Page 11 of Madness Behind the Mask
I wanted her death to be quick, a shot to the head she didn’t even feel, but I know now there is no breaking this cycle of revenge, this two thousand year war that was triggered by her Family’s greed to own the portal. There can only be death and suffering, and Sau will know both those things tonight.
My maw dripping with the blood of my family, I drop to my hands and knees as my body tears itself back into the shape of a man. My sensesdwindle, still sharper than a human’s but nowhere near that of a shifted werewolf. The smell of death isn’t so strong, therichcopper taste of blood no longer overwhelming. My ability to see through the dark fades until I am forced to walk towards Sau to see her clearly.
I stop in front of her, heaving through all my pain.
She stares up at me with a child’s fear, a knowing that lacks true comprehension of what horrors might befall her. Her imagination is limited by experience. Mine has been crafted by all the torture I have seen, the bodies I’ve consumed after they’ve been butchered by the witches and vampires.
I’ve seen skinned pups whose pelts were used to make jackets, bodies emptied of all their organs so they can be used in spells that kill more of our kind. I have witnessed grownwerewolves being bled dry by a horde of vampires, unable to save them due to the vast quantity of enemies. Like a pack of hyenas against amalelion,outnumbering ustwenty to one.
And then there are the werewolves that were made into examples, into warnings when we ventured too close to their business or killed someone too dear to the leaders. What was done to their bodies made them impossible to consume, their spirits forever lost to us.
Sau will be my message to the Shadow Domain.
I am coming for you all.
Slamming my hand into the spike, Ihammer it deeper into her palms. She screams, throwing her head against the tree as her green eyes roll back, flashing white.
The pain shudders through her, convulsing her limbs, and my stomach twists at the sight of it. I never wanted to join the witches and vampires in their madness, never wanted to continue this pointless war. I killed the previous alpha in an attempt to lead us into peace.
Yet, here I am causing pain for the sake of pain.
My hand stills in the air, ready for the next blow as I look at her.
At the realher.
Not Sau fucking Shadow.
Not Delun’s daughter.
Not an enemy to my people.
Justher.
A little girl in a wedding dress, forced into a life she can’t truly comprehend.
She’s a breeder.
A tool to create more soldiers.
Brainwashed into hating every werewolf, into wanting to kill us for reasons she doesn’t understand.
Her life is not her own.
Standing here in front of her, naked in every sense of the word, I hesitate even as my pack howls for retribution. Her screams shift into whimpers as she shakes with her arms above her.
“Go ahead and kill me,” she hisses, but the words are shaky and weak. “I will die with pride over having killed that bitch and her pups.”
My eyes close briefly as the sorrow wraps me fully in its arms. Then my eyes snap open, and I hammer the spike all the way into the tree.
Her screams grind against the hairs on my arms and neck, but I no longer hesitate. No longer give her the benefit of the doubt about just being some victim to this madness like me.
Gripping her wrists with one hand, I yank them down hard, tearingthe spike through the rest of her flesh until her hands split down the middle. Two fingers fall uselessly to both sides, afountain of red spurting through the Vs I have just given her.
Jerking her up by her arms, I slam her against the tree; my other hand wrapsaroundher throat. Her scream shifts into a sharp gasp as her eyes widen, then fades completely as I squeeze her neck.
“Her name was Siome.” I lean forward, my face almost touching hers. “And her pups weremypups.”
Her legs kick as I choke her. Her face goes red, then blue. I want it to go still, but death this way will be too quick, a mercy she doesn’t deserve.
