Chapter 56
Screams and shouts echoed around me, but they were drowned out by the bloodlust burning in my veins. I was on all fours, paws hitting the earth hard as I pounced from one soldier to the next. I saw no faces. Only enemies.
I swiped my claws, then dug my fangs into the flesh of the enemy closest to me.
My wings flared, lifting me upward to avoid the slash of his sword.
With blood dripping down my chin, I broke away from the throng and howled at the full moon, my entire body quivering from the euphoria coursing through me.
It felt glorious to unleash the demon that had been festering inside me for so long. Years of pent-up rage had been mounting, and now, finally, I was free to let it all loose.
My roar split the air, and I took off at a run, the muscles of my legs pumping hard. I was a beast built for speed and death. And I embraced it fully.
“Varius?” A sudden voice echoed in my mind.
I faltered, my stride slowing as I homed in on that singular sound. The voice awakened something that was slumbering inside me. Something I wanted to keep buried deep.
Confusion clouded my mind, and I shook my head with a growl, ready to lose myself to the bloodlust again .
But that damned voice… It haunted my thoughts now. All I could hear was her. All I wanted was her .
Sybelle.
She consumed my mind. Her eyes, her smile, her laugh. Her scent, her taste, her moans… All of her surrounded me in echoes, taunting me.
My roar was halfhearted as a newfound lust took over.
I needed her. Now.
I bolted, my legs pushing furiously, giving me a burst of speed. I was unsure of where I was going, only that I needed to move quickly. The shapes before me became a blur, and I only paused once I was away from the crowd of enemies, lest their blood tempt and distract me from my mission.
I lifted my nose in the air, inhaling deeply.
There. I caught a whiff of her earthy scent and clung to it, my sharpened senses picking up on her trail. I sniffed the ground, following it, then broke into a run once more.
Sybelle, I am coming.
My paws pounded into the earth. Saliva dripped from my fangs, mingling with the blood still lingering there. I was so close now. So close.
I rounded the corner and froze. Shouts and grunts sounded nearby. Ahead of me, two creatures grappled with one another. One had wings and dark hair like me. The other had paler skin and…
My hackles rose. He smelled like her. He smelled like Sybelle.
Snarls ripped from my throat as I prowled toward the figure. I didn’t care who he was. The scent of my wife was on him, and for that, he would die.
The male swiped his sword, drawing blood from the winged female. She fell backward, her face already covered in blood from a gash that oozed black droplets. One of her wings was torn, and her eyes were hooded .
The male advanced, his sword slick with her blood. He cradled his left arm as if it were broken, and fresh blood ran down his chin. He raised his sword, and I pounced, landing directly in his path.
He froze, eyes wide, his arm poised midair as he gaped at me.
“What— What is this ?” he bellowed.
“This… is the king whose life you seek,” the female said as she staggered to her feet.
I cocked my head toward her, recognition flashing in my mind. She nodded encouragingly.
“You know me, Varius.”
I squinted, my vision coming in and out of focus. One moment, I knew who she was. And the next, I didn’t.
I shook my head roughly, frustrated by the lack of clarity. With a low grumble, I slowly prowled toward the other figure—the one who smelled like Sybelle.
He lifted both hands, as if that might stop me from advancing.
“You can’t do this,” he said, his voice tinged with panic. “You can’t kill me.”
“Do it, Varius,” said the female. “He’s the one who brought the army. He’s the one who’s murdering your people.”
The male’s face twisted with rage, and he jabbed a finger at her. “ She’s the traitor, too! She never told you about the witches. She never told you about me .”
I stilled at that, tilting my head with interest. Slowly, my gaze shifted from the male to the female.
Their scents had mingled. And, if I focused intently, I could smell Sybelle on the female, too.
She had touched my wife. What if she had hurt her? Kidnapped her?
Where was Sybelle ?
Fangs bared, I shifted toward the female instead, creeping closer to her. Her eyes flared wide in alarm.
“Varius, don’t,” she whispered. “You know me. I did not hurt Sybelle.” She pointed to the male. “But he did . If you kill him, you can end this. All of this.” She spread her arms around her, indicating the castle and the soldiers fighting nearby.
With a keening moan, I shook my head again, burying my face underneath my paws. It was too much. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t remember .
