ELIAS’ POVMy whole body stiffened, his words weighing heavy on me like weights that had fallen on my shoulders. That was one name I hadn’t wanted to hear mentioned for at least a good while. From the corner of my eye, I glanced at Carmen, the disdain clear in my tone when I spoke.“What about her?”Receptive as he was, Carmen heard the ice in my voice because he took the smallest step backwards in caution before clearing his throat and righting his stance.“It has been days since you’ve taken the hunter into custody. I was wondering when you would inform the lady of the hunter’s capture.”My eyes drifted away from the cabinet, all thoughts of alcohol vanishing as I lifted myself to my feet. I turned to Carmen and the look of alarm that flashed over his features told me my eyes glowed at that moment, but he quickly masked his disquiet with his usual expression of indifference. It wasn’t the Morley way to show fear. It was admirable that he kept to that stance even now that there was n
ELIAS’ POVI knew what to expect when I entered the prison.I was prepared to see the hunter writhing in pain from the poison coursing through her veins; that was the whole point of this punishment after all. But the reality was far more grievous and unsettling than my expectation. The sight that greeted me when I stood outside her cell had nearly ripped my heart into shreds.She was indeed in pain; that much was clear at first glance.There was no sign of the fearless female from before. Her smallish frame hung low, her legs seeming to have given out on her a while ago. Her knees were angled towards the ground. The only thing that held her up was the shackles that bound her wrists to the ceiling. The skin on her wrists was chafed and bruised, so much so that I caught hints of blood around her cuffs.She looked every bit like the prisoner she was. The sight should have gladdened me, but it didn’t. It only spurred conflict in my heart.Her head was downcast when I entered, but she lift
ELIAS’ POVWhy do I feel like this?Why do I continue to feel sympathy for this wicked female?Why did this protective instinct still remain despite me knowing what she’d done?I already knew the answer to those questions, but the situation was still mind-boggling.After injecting her with the first dose of that hunter’s poison, I steered clear of the prison, avoiding it like a plague. I tasked Alistair with giving her the remaining doses in my absence because I feared my resolve would falter if I watched her writhe in pain from another shot.Watching her the first time I gave the poison had almost wrecked me. No matter how much I loathed her, I couldn’t stand to see the hunter in pain. The primitive instincts that resided in me were anxious to help her. To soothe her. To protect her.Things I absolutely could not do.So rather than cave to my frustrating instincts urging me to release my bride from her cell, I decided to avoid the hunter altogether. Out of sight, out of mind, right?
ALLISON’S POVI was well acquainted with pain. For a very long time, it was all I knew. It was what shaped me into the person I was today.In the two years I spent as Michail’s blood slave, there wasn’t a form of pain I hadn’t endured. Physical pain, emotional pain – I’d seen it all and the deep scars that cut across my being were proof of it.But this…This pain was unlike anything I’d ever experienced. It felt like liquid fire had replaced all the blood inside me and with each beat of my heart, the fire spread, scorching me from within. I was swarmed with this overwhelming urge to peel my own skin off, all in hopes of making the pain stop. It was absolutely unbearable.It wasn’t like a physical injury where you could at least pinpoint the source of the pain; heaven knew how much I would have preferred that. No, this pain came from within. No origins, but I felt it everywhere.Every inch of my skin felt hot, like someone held a flame close enough to my skin to cause extreme discomfo
DAMIEN’S POVDammit!I stood there staring at the empty spot where she’d stood, my head clouded with all sorts of thoughts. She was gone, and since she’d teleported, there was no way I could track her down. My gaze fell to the headless body kneeling by Al’s reading desk and my mood soured further. The witch had made sure I could get no information from him either. That was probably the whole reason for her appearance in the first place.What a bloody shitshow.I sensed the confusion in the room as the hunters that had gathered took in the bloody scene. Between the headless vamp and the female who’d disappeared before their eyes, there was a lot to be explained but at the moment, I didn’t care to do so. The time that would be wasted explaining the situation to them was time that could be spent on something more important.Al was still missing and this whole break-in only made matters more complicated. It wasn’t just the Royal from that night we had to worry about.Why were there immort
DAMIEN’S POVI stood there in shock as my eyes took in the gruesome scene. There was no trace of the vamp’s head in sight, only a mix of finely crushed skull fragments and brain matter. His head was missing from the point where the collar had sat on his neck. All that remained of his head was the deep crimson that painted the walls and floors of Allison’s room and of course, bits of skull fragments and brain matter here and there. Given my line of work, I was well acquainted with the sight of gore and carnage but a wave of nausea hit me as I took in the scene and the pungent smell of blood in the air wasn’t helping matters.His head had bloody exploded. What a brutal way to go. Leave it to an abomination to think up such a deranged way to kill a person. ‘’Do forgive me for the mess.’’ The female said with a deceptively polite smile as she swiped at her blood-stained cheek with the back of her hand. She only succeeded in smearing the blood across her face rather than cleaning it like