Chapter 40 #2
“Hurts, doesn’t it?” she spits, her voice dripping with disdain.
“Hearing the truth about what a fucking failure you are? Your mother was a failure, and she ran—and you’re no different, Nia.
Weak and worthless, barely fit to carry the bloodline.
” Carrie lets out a breathless laugh, her voice rising as her words cut through me, a blade twisting deep into old wounds.
“She couldn’t even stop you, and you were just a child.
Tell me, Nia, how sick do you have to be to murder your mother? ”
Carrie leans closer and I’ve never seen anything as disgusting.
Her scent is sharp and cloying, her eyes glittering with twisted satisfaction.
There’s nothing good or right or pretty in her features, only the dark and depraved horror of a woman whose soul was sold for power.
A woman who’s discarded every scrap of decency, every shred of morality, consumed by her desperate hunger for privilege.
She’s completely insane, and she thinks her words will break me, that they’ll shatter whatever’s left of my will.
Carrie thinks I’m weak, she thinks I’m isolated, alone, and without my mate.
But I’m not alone, and I never was—and all I have to do is lure her in and trust my wolf to do what she does best.
“Ready?” I ask her.
“Fucking ready,” Lyall snarls back, her anger a fire that builds behind my eyes as her strength coils tighter inside me.
My lips twitch into a grim smile, and for the first time, doubt flickers across Carrie’s face.
“You shouldn’t have killed Will,” I whisper, my voice slicing through the dark. “You’re going to regret it, Carrie.”
Her brows furrow, confusion creasing her features. “The only thing I regret is not killing you sooner, bitch.”
I let go and descend into darkness.
My restraint gives way and I slip away, sliding through the mist and shadows as I sink into the background.
Power surges through me like a wildfire and I spiral, hurtling around as Lyall charges forward and my body leaps, obeying my wolf instead of me.
My muscles shift, my tendons tear and my bones snap into place as Lyall emerges and stalks toward Carrie.
Her eyes widen as she stumbles back, horror dawning on her face.
“You can’t shift.”
We can and Lyall’s head tilts, mocking the girl who was never our friend.
“You’re too weak...”
The low growl from the pit of my wolf’s belly shakes the ground beneath us and Carrie finally shuts the fuck up.
Anger and fury pulse through me and Lyall’s even more enraged.
She’s incandescent, so livid that they haven’t invented a word to describe the sheer damn rage and ire spilling from my wolf.
Lyall’s enraged and hungry for revenge, and more than that, she wants vengeance.
And she isn’t going to rest until she has both.
Carrie’s fear is a sharp tang in the air and Lyall savors it.
My wolf prowls forward, each step slow and deliberate, her claws sinking into the earth.
Her lips peel back to reveal her fangs, glistening like her fur in the moonlight, her breath hot and steaming in the night.
Lyall doesn’t want to rush, she wants Carrie to feel every agonizing moment of this, knowing exactly what’s coming for her and the excruciating, crushing certainty that there’s no escape.
“Please, Nia…” Carrie’s voice cracks as her skin shimmers and she tries to transform. “You don’t have to…”
Lyall’s growl rumbles low, vibrating through her chest like a roll of distant thunder.
It’s a death knell tolling at midnight, it’s the dull thud of the final heartbeat before the silence follows.
There’s only breath left between them, only the fading final seconds of Carrie’s life ticking down with every rasping breath.
Lyall inhales Carrie’s fear, already tasting blood and her teeth bare as the gleam in the moonlight, a promise of a painful and protracted death.
My wolf’s muscles coil with the violence rippling through her, each moment stretched taut as she readies herself to unleash her fury.
Carrie might plead or beg, but Lyall is beyond mercy now and the only thing that will satisfy her is the snap of bone beneath her jaws and the taste of iron in her mouth.
Lyall lunges without warning, her body crashing into Carrie with a force of uncontained and uncontrolled rage.
They hit the ground in a tangle of limbs, and Lyall’s claws find purchase, digging deep into Carrie’s shoulders.
She howls in pain and tries to shift again, but Lyall silences her with the snap of her jaws, her teeth sinking into Carrie’s throat.
Carrie thrashes beneath her, kicking and clawing, her fight far too feeble to hold back my wolf.
Lyall’s fangs tear through skin and muscle and the hot, coppery taste of blood floods my senses.
Lyall rips back with a savage twist of her head, and the spray of red stains the air, painting the ground beneath us.
Lyall doesn’t stop.
There’s no reason to hold back.
She tears into Carrie, ripping flesh from bone, letting the taste of vengeance fuel her.
Carrie’s screams turn to gurgles and they’re not enough to placate Lyall as she vents her rage at all the years of hurt and abuse on the person who inflicted them.
Her jaws crush Carrie’s windpipe and her claws shred through Carrie’s chest. My wolf is a brutal and unstoppable force and she fills the night with the wet, sickening sound of her fury and the splutters of a gasping, dying traitor.
Each muffled gasp reverberates through the trees, a chilling symphony of retribution that echoes against the darkened sky.
This isn’t just an act of violence, it’s a primal act of vengeance that celebrates its strength and leaves no room for regret.
The forest holds its breath, bearing witness to the ferocity carried out inside it and my wolf continues, unabated and unashamed.
When she finally pulls back, panting and bloodied, there’s nothing left of Carrie but a broken, mangled husk.
Lyall stands over her triumphant, the taste of victory sharp on her tongue and her chest puffed out with pride.
The night stills and looks on in admiration as my wolf throws her head back and howls, announcing herself and her victory to anyone who dares to listen.
I stare down at Carrie through Lyall’s eyes, and there isn’t an ounce of remorse or regret in me either.
I’m glad she got what she deserved and I refuse to let her hurt me anymore.
I won’t let the memory of her taint my future or haunt my dreams, and I decide that I won’t let her steal any more of my moments from me.
“Nia, close your eyes.”
“Why?” I ask.
Lyall swallows. “Trust me, Nia. You don’t want to see this.”
I shudder and point out that I’m going to know exactly what she’s doing anyway, and Lyall growls back at me.
I close my eyes and turn away, trying to ignore the sickening feeling rising in the pit of my stomach as my wolf gets to work.
Lyall brings her teeth and claws to bear on Carrie’s neck, refusing to rest until she severs Carrie’s head from her body, defiling her as she takes a trophy in a final act of retribution.