Beta Roanoke Curzon limped away from the altar as his crutch clicked against the stone like a clock counting down to ruin.
The feast sprawled before him in gold plates piled high with roasted meats, goblets overflowing with wine. The pack celebrated, oblivious.
"Let them gorge. Let them laugh." He took a crystal goblet from a passing servant and filled it to the brim with wine as dark as spilled blood
He settled into the high backed chair with a contented sigh and raised his goblet in a mocking toast. "To family," he whispered
He had sunk into a chair at the very back, where the shadows clung thickest, and took slow sips of the wine.
His eyes never left Kieran.
The Blackmoon Alpha stood frozen at the altar, still clutching that damned mirror. His knuckles were white, his face ashen, all colours and joy robbed.
"Good." Roanoke smirked into his cup. "Let him see more of what I saw once. Let her mate suffer like I suffered once. He must pay the price for getting a mate like you, Autumn! Bitch!"
Across the square, Kieran suddenly snarled and hurled the mirror to the ground. It shattered...but then it reformed in midair, hovering just beyond his grasp.
Karl’s laughter slithered from the glass. "You can’t break fate, brother. Only bend to it."
Kieran lunged again, swiping at the mirror like a man possessed. The crowd around him murmured, confused, but their eyes slid past the spectacle as if blind.
Kieran dropped to his knees. Whispering to the mirror. Begging it to show her again.
Roanoke drained the goblet and poured another.
None of the others noticed. They could not see Kieran’s suffering. Whatever spell had been woven into that heirloom, it was meant for one soul only. A private purgatory.
"Magic," Roanoke thought, savoring the tang of iron on his tongue. "Beautiful, ugly magic." Roanoke’s thoughts were cut short as a hand dropped onto his shoulder.
It literally clamped down on his shoulder.
But Roanoke did not flinch. He had been expecting this. "Alpha Velor," he said, not bothering to turn. "I expected you would slither in eventually."
"Congratulations, new father-in-law," Alpha Velor purred, bending low so his minty breath brushed Roanoke’s ear. "I see you are thoroughly enjoying your eldest daughter’s heartbreak.Tst! Tst! Poor thing! "
Roanoke’s grip tightened on his crutch! "That bastard girl is no daughter of mine. Had it not been for her mother...I would have chopped her up into pieces and fed her to the crows...that’s what she deserves...that’s what she deserves for..." The rest of it Beta Roanoke drank up with the wine.
Alpha Velor forced a chuckle." I see you are still having a hard time coping with your past. You loved your wife too much... I can see that. But love never helped a man win any wars!Quit being so sentimental, old man. "
Roanoke let out a scoff! "Sentimentality is for weaker men, Velor. I prefer results."
Velor’s fingers dug in, nails sharp enough to draw blood...too harsh for a tease. "You are not happy with this?What do you call this if not results?" He gestured to Kieran, now on his knees, clawing at the mirror as it showed him flashes of Autumn...broken, bleeding, begging... while his pack feasted oblivious to his misery.
Roanoke’s grin widened. "Justice."
Velor snorted. "Justice? Or vengeance?"
"Same thing." Roanoke took another sip, watching as Kieran’s reflection in the mirror changed...his eyes bleeding black, his mouth twisting into something feral.
"There it is. The curse taking a deeper root."
Velor leaned closer."You really hate her that much? Your own flesh and blood? Touching, really."
He turned slowly, wine forgotten, and spat, " I have made it very clear that I hate her. You will stop bringing her up to get to me or else..."
Roanoke’s composure cracked. " Our deal is over!" he spat, wine sloshing over his fingers. " Her birth took everything away from me... everything I held dear... "
The words tore out of him like poison from a wound.
Velor’s smirk did not waver. "Funny. Because I never heard your entire story...I worked my shit off for you and this is what it gets me? You don’t even trust me enough to tell me why you hate your daughter so much...I have never seen so much hatred shimmering in a family...let alone a father..."
Roanoke’s crutch cracked against the table. "ROANOKE!DROP IT! We are so close to achieving our goals. "
" Your goals, Beta! Oh, wait a minute! Your Alpha is gone... soon your pack will merge! Should I still call you Beta? Nah!!! Curzon sounds good! "
Roanoke let out a crumbled growl.
The nearest revelers startled, glancing over. Roanoke forced himself to breathe, to smooth his snarl into something resembling a smile.
Velor merely arched a brow. " Alright! Alright! Tell me something! Let’s talk about Lyla! You claim to apparently love her! "
Roanoke gritted through his teeth.
Alpha Velor pointed at the Lyla still standing on the altar, eyes vacant, staring at the horizon. "Tell me who wants a fate like that for someone they claim to love? "
Roanoke’s pulse roared in his ears."He knows too much. Pathetic moron! He thinks he has an upper hand? Just wait for your turn,idiot! "
But before he could retort, a scream ripped through the celebration.
The Alpha was on his feet now, the mirror clutched in both hands, his eyes wild. "WHERE IS SHE?" he bellowed. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?"
The mirror’s surface swirled, showing Autumn again...this time standing in a circle of fire, her hands raised, her voice chanting words that made the air shiver.
Roanoke’s blood went cold.
"No. No, no, no... this is impossible.She is calling them?" He whispered, standing up.
Roanoke did not move. He was too busy staring at the thing emerging from the flames behind Autumn...a skeletal hand, wreathed in smoke, curling around her throat.
And she was letting it.
"Foolish girl," Roanoke hissed. "She will get herself killed."
Velor laughed." I thought you hated her! "
The mirror shattered...truly shattered...this time in Kieran’s hands. Glass rained down.