His Miracle Mate: Rise of the Moon Children

Chapter 21

Scraggly blond hair. Pale skin stretched tight over jutting bones, marred with blue and black bruises. Chapped lips. Squinted eyes that once looked at me with malice and a sense of superiority. Chains glinted off her arms and legs, keeping her up against the wall with her limbs stretched out. She looked like only her head would be able to move.

The person bore a passing resemblance to what I remembered Joanna looking like. No flashy outside and glowing tan skin and glossy hair. Her magic was a shriveled up husk. Like skin that was dried out by the sun, so was her magic by silver.

The sneer was still the same, however.

"So the rumors are true," she said in a scratchy voice. "The bitch isn't actually human."

Zach and Ezra growled. I shook my head. I was relieved she was still mean, it made not feeling bad for her slightly easier.

"What rumors? You've been in here the entire time," I asked, stepping forward. Ezra's entire body locked when I walked past him. I took a step back and stood beside him. He relaxed.

"The guards have big mouths," she said, squinting her eyes. "A moon child. Well, at least I'll die knowing you'll be chased down your entire life to be used like a freakin broodmare."

Wow. I frowned. "Don't you even regret it?"

She scoffed. "Screw you. Came to gloat?"

She kept her eyes firmly off of Ezra. I glanced at him and shuddered. His eyes glowed, fur sprouted along his forearms. He wanted nothing more than to shift and tear into her.

I guess I should just give up on trying to understand her. Some people do bad things because they are forced, or because they believe in their hearts that it's justified. But some people are plain malicious for no reason whatsoever.

I could have died. Hayden and Hayley could have died. Gray had died. But Joanna didn't show the slightest hint of regret even after being locked up here for weeks.

Zach cracked his knuckles. "Alright, Joanna, we have a few questions we'd like you to answer. You know Brian, don't you?"

Joanna froze for a moment, but it was enough to confirm she recognized the name of the guard. She grinned, more a vicious baring of teeth than a smile. "Screw you, Zach."

I stifled a sigh. This was going to be along night. Ezra stepped forward and squatted down. "Listen to me and listen well."

Layered with a growl, Ezra's deep voice dropped the temperature in the room. The hairs on the back of my neck rose. Joanna turned into ice, clearly realizing she was the focus on a predator that didn't mind tearing her apart.

"You're going to answer our questions without being a smart ass, or I'm going to beat out of you all the frustration for the trouble you've caused me these past few weeks."

Joanna scoffed. "Whatever. I know you don't beat up women, so your threats are empty."

Ezra cocked his head. He chuckled. "You're not a woman. You're a traitor who endangered my mate. However, you're right, I wouldn't lay a hand on you."

He snapped his finger, and I felt the pull of magic before a root exploded out of the ground, scattering chunks of concrete, and went right through Joanna's left thigh. I flinched. Her shrill scream rang in the air. She thrashed, but the chains kept her firmly in place. Dark blood bloomed on her pants, slid down her leg and spilled on the floor in a growing puddle.

Zach stepped closer to me and wrapped his arm around me. I was grateful for his warmth. The place suddenly felt so cold.

"One thing about elemental magic," Ezra said when Joanna's screams reduced to pained moans. "You don't have to get your hands dirty."