Page 73 of Winter Unleashed
She took another deep breath as she stood taller, more confident. Her glamour was back in full working order, and I struggled not to go to her. In a flash she was standing in front of me and before Liam could react, she had me in a chokehold fifty feet away. Liam was close to follow and stood frozen a foot away from us.
“Try anything, and I rip her head off before you can blink,” she said to him before pressing her lips to my ear. He clenched his hands into fists but didn’t move. “You. You puny little mutt. Before you none of these pests even came close to me. You’re the reason that crazy fairy locked me in that cage.”
“Wish I could say I was sorry about that,” I said before I could stop myself. “Do you think you’ll get out of here alive? If you kill me, Liam will tear you to shreds.”
He growled as if to confirm my statement. Cybil laughed. “Him? He’s been trying to kill me for centuries and look where it’s gotten him.” She grunted. “I’ve never seen a poorer excuse for a Vinur. Your father would be ashamed,” she said to Liam, her voice thick with hatred.
Liam’s appearance change so smoothly I hadn’t noticed it happen. I gasped when the transformation was done. He looked as I’d seen him before without his Fae disguise. But surrounding his black hair and its white streak, and his two different colored eyes was a stunning golden aura.
I couldn’t take my eyes off him. He was more gorgeous than I’d ever seen him. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to screw him or worship him. Or both.
He’d enchanted me so much it took a few beats to realize I was no longer in Cybil’s grasp. And without her holding me back, I’d unknowingly closed the distance between Liam and me. My hand reached up to glide over his face. The golden glow was warm as it moved over my arm to envelope me as it did him. It felt like being embraced by a sunny, spring day.
The world melted away in a swirl of gold when our lips touched. His hands on my hips kept me from falling into him, but they didn’t stop me from wrapping my legs around him. He let out a light laugh. “Red, we have company,” he whispered against my lips as he gently broke the kiss.
The aura slowly disappeared, and I felt inexplicably sad. “What the fuck was that?”
“That was the Vinur power,” he said with a soft smile. He lifted his hand to brush my hair from my face. “Yours will be even more amazing.”
A choking noise had me turning around. Cybil lay flat on her back, holding her neck as she gasped for air.
Liam grunted and shook his head. “Enough with the dramatics, Cybil.” When she still laid there, he shrugged. “Philip, she’s all yours. But I’m warning you, she’s faking.”
Philip smiled his creepiest smile yet. “Thank you for the warning.”
When Philip was only a couple feet away from her, Cybil leapt to her feet, but it was too late. Philip was close enough to pounce on her, knocking her back a few steps. She tripped over her trademark long gown and fell on her ass… with Philip clinging to her.
“You took my life, and now I’m taking yours, you evil bitch,” he said.
He was fully vamped out, and while he looked nothing like Bruno, he was still scary as fuck. She saw it and screamed while she clawed at him, but he had the advantage. He pulled his head back to reveal his vampire fangs, which were longer and sharper than his wolf’s. Before Cybil could take another breath, he plunged his fangs into her neck, suckled for a beat then ripped his head back to tear out her throat so deeply, her head rolled to the side.
The first time I’d seen him do that, it had horrified me, but now I was relieved and proud to have him as a friend.
He rose to his feet and smoothed his clothing while he licked his lips. All of us, except Astrid and Bruno, joined him where he stood. Stella wrapped her arms around Philip’s waist and nuzzled her head into his chest. We silently stared at Cybil’s body. No matter who it was, there was usually a twinge of regret after taking someone’s life.
I looked at Philip and knew he felt more than a twinge. He’d wanted to kill Cybil for over five hundred years, at least. While it felt good to rid the world of a horrible being, it was always a little anticlimactic when it was done.
Revenge never feels as good as you think it will.
“You okay, Phil?” I asked, breaking the silence in the room.
“I am, Miss Steele.” He turned to me with a small nod. “I am.”
A horrible scream tore through the silence, and we all turned to Bruno. He lay crumpled on the floor as though he were in agony. I looked to Liam in confusion. Sure, I’d just killed his mother, but she’d been horrible to him. I expected some sadness but not at the level he was displaying.
Stella ran to him and placed her hand on his arm. She gently urged him to look at her. “Bruno, sweetie, what hurts?”
“All,” he managed to get out between his screams.
“Cybil’s death severed his familial bond to her,” Astrid said, answering everyone’s unspoken question. “It hurts worse than a severed mate bond, but once the pain stops, he’ll be happier than ever before. He’ll be free of her.”
Stella got on the floor next to Bruno and held him the best she could.
“Can you send them somewhere more comfortable?” I asked Astrid.
With nothing more than a thought Stella, Bruno, and Philip disappeared. The rest of us popped up in Astrid’s house, the bigger, more modern version. She looked at her dining room table and pitchers of iced tea appeared.
“Help yourselves.” She gestured to the table as trays of sandwiches popped up. “Especially you,” she added to Liam. “You used a lot of power back there.”