Page 104 of Forever Touched

He chuckled, as if he found my reaction to him amusing. “You always did think you were too good for me,” he drawled, crouching beside me so I could clearly see his face.

When he swept the hair off my neck, I ignored the pain shooting up my arm and slowly reached for my thigh. Noticing the movement, he clucked his tongue and yanked the garter off my leg, along with my knife. The violent action sent fresh agony streaking through my body. As I cried out, I succumbed to a coughing fit, each movement like a jagged knife cutting into my flesh.

Blood spilled from my mouth, and Heath cocked his head to the side. “Oh, I get it now. You’re dying. What, you didn’t think I knew about the pactum? Shame you had to break it. I was looking forward to making you my personal blood whore. Well, at least I can taste you before you die. Waste not, want not, and all that.”

Before I could fully process his words, he lunged for my vulnerable throat and sank his fangs in deep. I weakly flinched, opening my mouth in a silent scream as fresh pain flooded me. I tried to move, but my body was done. All I could do was stare blankly at the night sky and wait for him to drain the last of my life away.

Perhaps it was better this way. Quicker. My suffering would come to an end all too soon.

He didn’t dull my pain, though. Didn’t feed me his venom. Hewantedme to suffer. He always had. He took sadistic pleasure from it, using pain to remind me of how weak I was compared to him.

That reminder hit me full force now, filling me with indescribable agony. But something else was filling me too.Rage. The emotion whipped through me so forcefully that I knew it wasn’t just mine.

It was Everett’s too.

It pounded through me like a war drum, infusing my body with sudden strength. Even as Heath ravenously drained the blood from my body, I felt strong. Strong enough to say, “You forgot one important thing, Heath. Something that will be your downfall.” A small smile stretched my lips. “I can control your mind now.”

He stiffened, realizing his terrible mistake too late.

I struck like a python, coiling my magic around his mind, thensqueezed. Just like that, he froze, his will nowmine. With a single thought, I commanded him to release me. He did, sliding his fangs from my neck.

I felt the rage grow stronger.

He was coming. Everett wascomingfor me.

Struggling to stay focused, I told Heath in a shaky voice, “Now stand up. Stand up and face the fury of your future king. Face your fate, Heath Clancy, and know thatIcontrol it.”

He obeyed my command. Like a puppet, he woodenly stood to face the stairs. I squinted through the rain just as a dark figure appeared at the very top. I could barely make out his features, but it didn’t matter. My heart weakly fluttered inside my chest, recognizing its mate.

As he took in the scene below, shadows erupted from him. Hereleased a furious roar, then streaked toward us like a torpedo.

Wanting him to fully feel Everett’s wrath, I let go of Heath’s mind. At the last second, he realized the danger he was in. Realized what I’d done.

But it was too late.

Too late.

Too late.

He didn’t even have time to scream.

With one violent sweep of his arm, Everett knocked Heath’s head clean off. It flew through the air like a soccer ball and vanished into the night. Before the headless body could finish crumpling to the ground, Everett was kneeling by my side. He softly touched me, wincing when he saw how broken I was.

“What can I do?” he croaked, looking so lost that fresh tears squeezed from my eyes. “Tell me what to do, Adalyn. Tell me how to help you.”

“You came,” I whispered, struggling to keep my eyes open.

“Always. I will always come for you, baby girl.” He gently touched my cheek, his face lined in agony. “Tell me how to fix this, Adalyn.Please.”

He couldn’t fix this. The broken pactum was calling for me. Calling for my death. It grew louder and louder by the second, and there was nothing Everett could do to stop it.

I tried to smile at him, but my lips suddenly felt cold. Numb. My entire body did, the pain slowly melting away. “It was a dream. A beautiful dream. I’ll cherish it forever.” My eyes fluttered shut.

“No. No! Adalyn, open your eyes. Open your eyes for me, baby girl. Don’t leave me like this. Ineedyou!”

My heartbeats slowed. I tried to open my eyes, to see him one last time, but they were too heavy. Everything pulled me down, down,down. Darkness dragged me into its waiting embrace. Before it could fully claim me, I managed to whisper one last thing.

“Save Pepper.”

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