Page 46 of Surrendered to Mate

Then his eyes narrow, focusing on Darana. The temperature in the cave plummets, frost creeping across the stone floor.

"You shouldn't have touched her," Cassius growls, his voice low and deadly.

His eyes cut to me, softening just a little, and it's all I need. He's here. I'm safe. I'm not alone or helpless. I'm not going to die.

And good. Because I don't know how much longer I could have held on.

Cassius opens his mouth like he's going to say something…

But everything goes black.

22

CASSIUS

Iburst into the cave, my eyes blazing with fury. The sight before me sends a jolt of unfamiliar emotion through my body. Faye, bound and bleeding, her eyes wide with a mixture of relief and fear. And Darana, her face twisted into a cruel smirk, standing over my... over Faye.

"Cassius" Darana purrs, but I hear the venom beneath her words.

My fists clench at my sides. I've never felt rage like this before. It burns through my veins, hot and fierce, melting away centuries of apathy.

"You shouldn't have touched her." My voice comes out as a low growl, barely recognizable as my own.

My eyes drift over to Faye then, and I see the moment that my presence hits her. She relaxes, like she knows I will save her, and then she slumps to the side, her body no longer able to withstand the torture she's been through.

Darana's smirks, not even noticing Faye's collapse as she moves toward me. "Or what, Cassius? You'll kill me? We both know you don't have it in you. You're too... detached."

She's wrong. For the first time in centuries, I'm feeling everything. The fear in Faye's eyes, the scent of her blood in the air, it's all fueling a fire inside me I thought had long since died out.

I take a step forward, my wings unfurling behind me. "You have no idea what I'm capable of, Darana."

She laughs, a high, manic sound that echoes off the cave walls. "Oh, but I do. I've seen you at your worst, remember? This little human has made you weak."

I glance at Faye, seeing the strength in her despite her situation. No, not weak. She's made me feel alive again.

"Last chance, Darana. Step away from her."

Instead, she produces a wicked-looking knife, pressing it against Faye's throat. "I don't think so. You see, I've realized something. If I can't have you, no one can. Especially not some pathetic human."

The sight of that blade against Faye's skin snaps something inside me. In a blur of motion, I'm across the cave, my hand around Darana's throat. I lift her off the ground, my grip tightening.

"You're right, Darana. You don't know what I'm capable of anymore." I lean in close, my voice a deadly whisper. "Because I've changed. And you're about to find out just how much."

I tighten my grip on Darana's throat, feeling her pulse race beneath my fingers. With a snarl, I hurl her across the cave. She slams into the wall with a sickening thud, but I'm on her before she can recover.

"You fucked up, Darana," I growl, pinning her against the rough stone. "You really fucked up this time."

My whole body trembles with rage, a sensation so foreign and overwhelming that it nearly staggers me. But I don't fight it. For the first time in centuries, I let the emotion wash over me, through me.

"You think you know me?" I laugh, the sound harsh and bitter. "You don't know shit. You never did."

Darana struggles against my grip, her eyes wide with fear. Good. Let her be afraid.

"I've lived for centuries, Darana. I've been through the war. I've bathed in the blood of my enemies." I lean in close, my voice dropping to a deadly whisper. "And you thought you could take something that's mine?"

The possessiveness in my voice surprises me, but I don't dwell on it. There's a fire burning in my chest, fueled by fear for Faye and anger at Darana's audacity.

"I let you into my bed, Darana, not my life. You were a distraction, nothing more." My words are cruel, but I don't care. She needs to understand. "But Faye? She's different. She makes me feel again."

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