Chapter 49
Chapter Forty-Nine
SEBASTIAN
Protectiveness rises inside me when the back of my hand grazes April’s.
She’s had so much of my blood in the last few hours I can feel her emotions like they are my own.
Rage so strong I’ve never felt the likes of it in all my centuries.
Is this what she’s been dealing with since her transformation?
How is she even sane enough to talk? Receiving the impressions of it through our strengthened bond is enough to make my tight control teeter on the line.
I can see from the corner of my eye that Marcus is not fairing any better.
His fangs are on display, shoulders hunched, and he keeps snarling with each step like a rogue that is possessed by bloodlust. That has not happened in the last two decades.
Glancing at April, I watch for any signs that she is bothered by it.
She walks purposely, not taking her focus off the door where the Guardian entered.
Andrei joins us at guarding our back, and my tension drains a little.
That’s until I hear his soft growls, too.
Pressing a thumb and forefinger at the bridge of my nose, I pray for patience and strength.
If they go feral in here, we will be no closer to finding answers than we are now.
A distraction is needed, but what? Others must’ve noticed the tension in the air.
I can feel their presence all around us.
They wouldn’t dare to show themselves with me here, but I can feel them close, their aura saturating the air with adrenaline and eagerness for hunting prey.
It’s April, I realize. Her blood is calling to them to heed her need for blood.
For revenge. Now, why on Earth would I be thinking of revenge?
It just adds to my assumptions that this whole thing is connected.
I must slow things down so we can get the upper hand and understand why April is suffering so much.
Ignoring the onslaught of rage and hunger, I grab her hand, jerking her to a stop.
Rounding on me, she snarls, that golden glow sparkling in her eyes.
Not giving her time to unleash her anger on me, I yank her to my chest and kiss her stupid.
She clings to my shoulders, claws digging in my skin, waking up the beast in me that has wanted to ravish her from the moment I saw her.
“Minchia!” I cuss under my breath when I pull away from her lips and devour her mouth hungrily a moment later.
Pushing away the lust that has me as hard as a rock, I inspect her emotions.
Gradually, the rage and bloodlust ebb and a different type of hunger roars through our bond.
I can feel Marcus and Andrei panting around us, so I reluctantly drag myself away from her.
She chases my lips and snaps her teeth angrily in my face when I hold her at a distance.
“We need to be rational so we get our answers, my redemption.” Pressing my forehead to hers, I sigh, breathing her arousal in. It wreaks havoc inside me. “Allow me to question him first. You can have your fun later.”
“You will have me look at my killer and not rip his throat out?” Her voice is changed, huskier and accented when she is not herself.
That’s one way we know who we are dealing with this last week.
“You will have me listen to their petty lies like a fool?” Shoving me away, her eyes burn like two suns.
“I will bathe in their blood and they’ll remember me even when their souls writhe in the pits of hell for eternity.
” Farò il bagno nel loro sangue e loro si ricorderanno di me anche quando le loro anime respireranno nelle fosse dell’inferno per l’eternità” in perfect Italian she says, “I will bathe in their blood, and they’ll remember me even when their souls writhe in the pits of hell for eternity.
” Shivers pass through my soul at her words.
Cocking her head, a wicked smile plays on her lips.
“Ti andrebbe di unirti a loro, tesoro?” “Would you care to join them, lover?”
“Non è un consiglio, cuore del mio cuore. Forse la tua rabbia ti fa veder un nemico in tutti. Non permetterò a nessuno di ferirti nuovamente,” I answer her in kind automatically, and my words say, “He is not one of the Council, heart of my heart. Perhaps your anger makes you see an enemy in everyone. I will not let anyone hurt you again.” Her smile grows at my change of language.
My mind is reeling with her, calling the Guardian her killer.
Has she really gone insane? When she called me lover, the way she had called her mate before she was killed, if the scrolls about her are to be believed, made me call her heart of my heart in return.
How do I go back from that? And to my utter disbelief, I realize the words I spoke are the truth. She is my heart.
“I can smell them on him!” Snapping, she bares her fangs at me, no trace of the humor left. “Can’t you smell their stench penetrating the walls around us. It makes it difficult to breathe.”
Jerking back like she has punched me, my eyes widen at that.
Why the fuck didn’t I think of that? Of course, she’ll be able to smell the scent of their bonds.
And now I feel like an idiot for doubting her even for a second.
While we twiddled our thumbs, she’s been protecting our nest without even knowing what she’s been doing. And I made fun of her for that.
“You can smell them?” Marcus snarls, coming to the same conclusion judging by the look on his face.
“Oh, yes. Their blood is tainted by the one they serve. Their greed for power was stronger than their love for their souls.” April looks at each of us in turn, locking with my gaze last. “Have you all grown weak and mellow? Have you lost your ways so much that you can’t smell the stench of evil?
” Her lips twist in displeasure. “They destroyed my body and mutated my blood, but they could never touch my soul. Have you sold yours too for a taste of immortality?”
“I’m the one that searched for you to put an end to their reign. My soul has not been tainted, and neither is theirs.” Swinging my arm, indicating Marcus and Andrei, I scowl at her. “Not all of us are your enemies.”
“No.” Laughing softly, she sends a shiver down my spine and the erection that subsided jumps like an eager puppy at her whim. “You are definitely not my enemy.” Coming closer, her hands splay over my chest, gliding over my pecs and abs.
“But I do remember your words, lover. Even when the human part of me is more dominant, it is still me you are talking to. And let me tell you a secret.” Lifting on her tiptoes, her lips graze the shell of my ear when she speaks.
“Sarai tu ad obbedire.” Pulling away, she winks at me when she tells me it’ll be me who will obey her, throwing my words in my face.
“E lo supplicherai. Oh, come lo implorerai.” After threatening me that I will be begging to obey her, she switches seamlessly back to English.
“But first, I must deal with the tainted one.”
“Let us see who he has bonded with, then.” Clenching my fists, I grind my teeth to control the urge to strip her naked and fuck her senseless in the hallway. “Lead the way.”