Knox is a storm inside my skull. His insistence that I go after her is making my head pound. His voice is a desperate snarl, scraping against every piece of my already-shredded heart.

I get his desperation. I'm also desperate, but I wish he could shut the fuck up and let me think without having him breathing down my neck.

I push away from the table so fast the chair nearly topples, and before Raven can move, I'm already halfway down the hall, following that faint thread of her scent like a dying man crawling toward oxygen.

Fear still gnaws at my ribs. A cold, vicious fear that I will lose her for good. I thought I could get this sorted out this morning; instead, it only seems like I've made everything worse and it's all my fault. Again.

I shove the thought down, because thinking it will break me. I can't break, not when she's walking away from me like she doesn't even care.

Knox howls, ripping inside me. "Fix this. FIX IT. She's ours, Alec, move faster". "Shut up, Knox," I growl under my breath, sprinting across the compound.

I inhale, catching her scent, which leads straight to the dungeon.

My stomach drops, getting this sinking feeling that this isn't going to end up well.

By the time I reach the metal door, I find it already open. I follow and the moment I enter the damp stone room, everything inside me freezes.

Because Sadie is already there, standing like a goddess of fury, and Lola is standing a few feet away, sizing Sadie up like she's gum stuck underneath her shoes.

The second she sees me, she gasps, her expression changing.

"Alec!" She runs straight for me, arms outstretched as though we are still mates. As though she didn't disappear. As though she didn't fucking reject me. As though she didn't lie about being my mate.

Knox snaps inside me, rage bursting through his teeth. "Don't let her touch us. Don't you fucking dare."

"How fucking stupid do you think I am?” I snap at him, which has him growling back at

I step back sharply.

Lola freezes mid-stride, arms still lifted. Confusion sweeps her face, then something uglier: disbelief curdling into outrage.

She glances between Sadie and me and then her expression darkens like a storm.

"So that's it?" she spits, pointing at Sadie like she's filth on the floor. "You're treating me like this because of this bitch? "

A growl shakes the entire room before I can even breathe. It's Sadie and I don't even understand how she's able to do that when Nyx is gone.

Her jaw clenches and her eyes start glowing. Power trembles around her, filling the air till it becomes suffocating.

"Call me that again," Sadie says softly, dangerously. "And I'll—"

"Oh please," Lola scoffs. "You're nothing but a wh—"

The slap comes before any of us register movement.

One second Sadie is beside Raven and the next she is in front of Loka and Lola is flying. Her body slams into the stone

8. stone walkwith a sickening

thud before she crumples to the floor, wide-eyed, stunned.

None of us have time to react, but honestly, couldn't be prouder of my mate. She's a badass. An Alpha Female and even though she's fucking mad at me at the moment, I'm glad she taught Lola a lesson.

Lola touches her cheek, staring at Sadie in disbelief. "D-did you just hit me? You fucking bitch, how dare you?"

Sadie lifts her chin, calm and lethal. "If you don't shut the hell up, I will rip out your fucking tongue."

Knox purrs darkly. "Our mate is magnificent."

I guess I'm not the only one proud of our mate.

Lola pushes herself to her feet, wobbling. She turns to me, tears filling her eyes instantly, like she thinks the old version of me still exists. The version who would have done anything for her.

"Alec,” she whimpers, her voice breaking. "Are you really just going to stand there while she attacks me?"

I cross my arms over my chest, staring at her with nothing but cold emptiness. "Yes."

The single word tears something in Lola's face. She blinks rapidly, then laughs, a sharp, bitter sound.

"So, this is what you've been doing?" she sneers. "Cozying up to the woman who broke us apart? Acting like she's something precious."

"Shut the fuck up," I growl, my voice dropping.

Lola keeps talking anyway. "All that righteous anger back then, was that just for show? Were you just waiting for me to leave? You pretended that you were broken when I caught you cheating on me with her yetchere you are with your fucking mistress." Cóntent Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn FindNovel(.)net

How did I not see her for who she was? Bitter and full of resentment. I was whipped back then; I guess it's why I never noticed what a bitch she was.

Sadie disappears again and then reappears behind Lola with silver chains in her hands. Before Lola can flinch, Sadie throws the chains around her wrists and pulls. Hard.

Lola screams as the silver burns her skin. In seconds she's hauled upward, dangling from the ceiling, feet barely brushing the floor.