Page 73 of Owning His Mate

“The bloodline is too watered down in everyone we’ve captured. We thought we could use the girl somehow, that maybe magic could enhance what she had, but it didn’t work. Nothing we did worked. A useless little abomination she turned out to be.”

I force calm into every inch of my body, even though I feel anything but.

“How do you find who has the blood?”

“There are ways. Science can be useful. And once we free her, Mother will hunt down those who betrayed her.”

Cold spreads through my bones, but she’s not done talking yet, and the hysterical laughter she lets out sends more ice into my veins.

“You’re all going to pay. Torsten took her gift, and then when he no longer needed her anymore, his cruelty knew no bounds. Her children did worse. They betrayed Mother for their own gain.”

“Is she the one who told you to torture a child?”

Her lips pull into a snarl. “Thatthingis not a child. She’s a distortion against nature. She should never have existed. None of you should. Mother gave you life, made you what you are, and he betrayed her. I would never do that. I’m loyal.” She raises her hands to the ceiling, tipping her head back. “I’m loyal!”

“Betrayed how?”

She lowered her head, slowly twisting her head toward me. “She made you into powerful beasts, and yet when you hear her name, you call her a fairytale.” She mutters under her breath, but I can’t make out anything she’s saying. “I should have killed her.”

“Revna?”

“The abomination.”

Savannah.

I can’t control myself as I bare my teeth at her. The woman laughs, hysteria bubbling through the sound. It takes all my strength not to reach through the bars and rip her head off.

“I’m going to enjoy it when I finally get to kill you,” I threaten.

She leans closer, her eyes flaring wildly. “What makes you think I won’t kill you first? And when you’re gone, I’ll come for that pretty little mate of yours.”

Too far. I grab her by the scruff of her neck, pressing her against the bars. Excitement flashes across her face, and I let my claws come out, slashing through her shirt to cut her skin.I smell the blood, the coppery iron tang of it filling my nose, although it is only a small amount.

“Or maybe I’ll just end you now.”

Amusement dances on her lips.

“But then how will you get the information you want to save your little tau abominations? She and your mate will both burn.” She smirks and emits a high-pitched cackle.

My teeth grind so hard, the enamel wants to buckle under the pressure. I release her with a shove, taking satisfaction in the way she stumbles back and almost loses her footing.

Fucking bitch.

I head for the door, but before my hand reaches out to grab the knob, she speaks. “Don’t worry, this will all be over soon. Mother will be free, and the world will burn. From the ashes, we will all be reborn.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it. You’re not going to live long enough to see it.”

She laughs again, a macabre sound that rings in my ears as I escape outside.

Beck comes off the wall, his eyes searching as he studies me.

“She’s as crazy as a bucket of frogs,” I remark as he locks the door behind me.

“You noticed that, huh? Callum considered trying to get inside her mind to learn more, but I think even he decided it would be a bad idea. There’s no telling what we’d find in there, or if it’d even work without destroying her completely.”

I scrub a hand over my jaw, tension radiating down the back of my neck. I know I should go back to Apryle, but I can’t move yet. I came to find a solution, and all I have is more questions.

“I’m scared,” I blurt out, and Beck’s eyes flare at my admission before he softens.

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