Derek’s reckoning

“That bastard, he dared touch what’s mine; he dared take her purity that I’ve dreamed of having for years!”

Derek roared internally, his bloodshot eyes still wide from the scene that had taken place in front of him.

Syzar defiled his sister Celeste, his twisted obsession for her kept him thrashing with anger that another male touched her.

All the years he had waited and acted like a good brother towards her just to have a taste of her all now dumped in the drain because of Syzar

Even though his tongue had partially begun to heal, his hands were severely damaged and would take days to recover.

But right now he couldn’t predict he’d have any more torture as he was pushed out of his train of thoughts to see he was forcibly being led down to the dungeon by the two men, their strength clearly that of betas.

He struggled and trashed against them, but their hold on him was too unfathomable to fight back.

They pulled him into a dark room of the castle’s dungeon, roughly shoving him into a chair.

His hands and knees were buckled to the parts of a metal chair while he roared to be set free. “Let me go you bastards!”

His torture began; the betas were ruthless with their punches, earning a cry from his lips.

“Oh, don’t be a coward now, Derek. You have always been happy to inflict pain when it was our alpha in your dungeon, so now you have to take what you dish out!” one of the males said, amusement filling his voice.

Derek stared at the two males, their eyes and hair identical, so much so that one would think the twins were the same person; their piercing blue eyes were maniacal and daunting.

It was those eyes that felt familiar and hateful, too horrific not to fear; he could see they enjoyed his pain and his torture and would in no way stop from just his pleading.

“Please…stop…” Derek pleads, his words a struggle through his heavy breath, his body heaving, and blood dripping just as the sound of a door clicked open.

The tension grew thicker with the new presence in the room, earning a terrified stare from Derek.

From his chair, he spotted the dark, tall frame belonging to Syzar himself. Gone was the bone he had starved for months with barely any flesh on his body.

Now a man of pure muscle stood at his height with no ounce of mercy on his face.

The terror of the Rahl-Kharas bloodline shone deeper in his crimson eyes; he was a force of pure muscle and deathly strength.

Those eyes were far gone from any mercy as his claws spiked into Derek’s scalp, holding him up.

“You dare plead for mercy, you scum,” he snarled, causing a shiver down the male’s spine from Syzar’s cruel voice.

“After all you've done, did you think I would give you a graceful, quiet death?” he called.

“Do you know how I tortured your father Dregan?” he taunted, earning a growl from Derek, his eyes following Syzar’s gait to a structure beside him, one that made Derek’s eyes widen.

It was the X-cross that Syzar had been tortured on the day he was hung upside down and beaten to an inch of his life.

The roars of his agony had filled the hall, the echoes of cheers while they bet on the bladed whips on Syzar's body, how much it could take, and how long it would take to fill a pint with his blood.

With Derek being the main attacker, he had whipped with no mercy and earned the cheers of the crowd.

And right now, just the sight of the X-cross had Derek pissing his pants, terror filling his gaze. “P-please, we can talk about this…”

“You’re scared… good, I'd like Celeste to be very entertained by your torture,” Syzar called, his eyes blazing with a wicked snare as Derek gritted his teeth.

“You monster… sick…bastard,” he stumbled out as Syzar chuckled.

“You are the filthy scum who lusts after his own blood sister, your impure thoughts clear as day, those eyes wanting to be the one to taste her, yet I was the one who took that first; I'm just regaining what was stolen from me,” Syzar spoke.

“The greed in your eyes still shines, like the day you punched your spear through my chest and proudly spoke of your plans for the Ayvoc,” Syzar muttered with a tap to the now sealed wound on his chest.

Derek recalled the day he had boldly stabbed the alpha through the chest and thrown his body past the waterfall in his victory.

“You must have wondered how I survived all those nights after your torture, because the Ayvoc, as stupid as she was, devoted her wolf to me; she used the gifts on me the night we were bonded,” he called, and Derek’s eyes widened.

“And by the look on your face, it seems you didn't know her powers were meant for her bonded...good,” Syzar said again, delight showing in his tone.

An Ayvoc’s devotion was a blessing and a curse from the moon goddess; a female omega born as she reached maturity had her gifts, ones that healed her bond from a prayer made genuinely from her heart.

“Her first devotion, her first time, her first misery—I will be all of that,” Syzar swore, and Derek trembled with undying hatred in his gaze.

“But no matter, my main issue is with your bastard friend Zedron,” he called, earning a glint of familiarity in Derek’s gaze. “He didn’t hesitate to tell me everything he knew on the day of the siege.

He watched another person give you all the maps to my city, he watched you brutes tear my hope down, and in my presence, my father was gutted and beheaded while you all laughed in victory,” Syzar continued, his voice filled with wrath.

“And it all points to Cross Vale, but you lot aren't smart enough to plan a siege. Tell me who gave you the order behind the scenes, or I will treat you like I treated him,” Syzar commanded.

“I—I have no idea…” Derek lied, a lie that was fully seen by Syzar, who looked at his betas. They arched silently just as a heavy crack rang in the air, Syzar’s hand indenting Derek's rib, breaking two on impact.

“There. Will be. No. Mercy. For. You,” he muttered with each punch that left Derek’s mouth bleeding and Syzar’s hands stained with blood.

“I will make sure your screams ache through the night,” he called to Derek with a wicked smirk just as Derek began to plead for mercy.

But it was too late; he had awakened the beast and would face the consequences of the ruthless king.

For Derek and Celeste would never expect what was to come.