my current life something he would be proud of. All of my accomplishments, all the lives that I save, I lay at his feet.”
My breath caught, understanding finally dawning on me. My throat tightened, and I swallowed painfully. I had wondered what any of this tale had to do with his initial question, but now it became crystal clear. I clasped my hands on my knees, squeezing them tightly to keep them from shaking.
“According to my creators, my lifespan should be between 200 and 220 years. You may not believe it but, physically, I’m not even 20 years old yet. Actually, I’m not even 19,” Varnog added with a sheepish grin that made him look incredibly adorable.
Under different circumstances, I would have itched to ruffle his hair—although in his case it would have been more a matter of rubbing the scales that covered his bald head.
“When I mated with Linette, I transformed her not only with greater strength, a pair of wings, and a stronger health, but I also increased her lifespan to match mine. And yet, I already know that even though we have probably another 200 years before us, it will never be enough time with her,” Varnog said, his voice shaking slightly as he spoke those words.
My heart ached and yet filled with affection for my best friend’s husband displaying this unexpected vulnerability when speaking of her.
“A thousand years would never be enough with my little Firefly,” Varnog added. “I never thought that I could love anyone so completely as I love her, and I especially never thought such perfection could love one such as me. Every day by her side is a blessing. And so, I live each and every moment with Linette to the fullest because our time together is finite. Your fiancé died so that you could live, just like my host died so that I could live. Honor his sacrifice, Kwan, and live. Your soulmate only has 135 years left, much less than I do. Do not waste a single moment. Time is too precious. Live.”
I realized tears had started rolling down my cheeks when I watched him rise to his feet through blurred vision. Varnog stopped in front of me and wiped the tears off my face with his thumbs and then leaned down to kiss my forehead.
“Thank you for saving us so that I can continue to enjoy the time I have with my mate,” Varnog whispered before releasing me.
Without another word, he turned around and went to check on Nathalie’s progress. I wiped my cheek with the back of my sleeve and subconsciously found myself walking over to where Wrath’s Shell continued to wait for his soul trapped within Linette. My fingers once more slipped through his hair while images of him getting torn to shreds replayed through my mind. Lifewastoo short. But could I really handle watching the man I was destined to love die over and over again?
Could I live with the knowledge that I wasn’t there while he was repeatedly facing danger?
In that instant, I understood why Dread and Myriam, Legion and Ayana, and Varnog and Linette always went on missions together. Knowing the type of dangers their mate would face, I also wouldn’t want to rely on someone else pulling all the stops to save them, no matter how much I trusted the members of the Vanguard. Today, I had pulled my team out of that air vent because it was my duty, because I cared for them, and because Linette was my best friend. But in so doing, I also made sure that Wrath’s soul would make it safely back to us.
I didn’t know if I was ready for a new relationship, but I already knew that it would be with this beautiful man. Life was too short to let any moment go to waste.
“Thank you,” I said softly to Varnog, although my gaze remained on Wrath.
He didn’t speak, but he gave me an affectionate psychic caress before going back to Nathalie’s workstation and getting to work. Leaning down, I kissed Wrath’s forehead and went back to my own desk.
Chapter 9
Wrath
Asudden tug woke me from my hibernation. The draw of Nathalie’s Portal pulled me out of the warm and loving cocoon of Linette’s psychic vessel. As my soul traveled through her Portal, answering the hungry call of my new Shell, I realized something wasn’t quite right. The pull was sluggish, as if Nathalie was struggling to get a proper hold of me. It was something I had only ever experienced with a low rank psychic, an untrained one, or a Portal located almost at the edge of their psychic range.