A power filled her. A serene calm that cooled the fire in her blood, and the rage in her heart to a tranquil level. She looked out over the clan, at Daniel, at the guard’s who’d tied her up. She memorized their faces and made sure they’d remember hers.
“My father made one mistake in his life. He trusted this man Daniel. In giving him his trust, his wife was murdered, and then he was in return. As the ultimate payback, he now tries to have his daughter—the worse revenge to a man like my father. I want all of you to know that the will that binds me to Daniel is wrong, and that any of you who stay here tonight will either spend the rest of your lives rotting in a Justicar’s prison, or will die by my own hand.”
Murmurs and whispers broke out among the crowd. She had to speak up to be heard over it. “Leave now and I will not pursue you in any way, but if you stay and support this murderer, then I will not rest until you are dead beside his cold body.”
The crowd grew restless, looking from her to Daniel. Then, slowly, people started to edge away. Daniel roared and grabbed one of them, a woman. He snatched her by the hair and pulled a long knife out.
“Leave and she dies,” he growled. The crowd came back. No longer were there whispers or even smiles.
Good, Cassie thought, his people should be afraid of him. They had no idea just how mad he was.
“That’s it,” Daniel said, turning to her with anger blazing in his eyes. “We finish the mating ceremony now! Guards, if anyone tries to leave, kill them.”
Daniel stalked back to her. The first time he touched her, had her cringing. The next, she clamped her mouth shut and held her body rigid. He will die for this.
His hands found her breasts, her hips, between her legs. She blinked quickly as he started taking off his shirt with quick, jerky movements. The mating ceremony did not require sex, merely the blood exchange to bond the individuals together. Most couples did have sex while mating, to share the experience at the most intense and wonderful of levels.
His cold pale eyes found her. “Will you beg me not to touch your body?” His hands fell to his jeans and he unbuttoned them, then pulled down the zipper. “Will you beg me to stop?” Cassie stared into his eyes and said nothing.
A sudden, heart-pounding howl ripped through the night. Cassie’s heart stuttered in her chest so hard, she gasped. He’s here! Darien. Her body broke out into a sweat and she fought against her ropes, no longer feeling the biting pain of the cuts in her wrists.
Everyone whipped to see what made that sound, but she knew. She held her chin higher and worked at the ropes. Her real mate was here. She could have laughed in that moment. She’d worried before that Daniel could hurt her lykaen. Impossible, her mate was a primitive beast.
She heard another growl, this one so loud it echoed into the forest around them. She almost smiled.
There was a commotion at the back of the clan. Cassie strained to see him, to see anything, but heads blocked her way. Suddenly, there was a grunting sound, and then a guard went soaring impossibly high into the air. He landed across the other side of the clan with a bone-cracking landing.
“Cassie!” The sound of him roaring her name was the beautiful thing she’d ever heard.
“Darien!” The crowd parted as he stormed towards her. When the crowd didn’t move fast enough, he shoved them out of the way. Cassie gasped at what she saw. Darien had gone full beast. His lykaen glowed from his eyes bright amber. His chest was rising and collapsing with great big gulps as he panted. His fists were huge masses of angry meat ready to give a pounding to someone.
His eyes fell straight to hers, and she wanted to cry so badly. She never thought she’d see him again. His eyes, somehow, impossibly grew angrier as they fell over her naked form, then to Daniel’s half-naked body.
Daniel snapped his pants back together, then stepped in front of her. Darien growled a warning that clearly said back away from my woman or lose your throat.
Daniel laughed, the sound genuinely amused. “Well isn’t this turning out to be one of hell of a night. This is quite the bang, I must say. You must be the dog that’s been fucking my woman.”
Darien’s hands curled into fists and Cassie heard bones popping. “She is not your woman. I challenge you to the rights of her.” He pointed straight at her, and Cassie’s heart wept with love. Had she even told him she loved him? Because she did so much. She couldn’t remember now. Too much was happening too fast, she had no time to just stop and think.
Daniel crossed his arms and she could hear the laughter in his voice. “You challenge me, lykaen? This is just too good. I accept. Move out clan, give me space to beat this pup to a pulp.” The clan moved back in a wide circle, leaving the bonfire in the center and her near it.
Cassie watched wide eyed as Darien stalked Daniel like a predator, sidling to the side, his eyes narrowed and focused. Cassie couldn’t help herself, she had to say it, had to just in case....
“I love you, Darien!” His eyes shot up to hers, and then Daniel made his move.
Daniel used his incredible speed to get behind Darien and wrap his arm around his neck in a brutal grip. He landed a dozen hard, bruising punches to Darien’s side in under a second. The moves were so fast, the motions were blurred with his speed.
Cassie gasped and winced as Darien yelled and kicked back his head, hitting Daniel square in the face. Daniel lost his grip on Darien and stumbled back. Darien turned to the side and executed one perfect kick to Daniel’s stomach. Daniel flew to the ground, and the predator jumped on top of him with a ferocious growl, landing two blows to his face before Daniel spun them so fast, Cassie never saw it happen.
One second Darien was on top, and then he was on bottom and Daniel was feasting at his throat.
“No!” she screamed. Darien used his incredibly lykaen strength to flip Daniel off. Before Daniel could even land on the ground, Darien was boxing his face with savage, hammering fists. A sharp crack sounded and Cassie knew something had broken. Whether it was in Darien’s hand or Daniel’s face, she didn’t know.
Hope filled her. Darien would win. But then Daniel disappeared. Cassie looked everywhere for him and suddenly he reappeared behind Darien. He hit Darien in the back and sent Darien sprawling to the ground with a heavy thud. Daniel didn’t hesitate to leap on top of him and pound into that same side he’d hit before.
This time she heard bones crack and snap with a nasty crunching sound. Darien roared in pain but managed to buck Daniel off him.
They both stood then, circling each other. Daniel wore a cocky smile and Darien wore a look of grim determination. He held his side with one arm and Cassie saw blood around his lips. Panic the likes of which she’d never felt came over her then. She no longer struggled at her ties. A horrible sickness filled her stomach.
Daniel exploded after him. He grabbed hold of Darien’s wrist and bent the arm backwards, twisting it until a disgusting crack happened. Darien roared and kicked out of his huge, strong legs into Daniel. He went flying back again. Cassie watched him with wide eyes. He didn’t use his speed. In fact he slowly got up, his smile looking more like a grimace now.
Her eyes flickered back to Darien and saw more blood coming out of his mouth and down the side of his lip. The bite wound at his neck was bleeding messily down to his chest, and his arm hung uselessly at his side.
Still he stalked to Daniel as he stood. That determination never wavered, not even for a second. Using his one free hand, he snatched Daniel by his hair and threw him. Daniel went flying through the air and landed in the bonfire. He roared a hideous sound and rolled out of the fire. His skin was charred black and burnt. He rolled on the ground to subdue the flames.