Page 14 of Madness Behind the Mask
Howls ring out all around me as the rest of the wolves realize Vance is gone. Circling, I address them all, my body shaking with the force of my emotions. “There will be no more talks of peace,” I hiss. “If anyone is against that, leave now.”
I still, waiting for someone to make a move, but no one does. Even the women who left earlier,who’ve since come back, stand strong with the rest.
My people.
My Family.
The only one I have now.
Opening myself up to all the rage, I snap out orders to reinforce our borders. As everyone scatters in groups to doas commanded, I turn back to Vance’s body.
There’s too much of a risk to consume it.The poison might still be potent.His spirit will be lost to us forever, unable to join us in this fight.
I kneel beside him, look into his eyes one last time, and then close them to give him a false semblance of peace.
“I will kill them all, Vance,” I vow.
Andamong their scattered corpses,Iwillget my alone time with Sau.
PARTTWO:
ALOVING SPOUSE
Five
CADEN
31November1908
Twelve years ago…
“She’s going to be yours one day, Caden.”
I can barely hear my father’s words over the wailing baby. He stands beside her crib on the opposite side of it to Delun Shadow, who doesn’t smile, his gaze hard on mine.
The man is intimidating, his dark-brown eyes nearly black. It doesn’t help that all the stories I have heard of Delun have either ended in a gruesome death or the person wishing for it. He’s the Boss of the Shadow Domain, and he has been wanting us to join his Family for years, but Father wants it to be on equal footing rather than just as disposable soldiers. Our family is rich, and we’re just as infamous as them up in New York, but we’re still not in the same league as the Shadows. We need a bargaining chip to join their table, and that chip is me.
It is rare enough for a witch to have natural talent in telepathy, telekinesis, or astral projection, but I am a witch prodigy, gifted in long range telekinesis. With her genetic shadow magic, our children will be a new generation of unstoppable...if she lives long enough to bearthem.
Without them, my family can’t take over the Shadow Domain. The Boss can only ever be a Shadow or a father ofone, so our alliance banks on her surviving the next ten or so years.
I’ll be twenty-three then… That seems like a long –
“Caden,” Father says, a tightness around his words. My eyes snap to him as adrenaline floods my body, expecting a slap or some other form of discipline. But he just smiles at me, which makes me feel more on edge.
“Yes, Father?” I ask over the baby’s wails.
“Come see her.”
“She’s crying.”
“She’s a baby. She won’t cry forever.”
I glance at Delun and suck in a breath as I slowly take a step forward. The dark wood of the crib seems ominous in a way I can’t explain. Almost like dark clouds rolling in the distance. A crack of thunder sounds in the depths of my mind as my hairs stand onend.
But I don’t stop walking, don’t dare ignore my father’s orders and Delun’s clear expectancy.The Shadows are in the middle ofawar, and heneeds our magic to win it.He would not be pleased if I refused this agreement…not that I really have a choice in the matter.
Father told me very clearly that if I refused, he would killMyersandDermont, my two younger brothers. They aren’t as gifted as I, aren’t as valuable, and he knows I love them. Will do anything for them.
