Mated to the Apex Three
Valerius stood in the center of the crimson dust cloud, his chest heaving with heavy, ragged breaths, his bare forearms radiating waves of intense, heat-haze energy that melted the frost on the stone steps into clouds of rising steam.
He turned his head, his burning crimson eyes locking directly onto Baron Vanehart and Lady Morrigan standing paralyzed on the high dais.
"Did you not hear my brother, Vanehart?" Valerius purred, his voice smooth, dark, and laced with a psychotic, terrifying pleasure as he stepped up the stairs toward them. His long, three-inch fangs glistened with venom, catching the bright glare of the sun.