60. Chapter 60
Chapter 60
N yx took a bite of Hansson’s shoulder before he realised what had happened. She tasted his blood on her tongue, and it was putrid. Vile like the man himself.
Before she could sink her teeth in further, Hansson disappeared into thin air and appeared on the other side of the stage. The men he had been holding hostage fell to the stage, released in that moment of confusion. But she knew it wouldn’t be for long. Hansson would get his bearings and take his anger out on all of them. She stood in front of them to protect them and ignored the panic and commotion she felt and heard from the imprisoned students.
Nothing filled her mind now except the rage. The need for revenge.
Nyx lowered her snout to the ground, ready to attack again, when she saw the beast standing beside her.
It was Shadow, but... Something was different. He seemed bigger. His head was lowered, and his hackles raised as he snarled at the councillors, frothing at the lips as if rabid.
And his eyes were purple.
“What is the meaning of this!” Hansson shouted, taking her attention away from Zeke. He glared at the councillors, his hand staunching the blood flow on his shoulder. “How did you miss this?”
She didn’t wait for them to start organising themselves; she launched herself at the Head of the Council with a speed that shocked her. She had only shifted once before but didn’t remember being that fast. She almost got another chunk out of him, but he disappeared again.
She could smell his blood, and Nyx wanted to pave the streets with it. She wanted to tear the man limb to limb and feed him to the forest he had created the way he had done to Dexter.
“You said she didn’t try to come and save Ezekiel,” Mr Hansson hissed at the councillors as he appeared next to them. “Did you lie to me? Are you a part of this?”
“Of course not,” Andrei said.
“Then why are you just standing there? Attack! End them!”
Through her angry haze, she realised that Mr Hansson was more shocked than afraid. She knew how strong he was; she could sense his power. Even though she had suspected he had weakened when he had brought a whole army with him to collect her from training, he was still the strongest in the academy. And he reeked of confidence. Nyx took it as a challenge and attacked again. The madman was too fast, and her jaws clamped on air again. They would likely fail, but the burning anger in her wouldn’t allow her to go down without a fight. This man had dared to lay a hand on her father. He had dared to go after Zeke.
When she turned back to see where he would appear this time, he saw that Zeke was still concentrating on the councillors—specifically Iulia. Alpha Diego and Andrei had discarded their jackets and stood protectively before her.
‘Why are you going after them? Help me with Hansson while he’s distracted!’
‘Iulia keeps strengthening him. She’s still chanting, still helping him. She’s the key. We won’t win if she’s still alive.’
He meant to kill her. That didn’t sit right with her. Iulia hadn’t done anything to hurt her except stand by that maniac’s side. Despite the rage boiling inside her, she could still see that.
“Think about what you’re doing, Ezekiel. You’re going to die for nothing,” Alpha Diego snarled.
Shadow took a step closer and barred his huge, razor-sharp canines.
“Remember what I told you, boy,” Andrei hissed.
Hansson chose that moment to appear back on the stage, his purple eyes glowing as he looked at Andrei.
“What you told him? Was this during your numerous visits to their house?” Mr Hansson asked calmly.
Too calm.
More confident.
She looked around and realised the entire Council army seemed to have gathered in front of the stage, ready to attack them. There would be no escaping the stage without going through them. Still, she inched closer to Mr Hansson, prepared to take any opportunity presented to her.
“I spoke to them many times at your request, sir,” Andrei said.
That rat bastard! Zeke had been right. They’d had an agenda all along.
“I didn’t send you last night,” Hansson hissed.
The councillors shifted their attention from Zeke to Mr Hansson, and she felt a change in the air. Iulia’s lips stopped moving, and something flashed in her eyes. Fear. She was terrified of Mr Hansson. And for someone that strong to be so scared, Andrei had to have been telling the truth.
But even if she had believed them, the choice had been taken out of her hands when her father had been suspended in the air, moments from death. There was no choice but to fight.
“I was making sure—”
“I’m not an idiot, Andrei. You forget that I know you better than anyone. I have given you enough chances.”
There was a flash of light and then the sound of harsh breathing before Andrei fell to his knees.
He fell right in front of Zeke with his eyes open. She couldn’t hear a heartbeat. The insane power that she always felt from him was just gone.
And then the scream. The scream from Iulia forced her to step back as a massive wave of magic was released. There was so much pain in that scream. So much anguish and hate. So much guilt. There were so many unfiltered emotions that she couldn’t make sense of.
Iulia fell to her knees beside Andrei and pulled his head to her lap.
Nyx’s anger disappeared as they both tried to figure out what the hell was going on. It wasn’t just Iulia’s pain in the air; Alpha Diego was hurting, too. He stood watching the two of them on the floor, his fists clenched and his eyes glowing red.
Hansson had felled the three untouchable councillors with that one move, but he hadn’t even touched them.
“Do your jobs, or you will be next. End them!”
Hansson said that and appeared at the back of the stage, right behind her father, who’d been tending to Mr Patrick.
No!
She started running back across the stage the moment she realised what he was going to do. Mr Hansson grinned at her like he was enjoying himself just before his magic snatched her father back to his feet.
She shifted back before she reached them, not caring that she was now naked in front of everyone.
“I’m okay, sweetheart. Finish the job. You can do it,” her father said.
Hansson didn’t like that because the grin left his face, and her father hissed as if the magic was tightening around him.
“You can try, Ava,” Hansson hissed.
And then he was gone.
It was just Jared left on the stage next to Mr Patrick.
She fell to her knees, and it was her turn to scream. She’d failed.