Toke's POV
"No."
"Yes."
"Why now?"
"Why not?
Fury had been quiet for quite some time now, but at least I wasn't alone. At first, it felt wrong, like I was switching him out. But then again, I'm not the one that left or asked him to leave. He just disappeared one day. I've already been on edge for some time now; everything is wrong. Everything turns out wrong!
But the idea, as I imagine it, is always the only solution. The only way it could possibly work, and I now knew she was the reason it didn't work out. She was an outsider and didn't belong here, so she ruined the balance. It didn't feel right at first, but he was right. We had done everything right all along. Saved her, protected her, and even made the ultimate sacrifice. That is probably the reason Fury decided to take a break. Losing the Alpha title was hard on him.
"He is selfish; it was hard on you too! But we did what was necessary!"
"Yeah, I know! Then why did he vanish?"
"Because he wasn't strong enough. Not strong and determined like you"
I nodded slowly as the raspy dark voice filled my mind; we needed to be strong. For her. For our mate. She was only human and female; after all, it was our duty to protect her. The Alpha title would mean nothing if we lost her. So, I did what we needed to do. Those barbarians can't just take her away!
"I know those savages! Horrible and dishonest people!"
"I know! I even told her. They are dangerous, and they would have ruined her beyond repair."
I felt sick at the mere thought.
I loved her, of course, I did, but why did she have to make it so hard? Instead of working with us as a mate should, she worked against us!
"It is because she is raised wrong. She needs our help!"
"Yes, that must be it! She was raised human, not a shifter. But we can teach her!"
"Yes, when we mark her, it will be easier."
"Well, that didn't work!"
I scoffed, the pain still rushing through me as I thought about it. The feel of her blood on my tongue and the rushed sensation stretching towards me, the connection was so close! So incredibly close I could still feel it and taste it. Then it was gone, ripped away from right under my nose like anyone had the right to interrupt two mates! To ruin a destined bond!
The consequences for interfering between chosen mates and mates, in general, are severe, to do so when the bond is gifted by the goddess herself. I would never believe it if I didn't see it myself and by the men, I thought of as friends for so many years.
"He will pay his price, but we need him a little longer."
The voice hissed in annoyance, and I felt the same. Disappointed and angry. Hades had broken my trust, thrown whatever was left of our friendship down to the burning grounds of the underworld.
"Never trust anyone but us! He is a cursed soul, after all! Half of him belongs in the death realm."
I nodded in agreement. I should never have trusted him, and I'm never going to trust him again. He was a tool for me from now on. The man that taught me the importance of loyalty and trust.
"He is probably the one to have Fury to."
"Yes!"
Anger boiled beneath my skin. I knew of his unique gifts, but who is to say he had ever spoken the truth about that? There is no doubt he would be able to pull a soul out if he wanted. His mother was a spiteful creature. Selfish and evil, and so is he. It is only natural; why didn't I see that before?
"Because you were blinded! Your father made sure you stayed blind, and your mother made sure the pack stayed the same. "
"Why would they be so stupid? Don't they see how dangerous that is!"
"Of course, but who do you think they were able to create the portal? Nobody else can. Only the Vikings pack; they made the deal nobody else wanted. Greed and deception."
He growled, and I could feel his being boiling inside me as our anger joined.
"But we are locked up. We need to wait."
"No, it must be tonight."
"Why?"
"Hades is using his powers tonight, calling forward a beast for her. Dangerous and thoughtless, but he will claim her for himself!"
I jumped up, and shock and hatred exploded inside my chest.
"What?!"
"Why else would he call forward a beast for her? With his death arura, she will die if he marks her as human. He will steal our mate! It needs to be tonight!"
"What about Arcane?"
" He is as bad as Hades! He fills her head with lies, but not as dangerous. We can make them kill each other! "
"I want to make sure Hades suffers myself!"
"No! Stay away from him! Death I soaked in his soul, dark and unpredictable. "
"I can take him!"
"Yes, but he will leave you ruined. If your soul is gone, will she stay? Without a soul, your mark will be useless!"
My shoulders slumped; again, He was right. As the days had passed and Fury's betrayal faded, I got used to this voice. I also began to Wonder why we didn't match from the beginning. He was cold and calculated, not evil, but did what had to be done! Like a true leader, just as I was supposed to be all along!
"She won't go with us willingly."
I still remember how she looked at me the last time I saw her. How she seemed so far away from me, and with the situation at hand, it would be impossible to get away with her kicking and screaming.
"she will. Remember, we know what happened to her mother. She will hate everything about the barbarians when she finds out!"
His rumbling, wicked laughter echoed in my head, and I could feel the grin grow on my cold face. Since he joined me, I felt colder and calmer but warmer and stronger as rage filled me. The sensation was addictive, calm as the sea when needed, but raging and wild when raw muscle power was needed.
"How do you think she will react when she learns how her mother ran for her life? That the only man that was willing to help her was the Alpha of the Vikings pack, her true mate, Your father? "
"What if she blames him? You saw how she reacted when I did what was needed to save her?"
A moment of doubt surged through me, but he quickly pushed it away.
" Because not only did he save her. Help her home; he saved her. Made sure she did not end up on a bargaining chip! She ran to save her daughter from being forcibly mated to dragons. Beasts that feast on human flesh use their women as breeding objects. She would have been locked up for the rest of her life and died in a dark dungeon. "
"Yes, but he is also the reason she lost her mind. He never told anyone she was his fated mate; I didn't even know before you showed me. He was already marked and mated, but he could not keep his hands off her. His personal gift from the moon goddess, the one perfectly created for him. Losing her mate was already hard on her, and her body was as depressed as her mind. But then, her destined one, used her, lied to her, then sent her home after she believed he would join her. He broke the bond without rejecting her because he didn't have it in him."
"She doesn't know this part; nobody but us knows this besides them. Breaking a bond like that, it shatters the soul, sends wolves over the edge, and makes them feral. As a human, she was weaker; her body and mind were destined to break."
He paused, letting his words sink in with the images from his memories. Images of my dad as a young adult in a loving embrace with a beautiful young woman with long wavy hair. Lost in each other's gaze, their smiles could warm even an iced heart. The next moment she was crying, screaming, and begging before she was shown through the portal by his men. He didn't even flinch; it had been a necessary scarifies to protect the pack and the mate he had chosen from the hunt, my mother. The Luna everyone already loved. There was no place for Eir's mother, destined mates or not.
"Let Hades give her a beast; we need our mate strong. It will also make our mate mark stronger. Destined, blessed by the goddess, mated, and marked. Even spending too much time away from us will make her sick. She will be our for eternity. Find her after the ritual, they will all be drained, and we will show her what we know."