To them it’s the sound of my defeat, to me it’s the beat of my war drum. This is the beginning of their end. Either they’ll die or I’ll die trying. I can imagine it now, my mate at my side, striding through the fight with blood covering her as she tears them to pieces. The very person they took, locked up and thought to use, bringing them to their knees. They will kneel before us, before her, see her strength and what real power looks like...and real loyalty.
I can feel their glee, their absolute confidence they are too powerful to touch, but that’s the problem with being at the top, there is only one way to go—down.
“I am whatever you wish me to be,” I growl out, true anger in my tone, I can’t fake that.
They leave me like that, letting everyone see, allowing me to stew in my hatred, another game, another test. I pass it, I don’t move, I don’t lash out, I let them believe they have finally tamed me. Tamed the madness they created.
“You are on your knees, fallen, but I don’t know if we can trust you. You have been vocal in your disdain for the council and our people, your people. You are too mad, like a wild animal, how do we ensure you do not attack us, turn on us?” Amos challenges, always the smart one.
I raise my gaze, which is shimmering with the mist of my madness. “You don’t. Prove to your people how strong you are by controlling me. The mad fallen, the strongest of his kind under your orders, it will send them a message. It’s a chance to prove your powers and inspire fear and loyalty again.”
“Again?” Derrin repeats, narrowing his eyes.
“Our people are loyal!” Amos snaps, leaning forward. “They know of our great powers, that we lead them for their best future.”
“Do they?” I taunt bitterly, and my lips tip up in a mocking smirk as Amos’s eyes narrow on me. “You have me out there, among the sheep, doing whatever I want, and they see that. They think that makes you weak, that you can’t control your own servants.”
“He’s right,” Titus chimes in, and then covers a yawn.
“Put him in the barracks, have the other...experiments watch him. If he steps out of line, let them punish him, they hate him enough. We can use him like a lap dog. String him in chains in here for the next ball, let them see our fallen decoration, a mere toy for us, someone so powerful worshipping at our feet,” Gina adds, watching me with that same snake-like expression, ready to strike.
“Hmm, that does have its merits. Veyo, for now take him to the barracks, let the others keep a close eye on him. If he so much as looks at them wrong, they are allowed to punish him as they see fit,” Amos calls, and looks at me with an evil grin on his face. “You can be their whipping boy, fallen. Let’s see how that stubbornness keeps you alive now. Get used to being on your knees, you will be living like this now.”
I grit my teeth, not responding because I’ll say something that will blow my cover, until finally, they dismiss me. I get to my feet and follow Veyo from the room, his mocking laughter wrapping around me as he leads me through the servants’ corridor, out of the back of the mansion, and across the lawn to the barracks hidden behind a maze of flowers—they can’t have such hideous creatures and servants be seen, after all.
I prepare myself for what’s to come, this won’t be easy. They will use any excuse to hurt me, punish me, but I will endure it. For her. For her I would survive anything. I’m led through the flowers to the hidden building there. It looks like an army barracks with an assault course and a training area for the nephilim out back, it even has a gym building attached. Inside is a long room filled with beds where they sleep. They aren’t given rooms or possessions, just the essentials. They don’t need anything else as servants. It chafes against me, how everything is controlled. The nephilim have no life, they are just here for the council’s use.
Yet they don’t care, they covet the attention, proud of what they are and who they fight for. I wonder if they know the true depth of the corruption?
The door is yanked open. I would expect noise, rowdiness, laughing, and teasing since that’s what the sheep are like, but it’s deadly silent as we step through. They are here though, some sleeping, some cleaning, some reading...they are all just waiting. Like good little servants, they make no noise, waiting to be called to duty.
They turn my way when the door slams shut, every golden eye locking on me, and suddenly there’s an uproar as their anger...their hate is thrown my way. They slowly get to their feet and Veyo turns to me with a laugh. “Hope you are ready for a world of pain, fallen.”
“I was born into it,” I snap back, standing tall, Dawn’s face flashing in my mind.
You better be fucking ready for me, Vasculo, because I’m coming...if they don’t kill me first.
“Well?” I whisper, trailing my fingers across his chest, watching the muscles jump from my touch. I love how my mates react to me, how easy it is to tease them...to push them.
“I said on your knees, Draya,” he orders, as more and more of Dume peeks through even as his voice is still a bossy growl, which sends a shot of lust surging through me. I love his animal side.
Grinning, I drop to my knees, my head tilting back to watch him as I run my finger down his body to the chains that hold him. I want all of him and they are in the way. I want to see his human body, to touch him, taste him, and from the hunger on his face, so does he. He growls in frustration, tugging at the restraints.
Annoyed and still turned on from the vamp’s bites, I focus all my attention on those chains, and suddenly I know what to do. I wrap my hands around one and close my eyes, pushing all that power into it. I hear it crack and then it drops away from him. I turn, eyes still closed, and grip the other. It takes more power, but I feel it fall away finally and I blink open my eyes, a secret smile on my face. “Change, I want you,” I whisper hungrily.
“How did you—” He shakes his head, staring at the chains and then me as he seems to realise he can change back. He groans and does so, the fur and hooves sinking into his body as gold tinged skin appears, stretching across his huge frame. I find myself missing his bull, but when his hard cock smacks against his stomach, I lick my lips, distracted from it.
My eyes run across his body, noting the scars and mottled flesh that indicate he’s a warrior. He still wears the nose ring and the golden band on his arm, and his hair is wavy and cut short. He’s massive and imposing, and the sight of him standing over me in the dark, muscles bulging, and eyes filled with a hunger so strong it sends a current through me, has me rocking on my feet, seeking pressure.
He glances away for a moment. “I am scarred, Draya, not worthy of touching you, but—”
I snarl, reaching out and grasping his cock. He gasps, his eyes jerking to me, and I purposely keep my eyes on his as I lean forward and lick the head of his cock, making him moan, watching him watch me with hopeful eyes. Pulling away, I stroke him with my hands. “I say who is worthy of touching me, Dume, don’t ever think otherwise. Each scar shows me exactly how hard you fought to be here, to be at my side now. They show me the battles you won, how strong you really are, and I can’t wait to have all that power and fury inside me where you belong.”
I get to my feet, my hand still circling his cock though I can’t quite close my grip around it. He is thick and long, bigger than even my other mates, but everything about my bull is huge—cock, power, and animal.