Chapter 3

ZEVA

This is bad.

This is very, very bad.

I scrambled backward, but my retreat was cut short when my back slammed into something that felt like a brick wall. I swallowed hard, my breath hitching as I looked up. A hulking figure, a guard with eyes like dead embers hovered over me, his shadow swallowing me whole.

"Going somewhere?" His voice was a low frequency rumble that vibrated through me in a terrifying way.

I didn't answer him. Instead, my gaze snapped back to the four men lounging in this center of the room. They looked like a goddamn dark romance cover that came to life, but I knew the rot beneath the porcelain skin.

There was Valerius, the eldest, who stood just few feet away from me. He was all sharp lines and expensive tailoring, his black hair swept back from a face that was hauntingly beautiful and utterly heartless. Beside him stood Cyprian, the second born, leaning against a pillar with a smirk that promised a slow death, he had a leaner build compared to Valerius, auburn hair and green piercing orbs. Then there was Aurelian, the third, who looked the most like their Father- broad shouldered, clinical, wears glasses, dark long hair packed in a man bun and currently, inspecting his finger nails as if I were a specimen under a microscope. Finally, tucked in the shadows was Thalric, the youngest. He was the quietest, the one who usually did the dirty work while the others talked.

Valerius stepped foward, stopping less then four feet away. He stretched a pale, elegant hand toward me. "Stand up."

I said nothing and stayed exactly where I was, tucked into a ball of defiance on the floor. Lira was still a dull throb in my head, useless and suppressed. Poor Girl.

"Come on, Zeva," he drawled. "We are family. Or used to be. I still respect that,"

"No we aren't," I spat, the words a jagged shard of glass between us. "I killed your father,"

"Like Kaelen?" I gritted my teeth, my hands shaking I think a mix of fury and terror. "You had him agree to this sick plan?"

"Yes." Cyprian replied. "He also intend to unleash hybrids between lycans and werewolves,"

"Hm?" Valerius arched a brow then turned to Cyprian. "How come I didn't know about this?"

Cyprian shrugged. "You would known if you paid more attention. You were just after your own goals,"

I studied both brothers, Valerius just let out a weary sigh then looked back at me. "I understand Dren and Kaelen's plan now."

"Whatever!" I spat. "If you try to touch me or come close, I'll kill myself. I'll bite my tongue off."

The room went deathly silently. The four brothers all looked at each other, then almost in unison, they shrugged.

"Then we have to perform the Morslterum," Valerius said calmly. "The ritual of recurrent Death. We will bring you back, Zeva. Over and over and over again. We will break your mind until your body is just an empty, obedient shell. Your heart or soul wasn't part of the price, just your body."

"I still won't do it!" I shrieked, I stood up, ignoring the aches in my knees. "No matter what you say I won't agree to this!"

"Do you really think you have a say in this?" My eyes darted to Aurelian who stepped closer into the light.

"It's my body. Yes, I do."

"It's ours now," Thalric said, his voice cold as crypt. "We paid for it. We own every drop of blood, every inch of skin. Same applies to your wolf."

"You did this behind my back!" I screamed. "You don't get to tell me who or when I get to fuck, okay? I'm not a toy!"

"I've had enough," Valerius said. He turned to the guard that had been standing behind me. "Get them."

The guard gave a sharp nod and vanished, the heavy oak door slamming shut behind him, sealing me in with Valerius and his silent amused brothers. "What are you doing??" I snarled, I reached out to him, my hand shooting out to yank Valerius's collar.

He didn't flinch. Instead, a slow unnerving smirk spread across his face, his gaze heavy with a dark predatory patience that sent a shiver down my spine. Deep inside, Lira who had been weak and withdrawn began to stir. She wasn't just restless, she was screaming. A visceral primal terror pulsed through me, a fear I hadn't felt since I was a child, a fear of helplessness.

What's this?

My eyes darted to his brothers. They all stood like statues, their faces impassive, yet a flicker of amusement danced in their eyes. Something was terribly wrong. My heart hammered against my ribs, a frantic drumbeat threatening to shatter.

The heavy oak doors groaned open again, slamming against the stone walls with a deafening crack. "You might want to look," Valerius said, his voice smooth as venom, making me turn my head slowly.

My breath hitched as it landed on two guards who stood at the doorway, their forms silhouetted against the dim light beyond. In their hands, they held chains, thick and cold, wrapped cruelly around the neck of a young boy and a woman. Their forms were skeletal, their skin stretched taut over bone, bearing the raw, weeping marks of torture.

My grip on Valerius's collar loosened, my fingers dropping from his fine fabric as I stumbled back, my eyes widening in pure horror as my heart was beating fast.

"H-how?"

"You see," Valerius purred, his voice a silken thread weaving dread into the air. "When Kaelen informed me that it was you... I knew it wouldn't be easy to get you to succumb," he walked closer towards the captives, his steps measured and deliberate, each one a hammer blow against my already shattered composure. He nodded to the guards. With a nod, they pulled out two syringe, injecting the boy and the woman with something that made them arch their backs in agony, their bodies writhing on the floor. The boy went limp immediately, his breath shallow, but the woman, her eyes flickered open, flickering between hazel and gold, yet when she saw me, a fresh wave of terror washed over them, widening them in a silent, horrifying plea.

"And to my luck," Valerius continued. "Just within forty eight hours of the notice you'd been arriving soon, I stumbled upon them."

Her fear.

Her pain.

It echoed in my veins, igniting a firestorm of rage within me. Lira surged, threatening to rip free. I could feel her baring her teeth but I was so shook my body was still. I couldn't speak, move or blink.

My eyes were fixed on the dying forms in front of me.

"So Zeva," Valerius whispered as he walked closer towards me. "What will you be? You agree to our terms? Or you watch your bestfriend and son die slowly in front of you?"​