“This is ridiculous,” snarled the male, drawing closer to me and raising his sword.
Before he could bring it down on me, I lunged.
My paws hit him in the chest, slamming him into the ground. I bared my fangs at him, relishing the scent of fear that wafted from his trembling body.
My claws pierced his breastplate, carving straight through the steel. He screamed when they met his flesh.
“Kill him, Varius!” the female urged.
The male roared, his elbow jabbing upward until it slammed into my snout. With a whine, my head snapped sideways from the impact, pain shooting through me.
The male managed to kick me off him. I rolled, paws sliding in the ground to stop myself.
He swung his sword, but his movements were clumsy from his injuries.
I ducked, avoiding the blow. He swung again, and this time, I wasn’t quick enough.
The tip of his blade pierced my side, drawing blood.
I howled in agony, swiping at the sword with my claws.
The sharp sound of clashing metal rang out.
With a mighty shriek, the female launched herself forward, colliding with the male. He fell as she dragged him to the ground, wrenching the sword from his grip. Her claws skewered his arm, drawing blood. The male roared, the anguished sound echoing around us .
The scent of his blood drew out the ravenous beast within me. Saliva dripped from my fangs.
“ Now , Varius!” the female cried. “End it!”
The male struggled, but she pinned him further into the ground. “No—Lora, wait ?—”
I silenced him, clamping his throat between my teeth and ripping at his flesh. His screams only urged me onward, and I dug deeper into him.
He managed to kick the female off him. She hit the ground hard with a pained grunt.
The male thrashed, his knee connecting with my jaw.
My head reared back, and he wriggled out from under me.
He grabbed his sword and clambered to his feet, but the river of blood gushing from his throat was too much.
He swayed, his face paling. He drunkenly swung his weapon, and I nearly barked out a laugh.
As if that would stop me.
The hair on my back stood on end, and I growled, the sound low and menacing. We circled one another. He was losing color fast. He tried to lift his broken arm to stifle the bleeding in his throat, but he winced in pain, clearly too injured to manage.
He didn’t have long now.
“You’ll never have her,” he choked out. More blood bubbled from his lips. “She will never be yours.”
Bloodthirsty rage burned through me, tinting my vision red. My voice was deep and rough, the sound of the monster within, as I spat, “She already is.”
I flew toward him, pinning him to the ground.
My claws made quick work of shredding his throat, tearing through him until his head detached from his body and rolled into the flowerbed.
Even after he was dead, I wasn’t satisfied.
I still hadn’t found her . I still didn’t know why this male smelled like her.
My claws shredded the rest of his armor, his trousers, his arms and legs.
He was nothing but a bloody pulp when I sensed another presence behind me.
With a snarl, I whirled, facing the winged female. She lifted a vial of a vibrant green liquid and extended it toward me.
“The choice is yours, my king,” she said softly. “If you want to remain a beast, you can. But, if you hope to save her, you’ll need to drink this.”
I stared at the liquid, alarm ringing through my body with violent intensity.
I did not want to lose my strength. My freedom.
For decades, I had fought so hard to be the king my people needed.
The king everyone expected me to be. Now, after only moments of losing those restraints, I needed to cage myself once more?
“She needs you, Varius,” the female whispered.
In my mind, I heard Sybelle again. Her screams. Her cries for help.
A tortured cry poured from my lips, and I sank back on my hind legs, my back bowing in agony. I was being ripped apart. The anguish was too great. Too potent.
I could never escape it. I could never truly be free. Not now. Not ever.
But… I could be with her. I would not be free from burdens or responsibilities or expectations, but… I could have her by my side.
And perhaps that was enough.
The female waited expectantly for me to make my decision. The vial could easily contain poison. But somehow, I knew she could be trusted. I wasn’t sure how, but I knew.
I reached forward, my paw awkwardly taking the vial from the female’s grasp. My lips parted, and I downed the contents.
Immediately, shivers rippled over my body.
I hunched over with a tortured groan, pain setting my blood on fire.
My bones snapped and mended, my skin stretching and shrinking.
The thick, coarse fur along my body vanished.
My paws lengthened into fingers. My rumbling roar of agony melted into a bellowing howl.
All I knew was fire. All I felt was pain.
My body was breaking, one piece at a time, and reconstructing itself.