Claimed by the Primals

Chapter Thirteen

I was standing when I woke. Somehow. I was also screaming, and every part of me burned with rage and hatred I had never felt before in my life. I had survived the night. And they were going to regret letting me live. There was power flowing through me, and god damn did it feel good.

The courtyard was filling quickly with my sister, her harem, and the rest of the neighborhood. They must have heard my screams or felt when the last of my barriers came tumbling down. Some of them were still in their night clothes. I guess they didn't want to miss this.

At the moment, I was glad. I wanted them to see me rip my sister apart. In that moment. I didn't feel any pain or weakness. I didn't feel hungry or thirsty. Adrenalin is one hell of a drug and with the addition of the magic, I felt I could do anything.

Lana had a gleam in her eyes and a stupid smirk that I just wanted to punch right off. "Maybe we should have called my father earlier," she drawled, relaxing into her throne to be pampered by her mates. "Go on, Eckhart. Take your claim while she's fresh."

Eckhart laughed darkly and advanced. As he did, wings tore through his shirt from his back, just like Anthony's had. His skin started to glow white, and his eyes turned red. The crowd began to jeer. Sickening. Absolutely fucking disgusting, all of them. "We still don't know what she is," Anthony said hesitantly. He, too, had sprouted his wings, but hadn't moved from his spot.

"Claiming her will reveal all," Eckhart assured him. "Come, Anthony. We'll claim her together."

Another hesitation, and he stepped forward. "Matthias should be here. Where is he?"

"Matthias will have his chance later, but I am not waiting another damned second."

Eckhart started to circle me, I guess deciding how best he wanted to claim me. They weren't going to stop unless I did something to piss off the queen bee herself. What the hell. What were a few broken bones on top of everything else?

I looked Lana dead in the eyes and said loud enough for the whole yard to hear, "Mom always hated you, you know."

The effect was immediate. The whole courtyard went dead silent and still. Even Eckhart froze and stared at me like I had six heads. Lana went so still, you might have thought she turned to stone. I couldn't interpret the look of shock and rage on her face but, damn. If that was the last thing I was going to see, I was okay with that.

Lana and I have one thing in common, and one thing only. Our mom. You remember and probably understand just how important female primals are. We're taught to honour and love our mothers unconditionally. My mom was my best friend. I loved her more than anyone else. I carried the guilt of being the reason for her death, but I always tried to carry all the good memories with me.

Lana loved her too. Though she took so much after dad—the way she looks, talks, thinks—she idolized our mother. It always hurt her to see me grow up to look exactly like her. That's why Lana hated me. It had nothing to do with anything else. She always saw me as our mother's favorite.

Was it true? No. I think my mother truly loved Lana as best she could, even after what she turned into. But it didn't matter. What mattered was that Lana thought it was true. I had taken a spear and thrown it into the core of Lana's insecurities. Why did I do it? Because I hated her. I wanted to hurt her like she had hurt me. So, I opened that big, stupid mouth of mine and kept going.

"When you were born, she wanted to call you Abaddon, so you would always know how much of a curse you were to her. She always told me she was relieved I came along so she knew what it was like to have a real daughter."

After what felt like an eternity, the tension snapped. Lana lost all composure, screamed, and launched herself across the courtyard at me. I gripped the pole and using a mix of adrenaline and magic, ripped the damn thing out of the ground and swung it at her with all the strength I had.