The Amber Shift

Fifty-Eight

Elijah

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't keep my word and kill the girl right now," Dante says, sitting back on his ostentatious golden throne, crossing one leg over the other and resting his ankle on his knee.

Rage boils in my veins, and I am on the verge of shifting right here and ripping the lycan king's throat out myself and damn the consequences. "Well, for one, she's your daughter. I know you're evil, but are you truly a psychopath with zero empathy?"

Asher steps forward, pushing his hair out of his eyes, and says to Dante, "I'm begging you, Your Majesty. Please don't hurt her."

My head snaps toward Asher and I can't stop the contemptuous scoff that escapes my lips; even though we want the same thing, his pitiful pleas are ridiculous. "My God, Whitlock. You're fucking pathetic, you know that? You still don't get it. She doesn't love you. She will never love you."

Asher drags his gaze to me. He has never looked at me with such hatred. Even as children, his jealousy would get the better of him, but he showed no sign of malice. The lycan before me is someone I don't know. He isn't my friend, but I'm struggling to see him as my enemy. The only thing I know for sure is that I resent him for wedging himself between the bond I share with my mate.

"Why don't you just take Elijah's life in exchange for Noelle's?" Asher asks the king.

Dante scoffs. "He is worthless compared to her and the power she could wield."

The betrayal of Asher's words is like a stab in the heart. Of course, I would give my life for Noelle in a heartbeat with no questions asked, but for him to just suggest it like it's nothing? To think this man was my best friend not so long ago is unfathomable. When did everything change, and how did I miss it? How long have I wandered around clueless? Months? Years?

I ignore Dante and turn to Asher. "How long have you been working with Dante behind our backs? I have to know, Asher. You owe me that. You owe Corbin that."

"I don't owe either of you anything. But just for the hell of it, I'll answer. It's been about a year."

I flinch. A year ago is when I officially took over as commander of the elite team. The disappointment Asher felt had been hard to miss, but I always thought that it soothed the sting when I chose him as my second in command.

"Fuck, Asher. All because you weren't appointed commander? Christ, if I thought it meant that much to you, I'd have asked Corbin if I could forfeit the position. Anything to keep you on the right side of things, to keep you away from this sadistic dickhead." I stalk toward him and grab him by the collar, pushing him against the wall, our noses inches apart. "You know about the oath Dante made to me when I was a child. That he would kill my mate. And it's Noelle. You fucking brought her to his doorstep. I may have been able to keep her away from here, but now you've fucked that up. You might as well rip her throat out yourself."

"Get your hands off me," Asher says, gripping my wrists. "If you cared about her so much, you would have kept it in your pants and let me and the others take care of her. She would have given in and been satisfied, but you had to dip your cock in for a feel. You put her in danger, not me."

I rip one of my wrists from his grasp, and in one smooth movement, punch him in the nose, knocking him to the floor. "Fuck you, Asher. If you were lucky enough to have a mate, you'd understand the situation I was in. But even the Goddess knew you didn't deserve one, you piece of shit."

Asher wipes the blood from his nose, smearing it on his face. He smiles and his teeth are stained red. "And that's why I didn't wait for Her to give me one; I took yours. And I'm going to fuck that soft body of hers until she forgets you ever existed."