Page 214 of The Delta's Rogue
Selene’s demeanor changes faster than Lyall’s bolts of lightning shot through the air. One moment she’s empathetic, crying along with us at the losses we’ll never recover from, and the next she’s cold and angry.
She snaps her attention to where Brenna keeps Lyall trapped in his mind. He slumps on the ground, panting and crying. His hands wave in front of him in a weak protest.
Sarina and I move with Selene, staying one step behind her as she prowls towards him. Now that we’re closer and his fit is less frenzied, we can see him better.
A large scar mars the front of his throat as if a piece of flesh was torn out and put back in. His face is long, his chin pointed, and his nose is too small for his face. His skin is pale, his eyes a lifeless green, and his hair a flat color reminiscent of dust layering atop unused furniture. He’s plain and unremarkable. Aside from the scar on his neck, he could be any random werewolf.
“Is this him?” Sarina asks Selene.
“It is,” she snarls. “This is the male who killed my daughter.”
At the sound of Selene’s voice, Lyall’s eyes widen and dart around. Still held captive by the vision Brenna implants in his mind, he can’t see Selene, but he definitely recognizes her voice.
I smirk in satisfaction as the fear deepens in his sightless eyes, brought on by the tone with which Selene speaks. Her malice isn’t directed towards me, but my lycan cowers in my mind.
“Release him from his nightmare,” Selene instructs Brenna. “Leave him in darkness while I speak to him.”
As quickly as Lyall displayed his fear, it disappears. “You can’t make me do anything or confess anything. You have no power over me.”
“You’re right,” Selene admits, lifting her hands. “But I only want to know one truth.”
Her gaze sweeps over the grounds, taking in the damage wrought on the pack and the land. She assesses the injured werewolves making their way to the hospital and thedead witches being carried to the cells. Her eyes linger on the spots where we lost those important to us.
Dominic. My dad.
“Was all of this—the kidnapping, the trafficking, the pain and suffering you caused my warriors… Was all of it really so you could have a wolf again?” she asks.
“And a mate, yes.” Lyall’s lip curls.
His admission makes Brenna shiver and elicits a growl from my fierce, vengeful mate.
“My benefactor promised me both once he felt I’d sufficiently harmed you. This attack was to be my coup de grâce,” Lyall says.
Selene’s head slants to the side, so like a wolf that I almost snort with laughter. “Surely you know I am the only deity who can make you a werewolf again.”
Lyall’s face falls, his smirk wiped from existence. “But he said— He promised—”
“‘He’ likely said whatever he thought you wanted to hear to get you to do his dirty work.”
The realization of what Selene implies about the god who tricked him hits Lyall like a tidal wave of the coldest water.
Selene isn’t paying attention to him. She scans the now silent battlefield once more before catching Sarina’s eye. Sarina nods, and I squeeze her hand, giving her a boost of love and strength through the bond.
“I will offer you a new deal, Lyall,” Selene says. “I will give you a new wolf.Ifyou promise to leave my werewolves and lycans alone for the rest of your life.”
Lyall frowns. “I’m a demigod. The rest of my life is a very long time.”
“Those are my terms.”
“And a mate bond? With the witch?”
Brenna gasps and shakes her head. Selene considers Lyall’s request with pursed lips.
“Yes,” Selene agrees with a sharp nod. “I will grant you a mate bond with the witch.”
Lyall’s acceptance and Brenna’s protest intersect.
“Deal.”
