Ava “Sir Ravensborough.” The Butcher. That was why I was so on edge when I met him at the gala event at The Madison Hotel. My wolf never liked him, probably residual effects from when I was seven and dragged into his office by my ankles. Or when I was in the white room and pieces of silver were implanted in my body. Or this last time when I was shocked while memories were implanted in my mind. Fuck, I hate him. I want to tear him to shreds. “You fucker!” I scream and lunge forward, my claws elongating as I swipe my arm toward him. Braiden jumps forward, gripping me around my waist and pulling me back. “Not yet, Ava. They will kill you or take you away before backup comes. We need to stay here as long as possible.” Braiden's words in my mind pull me back from the edge of my rage, and then I remember Aliana. Our daughter cannot lose us both. “You have become more feisty with age. When I first met you, you were a little timid, shy thing. I remember it well. It was the day your father traded you to The Underground. Traded you for his mate. Your mother was sick, which was unusual for a werewolf. That’s why we captured her. We wanted to take that sickness and use it to eradicate your kind, but we couldn’t r eplicate it, and she was hours away from dying. Your father negotiated her release for you, telling us that you were special and even more valuable, that your blood was special.” I am trembling in Braiden's arms with fury as this monster talks so flippantly about events in my life that literally shaped it. I always thought the worst of my father. I never knew that he was forced into the situation. Even if it was trading his only kin, I couldn’t imagine the torture that must have been for him. Yet knowing he gave me up for my mother, who probably died hours later anyway, boggles my mind. I could never give Aliana up. Never. “We never really understood what he meant until the silver implants. That was when we realized how special you really were. We had experimented for decades, testing the limits wolves could take when exposed to silver and wolfsbane. We k ept implanting more and more, yet you k ept surviving. That’s when we started running new tests.” Memories flood me, his words creating a movie in my mind. “We had been trying to harness the werewolf healing gene, studying its genetics. It wasn’t until you that we realized the cure lay in your blood and the ability to fight diseases rather than in the werewolf gene as a whole. You were freed during a raid before we could harness the cure. We thought you were dead. No one would survive that amount of silver and wolfsbane in the long term. Especially without the counteracting injections we were giving you. It wasn’t until your mother,” the vile creature says, looking at Braiden, “told us about a white wolf, mated to her son no less, in the midst of the pack, that we thought we stood another chance. What a happy surprise to discover, thanks to some vials of blood your mother stole from Dr. Adams and sent to us, that Ava was indeed alive.”
His laugh reminds me of a madman as he looks at me. “We were able to continue our work by infecting you. While in most werewolves, the ability results in the destruction of viruses, your body created antibodies. Immunity. The key to curing major illness housed in one mere werewolf woman. Having that would make me the most powerful man in the world.” This guy was sick. Even now, as he tells this story, he has a dreamy look. Like he isn’t some killer of hundreds, if not thousands, of our species. He didn’t even see us as human. Our species was merely a means to an end. “You are lucky. We would never have traded you for your mother if it weren't for my son. But he took one look at you and knew.” Sir Ravensborough puts a hand on Jerry's shoulder, his smile telling everyone how proud he is. Then his smile drops. “All he ever wanted was you, even after finding his fated mate.” Sir Ravensborough air quotes ‘fated,’ as if finding the mate given to you by the Moon Goddess herself was something to be joked about. It was the one thing our species held dear. I think back, and almost immediately, I know who it is. “Georgia.” I always wondered about the looks she gave Jerry when we went to her café. Braiden told me it was her who told him where to find me. Perhaps she got tired of seeing her mate with another woman. Damn. That must have been torture. I feel so sorry for her. “Yet even when we wiped your memories, you couldn’t give in. We will have to do a better job this time.” He pats Jerry on the back while Jerry eyes me. It is the same look he sometimes gave me when he tried kissing me. When I would get physically ill. It was a look that told me eventually, he would take what he wanted. Braiden growls, and I put my hand over his, trying to calm him down. We had heard about humans and werewolves mating, but it rarely resulted in a birth, and when it did, the child never lived past their first year. “You’re shocked, I can see. Human werewolf babies rarely reach such an age. I think the royal gene made him stronger than most conceived in this manner. He could have sat where you did, but his loyalties have always been with me. With The Underground.” No. My eyes, along with Braiden’s, drift over to the woman lying unconscious on the floor at Samuel's feet. And then, the enormity of what The Butcher is saying really sinks in. Jerry is Braiden's half-brother. “No.” Braiden’s anger can be felt behind me as he battles with the truth thrown at us. “Somehow, I was your mother's fated mate. The first human werewolf pairing. Go figure. Doesn’t your kind believe in the Moon Goddess or something? It kind of makes you wonder how she would put the two of us together like that. Perhaps she wanted me to succeed. Anyway. It was useful. I told your mother to remain by your father's side. He was a weak, pathetic man, doting on her. Not even questioning your mother when she left for a year to give birth to my son. When she ‘went to visit family in Italy.’” He laughs, shaking his head while he proudly pats Jerry’s shoulder, the
