Page 121 of Vengeful Mates

She lifted him to a seated position, rubbing his back. “Fuck, Colton, I thought I lost you.”

The coldness in his eyes made her crawl backward. This wasn’t Colton. He sparked with an ancient power. Anubis. Protector of the Dead.

The answer clicked in me, and I let go of her wrist with a gasp.

Slade sucked down on a cigarette. Fucking asshole took time for a cigarette while our mate was in peril. I must have been gone for a few minutes.

“What did you see?” Slade blew out a lungful of air and shared his smoke with Faline, who gratefully inhaled it.

I pressed my hands to her ears and killed her hearing, so she didn’t know what I discovered and alerted Colton I was onto him. “The prick used his power to fucking trick us.”

Tears ruined Faline’s mascara and stained her cheeks black. Colton loved another before her. Two fucking mates at the same time. One he tried to save and failed. When she brought him back from the dead, he changed. Closed himself off to her. Rejected her. Smashed her heart to smithereens. Scorned and bitter, Faline seized his casino out of revenge, and wanted the prick dead.

“And? How do we beat him? Slade’s impatience scaled by the second.

Time to give him a history lesson.

CHAPTER40

Slade

Trigger warning:squeamish content

“Anubis isthe Protector of the Dead.” Information I heard several times now.

Zethan’s eyes were a tempest of anguish, and I kept my mouth shut and let him explain. He told us about what went down between Faline and Colton at the party of one of her father’s business associates. How Colton attempted to rescue his mate.

“Colton died for three minutes.” Zethan’s voice came out lifeless. “Not enough to cross over, but enough to be classified dead. It gave him a new ability to hide from me every time I searched for him.”

A trail of cold sweat trickled down my spine. “Can you find him now?”

“I don’t need to.” Zethan’s heavy gaze fell to Faline, and I felt the pulse of death magick go out to Colton, letting him know we had her.

A shadow of a smile etched into my face. Colton stole my woman, my future, my kids, my life, and everything I ever wanted. Now, I took that from him, and the cunt would pay.

“Can we beat him?” The question every general needed to know.

Adrenaline injected into my blood, fire fueling my battle.

“I think so,” Zethan replied. “We exploit the limit of his power.”

Avatars and gods always had restrictions on their magick to prevent one god from amassing too much power, destroying many and unbalancing the Maat. Ra never made his creations with that much power.

My breath caught waiting for his next reply.

“Colton can protect himself from onslaught for the length of time he died.” Fury pumped into my muscles with every word from my enforcer.

Understanding dawned in Castor’s dark gaze and lit the fires of war in my chest.

“We distract the prick. Pound him with magick. Talk shit. Trade insults. Swing our dicks. Anything for three minutes.” Zethan lifted three fingers. “Then we kill him.”

Exactly what I wanted to hear. Weaknesses gave me hope of a fighting chance. We just had to wait him out. Three fucking minutes was a long fucking time in a war. Time like that could mean life or death. Still, it began to dissolve the thick sludge of worry and grief in my gut. Wewouldget our woman and children back.

Tears tracked down Faline’s cheeks, leaving streaks of black devastation. Zethan diving into her memories brought back pain she wanted to forget. The sight of a woman crying always blew my hostility to smithereens. Empathizing with her pain, I bent down beside her and cupped her face. Glistening hot droplets dripped onto my skin. I understood now why she protected her cunt of a mate.

“Let her hear,” I ordered Zethan, and he released the spell on her ears.

Faline blinked at her restored sense.

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