Page 142 of Alpha Power

Hurt flashed in Margaret's eyes but she tried not to let it affect her. She couldn't afford for Barnabas to see her true feelings. If he did, he'd win. Instantly.

Barnabas arched an eyebrow, a flicker of surprise on his face. He smiled smugly. "I guess there's no reason to keep them alive then, is there?"

With his free hand he curled his fingers around the gold necklace hanging from his neck and yanked hard, breaking the clasp. The beautiful piece of jewellery immediately caught her attention.

Embedded deeply in the centre of an intricately designed gold pendant shone a bright white jewel, filled with ancient, powerful magic. It called to her like a siren at sea, luring men to their deaths with just a look, enticing them with her wiles and beauty.

That's how she felt. Ensnared. Completely. She couldn't explain it. Couldn't explain why she sensed a connection to whatever magic was intertwined into that necklace. To a simple trinket she'd never laid eyes on before today. It was as if it was a part of her soul. Meant for her. Her fingers itched to touch it. To feel all that power.

Barnabas wrapped the gold chains around his hand and clenched his fist so the pendant laid flat against his knuckles. Locking eyes with her, a sick, sadistic smile slowly graced his lips and her stomach dropped.

Whatever that look meant, it wasn't good.

Gripping Roman's shoulder tightly so he couldn't move an inch, Barnabas pressed the white jewel to Roman's temple, flush against his bare skin.

Roman roared in excruciating pain, his mouth ripping open in an ear-splitting scream despite the silver chains wrapped around his head.

Electricity sparked, and power surged high in the air, making the hair on the back of her neck stand up and fear course through her body.

Scorched flesh wafted to her nose and she stared in horror as Roman's face began to burn away, white lightning slowly incinerating his face. It spread out like roots growing in the ground, destroying everything in its path. Everything it touched right before her eyes. His features disintegrated, his hair, ear, cheek, skull, eye, inch by inch all crumbling away like ash and leaving nothing behind.

He screamed and screamed, the agony in his deep cry wrenching her soul and splitting her heart in two. His body shook violently, his legs flailing out from his body, but Barnabas held onto his shoulder tight, keeping the jewel pressed to his head.

"Stop! Stop it, now!" She roared, disbelief taking over her mind.

How was this possible? Even silver - one of the vampire's biggest weaknesses - didn't have such a devastating effect. Didn't cause damage like that, burning bones away into nothing. Skin, yes. But bones? It was something she'd never encountered before. She'd never seen anything burn through bone like that.

Barnabas just smiled and continued as if she hadn't even spoken, Roman's pain-stricken cry echoing all around them. That sick, twisted smile on his face clearly showed how much he was enjoying this, how much he enjoyed inflicting pain on others.

Nearly half of Roman's face was now gone, the powerful white lightning spreading further and further over him, travelling down his neck and scorching everything it touched. His body sagged and he went deathly quiet.

Panic quickly took over. "Stop it! I'll go with you! Just stop hurting him! I'll go!"

For a few more seconds, though to Zamorra it felt more like hours, Barnabas held on and then finally he moved his hand away, the pendant breaking contact from Roman's crumbling skull. Only half of the vampire's face remained, a jagged, uneven line of burnt bleeding flesh running down the centre of his face.

Barnabas retracted his curved claws from Roman's shoulder. With a painful groan, Roman swayed and collapsed face first on the ground, blood slowly pooling outwards and forming a giant puddle around him.

Zamorra scurried forward on her hands and knees, splashing through his thick, red blood and coming to a stop right next to his broken body.

Her hand trembled as she slowly reached for him, terrified one more touch would cause him more pain. "Roman?" She whimpered, lightly touching one of his bulky fingers, tears rolling down her cheek.

His hand twitched and a weak groan fluttered from what was left of his mouth.

"Oh, thank fuck," Zamorra breathed in relief.

She brought her wrist to her mouth and tore into her flesh with her blunt human teeth. Blood dribbled down her forearm and she turned Roman's head making him groan again in pain.

"I'm sorry," she cried.

Droplets of her blood fell into his mouth and a fang burst from his gum, his tongue flapping violently in search for the source of the blood. It would take more than what she could provide to heal him, but she knew any amount at all would help him right now.

She squeezed her wrist tighter, trying to push as much of her blood out as she could before the skin healed over and closed the wounds.

"You may have the savagery of an Alpha, but that heart? Soft. Weak, like your mother's," Barnabas said, his nose scrunching up in disgust. He moved to leave the room. "Come. Now. Before the rest of your friends suffer because of your poor choices." He looked beyond her, connecting eyes with Gideon. "Bring the vampire, in case we need to keep her in line."

Gideon nodded and wretched Roman's unconscious body off the floor, flinging him over his shoulder. A trail of blood followed behind him as he marched back to Barnabas' side.

"Move now, youngin. I will not ask again," Barnabas thundered, tucking the gold necklace into his pocket.

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