Page 72 of Tears of Revenge

“What is it like after you shift?”

“Since they drain him, we both pass out, only awaking with the sunrise. With the moon gone I regain control.”

“That sounds awful and exhausting.”

“I usually spend the day after sleeping.”

“Would you like me to stay away from you until you feel better?”

Did he? He didn’t know. Avalon’s presence was surely calming, but did he want her to see his darkest side? Was she ready for that? He didn’t want to scare her, and she already had so much on her plate. “It’s up to you. I just want you to know that you can leave at any point. I’m not myself when he takes over.”

“I have discovered that I can now fight back pretty well. So, if you’re a jerk I might have to punch you.”

That made his lips curl into a smile. “I’m sure I won’t hear the end of it from Marcus if you do.”

“Are you comfortable with me being there?”

He couldn’t place why, but something made him feel safe with Avalon. He laid his head into her lap and she immediately had her fingers running through his hair. “No. I’m terrified of it. I’m afraid that it will make you run from me.”

“If I walk out, the only one I’m turning my back on is your lycan. If I understand correctly, you’re two separate creatures, so if I walk out of there tonight, it’s not because of you.”

“That means a lot to me.”

Neither of them moved, her fingers calmly combing through his hair.

This felt good.

This felt right.

Half an hour before moonrise, he went down into the dungeon. He stripped and folded his clothes, placing them in a neat pile outside the cellar door. Then he took a deep breath, and stepped over the threshold. His mind eased—a calm before the storm. This was his safe haven, the room that would make sure he wouldn’t repeat his past failures. His friends would soon join him, watch over him. It was odd because for a long time, the moments before his shifts—before losing himself—had felt like torture. Now, after learning to trust his companions blindly, it had become—what had it become? Definitely easier and much calmer, but there was something else there.

Before he could sink deeper into his thoughts, cool arms wrapped around him and a soft cheek nuzzled into his back. He rested his hands over Avalon’s and twisted their fingers together. Her touch eased the crawling under his skin as his lycan battled his way out of confinement.

“I wanted to offer you one last out,” Avalon whispered.

“This feels good.” He turned in her arms and pressed a kiss to her hair, holding her tightly against his bare chest. “And remember, you also have an out.”

“You have goosebumps all over.”

“You would too if you could. This room is filled with pure silver. Even the walls are embedded with it.”

“I was wondering why it felt so yucky in here.”

Marcus and Varos appeared to either side of them. At their arrival, Avalon stood on her toes and kissed him passionately. Though the kiss was way too brief. She silently took a backseat, so as not to interfere.

He knelt on the floor in the midst of the room, Marcus behind him and Varos to his side, promising that they would look after him. The mantra embedded, something like a good luck charm, a superstition that if it was missed something would go wrong.

He stepped back, falling into his friends’ hands and giving up control to the lycan. The creature barged through the open doors of his mental cell, claiming Lysander’s body as his own. His bones cracked and his muscles ripped as he grew larger, and his canines broke through. Silver chains burned into his skin, and fangs dug deep into his flesh. The lycan raged as he yet again was bound by silver and felt his blood being drained and replaced by their venom, weakening him even more.

Then the pain was broken by a cool, soothing touch and a softly whispered promise. “I’ll stay with you.”

Twenty-Six

Avalon

The sight in front of her was heartbreaking. Lysander knelt on the cold concrete, goosebumps covering his skin and his hair standing on end. But the shift hadn’t been as painful as she’d feared. Yes, he seemed to be in pain as his body grew larger, his snout elongated and his skin turned to fur, yet there was no fight to be seen on his face.

Once he was chained and Marcus and Varos were drinking, she stepped closer, the lycan violently ripping at the silver restraining him. She fearlessly knelt before him—much stronger now, and knew that the other two vampires would protect her if necessary. Canines bared the lycan lunged, but the collar around his neck kept him from moving. She grabbed his jaw in her hands and forced him to hold still, his energy fading fast.

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