"How do you sign a deal you can't even read, you idiot? Are youa Selenia, a descendant of my royal bloodline?" Zarek mocked him, tightening his grip around Merkall's throat, the blood already seeping down his strong arm and dripping onto the floor.
"What a shame you can't kill me and truly claim ownership of the castle and the army.
Tsk, tsk...
Should I have your daughter executed by the very man who was once your enemy?" "T dont think so..." Merkall suddenly laughed, while behind Zarek, two hands rose, clutching a sharp dagger ready to strike.
Merkall was hurled forcefully into a corner of the balcony, and below, the excited commotion of the undead creatures grew louder once more.
Zarek turned swiftly, and the daggers tip landed right against his heart, just above his shirt.
"Tell me, Celine, what choice will you make? Will you kill me, or will you finally accept me as your mate in your heart?" His voice was cold, harsher than ever before.
Celines trembling hands gripped the daggers hilt tightly, every fiber of her being screaming in resistance.
She bit her lips until they bled, and tears rolled down her cheeks; the internal battle raging within her was undeniable.
"KILL HIM! I COMMAND YOU, YOU DAMN HYBRID! FINISH OFF THAT BASTARD!" ---- Merkall screamed, consumed by hatred and fury at having been deceived and outplayed.
He had to regain control somehowwithout the puppeteer, the puppets would fall, and those monsters wouldn't be able to harm his daughter.
"Stop me...
Ibeg you, stop me!" Celine could barely hold back the compulsion surging in her mind.
She fought against it as the dagger's tip pressed into Zareks skin, and yet he merely watched her, making no move to defend himself.
"ZAREK, DO SOMETHING, DAMN IT!" "Do it yourself! Stop repressing yourself, Celine.
No one is imprisoning your will here; you're the one keeping your powers locked away.
Let them out! Let my other mate come forth!" Zarek's voice roared through the chamber, and for amoment, time seemed to stand still.
Celine made the terrifying decision to break through the thorny barrier of pain and roses within the depths of her mind.
She had met her wolf at eighteen, but this other being had always been thereprotecting her, watching over herbut she had hated it.
She loathed it because it was a reminder of the bastard father who had cursed her with this bloodline.
Behind that wall of pain, which she had built herself, was the other half of her soulthe powerful being that had longed to be set free.
She and her wolf had repressed it mercilessly.
"AAAHHHH!"" Her scream tore through the air as the barriers shattered, her mind spot.
As his body was seized and swallowed into the depths of the earth, becoming a part of the very castle itself, Merkall still couldn't grasp the truthno one fully owns their fate, and he had merely done what was always destined.
sek Camilla raced through the labyrinthine corridors of the castle, the sound of her boots echoing off the ancient stone walls.
She knew the way through Celines memories, and the pull of her beloved's blood called to her soul.
Her heart recognized him as her mate; she would never be confused like Celinethis was her man.
She arrived in front of the heavy wooden door and shoved it open without hesitation.
Her crimson pupils narrowed as she saw her prince, clad in tattered rags hanging from his hips, sitting on the floor with his arms resting over his bent knees.
Suddenly, he lifted his head, his dark hair falling over his shoulders, and gazed at her through the darknessfull of love.
She was his light, the brightest and most beautiful thing in his world.
"T've been waiting for you, my love...
I've been waiting for you for far too many centuries."" ---- breaking apart and rebuilding itselfstronger, sharper, crueler, and more resolute.
Zareks eyes gleamed with satisfaction, sensing the change in his mates aura.
The wild essence of roses that had always driven him mad now turned bloodier and more primal, sending shivers of anticipation through him.
Celine's hair lengthened, streaked with golden highlights like the sun.
Her canines sharpened into deadly fangs, grazing against her parted crimson lips, and her pupils glowed crimson at last.
"Camilla," Zarek rumbled, calling out the name of his vampiric mate.
She had whispered it to him once in secret, through the bars of his prison, without Celines knowledge.
The enchanting embodiment of Celine's vampire half smiled seductively, bringing the dagger's tip to her lips and licking the blood from her mates chest.
Zarek gazed at her, entranced, the fire of desire roaring in his veins as he leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to the back of her hand, like a devoted servant.
When he straightened, Camillas predatory gaze locked onto the rat cowering in the corner.
"Hes a gift for you, my love," Zarek said sinisterly.
In an instant, Merkall saw the shadow of death closing in on him.
He couldnt even track her movement with his eyes.
The woman he thought he controlled lowered the dagger, leaning over him without mercy, and began driving it into his flesh again and again.
---- In Zarek's domain, he no longer controlled Celineshe had been a prisoner of her own fears and demons.
Blood splattered onto the stone, and Merkall's agonized screams echoed through the cemetery grounds, driving the creatures below into a frenzy.
He struggled one last time to summon his magic, to activate his teleportation artifact, but nothing worked; he was completely blocked.
Through his agony, he could only watch in horror as the murderous woman above him, seemingly someone else entirely, reveled in his blood, mutilating him piece by piece.
Suddenly, a pair of hands wrapped around Camillas bloodied ones, anda strong body loomed over her, whispering into her ear.
"Not the heart, my love, not yet.
That would be too easy for this bastard who tortured our Celine.
Leave him to me.
Later, Ill show you a puppet show you'll love." Merkalls terrified eyes darted between the two of them, watching in horror as they calmly plotted his torture like they were discussing the weather, smiling at each other, full of wicked delight.
They were monsters, abominationsand he finally realized he had willingly walked into their lair.
That's why the Goddess had imprisoned him, and he had been such a fool to think he could control the uncontrollable.
As his body was hurled through the air toward the pack waiting below, tears of blood streamed from Merkalls eyes.
Perhaps that prophecy had been meant to save his life, warning him that if he ever found the woman with the crimson seed on the inside of her thigh, he should either flee a thousand leagues away or kill her on the