The initial shock numbed the pain so Merlin didn't realize at first that he had actually cut her until she saw her blood, collecting in the chalice. She winced and recoiled but Sébastien held her still, keeping her wrist over the chalice so not a drop of blood was wasted. He was wholly focused on his task and she studied him close up, her eyes tracing the markings on his face. He had high, almost feminine cheekbones but a strong, angular jaw and chin, his lips were thin and seemed set in a permanent frown.He was shirtless again, his hairless chest almost completely covered in the black markings that glistened in the torchlights, the muscles rippling as he squeezed her wrist. His black pants hung low on his waist, fitting snugly on his hips and thighs and she blushed, realizing that she had been staring at the slight bulge in his trousers. His low chuckle alerted her to the fact that he had seen her looking and her blush deepened as she turned her head away. 

The shadows beneath the trees seemed to move and breathe like living things and within their darkness moved a shadow of a different kind. The forest had again, fallen oddly silent, as its inhabitants fled the immediate vicinity, to observe from a safe distance. A flurry of clouds, gliding soundlessly overhead, momentarily shrouded the moon, cloaking the ground below the tree canopy in an almost palpable darkness. Somewhere the sound of a twig snapped and Gilbert's head whipped around in the direction of the sound, only to find Sébastien, leaning nonchalantly against a tree, completely naked, his arms folded across his chest."You seem a little skittish Papa Amari", Sébastien smiled, a smile not reflected in his eyes. "You look well Sébastien, I like the new artwork, it suits you", Gilbert replied, returning the Alpha's icy smile with one of his own. "You look like shit", Sébastien responded, pushing himself away from the t

Sébastien lay on his side, looking out the windows at the night sky as a faint breeze gently stirred the curtains and whispered softly through the room. Something had woken him, a feeling of deep foreboding gripped him and he knew that something had happened to his brother. He pushed himself up and sat on the edge of his bed, settling his legs on the floor as he ran a hand through his long, silken hair. He closed his eyes and cleared his mind, focusing his thoughts on Zeke until he could sense him through their shared blood bond. He drew in a sharp breath at the sudden feeling of pain that ebbed and flowed through his body, he was burning. Something was tight around his neck, burning through his skin and spreading like poison. He was struggling to breathe, his chest growing tighter and tighter with each labored breath. His wrists and ankles were bound with chains that bit at his flesh and burned him, the putrid stench of his own burning flesh filling him with nau

Outside the mansion, Sébastien and his men closed in, swiftly and silently disabling the guards, one by one and leaving them either dead or unconscious on the grass. Taking them out before they could shift, with the help of a cloaking spell to mask their scent, the guards never saw them coming. They had reached the mansion and moved to the library windows, waiting outside for Sébastien to unlock them using his magical powers when they heard the howl, stopping them dead in their tracks as their blood ran cold.  Sébastien froze, as goosebumps formed on his skin and a shiver ran down his spine at the sound that came from the underground dungeons. He knew, without a doubt, that it was Zeke but something was off, he could feel it as he tried reaching out to his mind. There was something else there, something that wasn't human or werewolf, but something else entirely. Quickly unlocking the windows, they raced inside towards the kitchen, when

Sébastien stopped, his body rigid with shock, at the sight of Zeke, standing upright, inside the cell, and Merlin lying unconscious at his feet. Zeke had fully shifted but he was no longer the silver wolf, Alpha of the Graystorm Pack, he was now something else entirely. Zeke stood on his hind legs, his silver fur bristling, as the sinewy muscles beneath rippled and stretched and his arms hung at his sides, the nails extended into vicious-looking claws that reflected the torchlights. He was bent over to avoid his head crashing through the rugged ceiling of the dungeons, and his eyes burned the color of blood. Looking at Sébastien, standing frozen in the tunnel, he roared, the sound deafening as it reverberated through the tunnels, sending small rocks and pebbles crashing to the ground around them. Sébastien glanced down at Merlin, she was still unconscious and bleeding profusely from her neck, the bite wound from Zeke’s fangs, clea