first true flicker of emotion flitting across his features. “At least with her on the inside, we always had a steady stream of werewolves to experiment on.” The fucker actually laughs as he says these words. “At one stage, she even had you snatched up. But your father grew a pair and managed to find and set you free. Pity. Anyway, she once again proved herself useful, thanks to you, Braiden. Breaking her link with your pack meant she could mind link with our son, leaving you in the vulnerable position you now find yourself in.” Fuck. My eyes once again drift over to the woman who I was going to kill. The bitch who did this to her own son. My mate. God, I would make it slow if my rage would allow it. “My King, they are in position. They are armed. Just say when.” Samuel mind links both of us, and my heart skips a beat. Maybe we could get out of this after all. At this moment, mother dearest gasps, her eyes flying open as she looks around frantically. As she shouts out that there are reinforcements, Braiden gives the order, and all hell breaks loose. Wolves peel out of the darkness behind The Underground men who shift their aim, the distraction enough for us to jump into action. I lunge for the bitch, who is still screaming at the top of her lungs that reinforcements are coming, shifting into my white wolf as I clamp my jaw around her neck. Bones crack, and I hear a scream from Jerry as I put my paws on her body and pull, her head severed from her torso. So much for letting her suffer. As I fling her head, Jerry shifts and jumps, throwing his body against mine so that it hits the side of the jet painfully. He winds me momentarily, that gap leaving me open as his jaw claps down on my upper leg. I push up, my size and strength as a white wolf giving me the upper hand. His jaw loosens as we fly through the air, him landing a couple of feet away from me. Damn, he got me good. My leg is throbbing, and when I try to put my weight on it, a sharp jolt of pain shoots down from the bite to the paw. Shit. It’s broken. I stand on my three legs, only allowing the tip of the paw of my broken one to touch the ground. Fighting is happening all around us. Royal guards and neighboring pack members trade blows with The Underground, both sides understanding that whoever wins here will decide things for the years to come. I try to find Braiden, but he is nowhere to be seen. He must have gone after Sir Ravensborough. “You might as well shift and give up. You are injured.” Jerry has shifted back to his human form, the only way we can communicate. Perhaps that isn’t a bad idea. It would be easier for me to fight with one arm than one front paw. I shift, but instead of my arm being broken, in this form, it is only sprained. Perhaps shifting has accelerated the healing? I don’t let on, cradling my arm to my side and flinching to ke ep up the ruse. It would give me an advantage. Jerry’s eyes drag over my naked form, immediately making my stomach feel queasy. “I always knew you were hiding something delicious under those summer dresses. Soon, I will have you, Ava. You have always been mine.” Those words echo through my mind, reminding me of when I was seven and saw him in Sir Ravensborough's office. Back then, I thought he was like me. But looking at it through fresh eyes, I recognize the smile between the
men. The same lilt of their voices when they say those words. That a boy his age could even have feelings for a seven-year-old makes my stomach churn. He is a psychopath. Like father like son. “I can see I wasn’t missing anything.” I fling back at him, my good hand swe eping over his form. “My mate is so much better. And the way he pleases me. Fuck. You would never be able to give me orgasms the way Braiden does.” I goad him as we circle each other, one st ep of his countered by one of mine. “You better watch your mouth, Ava. If you want to get out of this alive.” He spits on the ground for effect while I laugh, his face turning red. “You should have watched my mouth as I wrapped it around Braiden's big cock. Mmmm.” For added effect, I run my tongue along my lips. This is the taunt that sends him over the edge. I know this is his weakness, as he has been trying to mate with me for years. He lunges, but I roll to the side, forcing him to the ground. I jump onto his back, my legs wrapping around his torso as I extend my nails. His hand shoots out as I swing down, aiming for his neck. We struggle, me pushing towards him while he pushes my hand away. He jumps backward, sending us both to the ground as it hits my back painfully. If I let go now, I might not win this fight. I must do this. My mind goes back to the last four years. To every lie he told me. To every time he made Aliana feel bad for not loving him. For making me believe that he loved her. Everything comes bubbling up, along with rage and anger, until I cry out. He doesn’t have a chance to scream as my claws dig into his neck, and I rip the skin away, a horrible gurgling sound coming out as he struggles for breath. I push him off me, and he flops over onto his back, his hands around his neck, his eyes pleading for me to do something. I am rooted to the spot. A pool of blood widens around him, and then I watch as the life leaves his eyes. Two down, one to go.