Page 1 of Wrath

ONE

Z

Blood.

Blood everywhere.

On my skin. My hands. My cheeks. My clothing.

Bones crunched and snapped beneath my feet as I ventured farther down the hall of the opulent mansion.

How did I end up here?

That question rattled around in my brain—bouncing around like a thrown ball —as I forced myself to take one more step. And then another. And then another.

Dark red liquid, almost resembling paint, cascaded down the white walls on either side of me. The repetitivedrip, drip, dripprovided an eerie metronome in tandem with my movements.

Drip. One step.

Drip. Another step.

Drip. A third step.

My heart thundered in my chest as I reached the very end of the hall, where a door stood slightly ajar.

Every alarm bell in my head rang simultaneously, warning me not to enter this room.

Go away.

Turn back.

Retreat. Retreat. Retreat.

Yet my body refused to obey my brain. I reached forward and pushed the door open the rest of the way. It creaked ominously, the noise almost deafening in the sudden silence that pervaded the space.

A cold wind tiptoed up the nape of my neck as I stepped into the room.

I gasped audibly, my legs threatening to give out from underneath me. I placed a hand against the wall to keep myself upright.

No. No. No!

My mates—my sweet, perfect mates—were dead.

A scorching, burning scream ripped from my throat as I surveyed the destruction.

Devlin, with an arrow through his skull.

Killian, lying in a puddle of his own blood, his eyes vacant.

Dair, all of his limbs missing.

Jax, his eyes gouged out of his head.

Lupe, a sword protruding from the center of his chest.

Ryland, his head disconnected from his body.

Bash, reduced to nothing but a charred husk, the smell of burnt flesh permeating the room.