The Panther's Second Chance (Book 10 of the Regal Eclipse Pack Series)

Chapter 39

Anthony headed across the yard, his pace rapid and purposeful. "This is the pack hospital," he told her, stopping in front of a building, and turning to her.

She didn't like this. Why was Dominic here inside their hospital? She followed Alpha Anthony inside.

Natalia really hadn't seen anyone since she and Dominic had arrived on pack lands, except for the guards and a few people milling around on the pack territory, and of course the woman who had brought them to the room. The Room of Doom. It was an apt description.

The pack hospital was rather empty as well, with only one person working behind the desk, who glanced up when they walked in, but quickly looked back down, as though she wanted to ignore Alpha Anthony all together.

Anthony seemed to know where he was going though, and headed down a long hallway, finally stopping at the last door. He glanced at her. "Are you ready?"

That didn't sound good. Natalia bit her lip, but nodded. She was dreading entering the room, dreading what she was going to find. There was no guard, so Anthony was obviously not worried about Dominic escaping. That didn't bode well for her mate. She breathed out slowly, hoping he was at least conscious, though she highly doubted it at this point. Her plans of escaping were falling apart.

Anthony opened the door and walked into the room. Natalia followed him inside and stopped as a cry escaped her. Pain ripped through her at the sight of her mate and she almost crumpled to her knees, but Anthony caught her before she could, pulling her back to her feet. She wanted to turn and punch him in the face.

Dominic was laying on a hospital bed, flat on his back. He had on an oxygen mask and there were several machines in the room attached to him. But that wasn't what upset her. It was the fact that his chest was cut open, the layers peeled back, and his ribs spread. His heart was fully exposed. She could hear it beating still, which gave her some relief but at the same time broke her own heart.

She couldn't stop the tears now, and they were streaming unchecked down her face. "Why?" Her heart ached for him. She didn't care that she was a Princess or a Remington. Her mate was so vulnerable right now and that made her vulnerable.

"Because the only way to kill him is to remove his heart and destroy it," he said simply, like he was discussing the weather.

Natalia ripped herself out of his arms and walked slowly over to her mate, gently touching his hand. The tingles were still there. Why? Why was this happening? He was finally truly happy, and now his life was hanging by a thread.

She suddenly wanted to kill Anthony even more. She hated him and what he'd done to them. Soon, she told herself. Soon she would be reconnected with her wolf and then Anthony was dead. She'd never in her life felt the desire to kill someone, but he was messing with her life, her mate, their happiness.

"I have to admit, it's not easy to keep him this way," Anthony said nonchalantly. Like he wasn't ruining their lives. "His body wants to just heal up. It's rather amazing. I have to keep him constantly pumped with drugs to keep his shifter side dormant. I've never even seen a werewolf heal like that," he said in disgust.

Because you've never truly seen what I'm capable of. She wanted to rip the IV out and contemplated it for a full moment, but she was afraid to. She had no idea how long it would take Dominic to reconnect with Zampa to heal up and what kind of damage Anthony could do in the meantime. He was connected to his wolf and would be extremely strong. She turned her hate filled gaze on him. "I will never let you mate me."

He smiled at her. "Oh, but you will. I have all the cards sweetheart." He walked across the room and grabbed a container, then pulled a lighter out of his pocket. He pulled a piece of scrap paper out of his pocket, and lit it on fire, then tossed it into the container, before turning back to her. "If you don't let me mark you right now, I will rip his heart out and throw it in here." He pointed to the container. "It's your choice."

And there it was. Everything this had all been leading up to. And she was stuck. She could never let him kill Dominic. If he did, then he might as well kill her too. She whimpered as more tears fell. She hated to betray her mate this way, but she didn't know what else to do. She had no time to think about it, to consider the possibilities. "Fine. You win. Just know that when I get the chance, I will kill you."

He laughed. "You kill me? Not likely. You won't be able to harm your own mate."

That's what he thought. She just stared at him, unblinking, pure hatred for him in her eyes. If he thought he was getting out of this alive, he was delusional.

He stared back at her and swallowed, a look of uncertainty crossing his face for the first time. "Come here sweetheart."

You didn't do enough research, she thought as she walked over to him, preparing herself for the heartache that she knew was coming. The thought of his hands on her made her sick. She couldn't possibly bear it. Not when she knew what it was like to have Dominic's hands on her, what it felt like to have him buried deep inside her, what it felt like to connect with her fated on such a level.

"I'm going to mark you now," he said, quietly, brushing back her hair from her neck and running his thumb over her marking spot.

"Here? Now?" She felt herself starting to panic, and forced herself not to run from him.

"I'm not going to mate you yet. When I mate you, you'll want it. You'll be so horny, you won't care who's between your legs. I've perfected that as well. I could send every unmated male werewolf in my pack to your room and you'd welcome them all, and let every one of them between your legs. But that's not going to happen. If I ever catch you with another man, I'll kill him while he's inside you," he growled.

Natalia stared up at him in horror. She was beginning to fully understand why her father had said Anthony was off. He was sick and twisted and she was afraid of him. She sucked in a breath. She couldn't be afraid of him.

"And while I'm not mating you now, I will mark you. And you will allow it, or I will kill him. Do you understand?" He placed his hands on her upper arms, gripping them tightly, and making her wince.

She swallowed. "Yes, I understand," she whispered. Until she got her wolf back, she'd probably have bruises from him. She wondered if he was abusive, then scoffed inwardly. She was delusional if she thought he wouldn't be. The guy had no qualms about shoving a knife through her face.

"Good. Now hold still." His canines popped out and he leaned forward and sank them into her neck. Pain shot through her, sharp and practically unbearable, and she screamed.

She knew it was possible to mark your mate without mating, but it wasn't a pleasant experience. Sobs wracked her body as she fell, her hand on her neck, trying to stop the flow of blood that he seemed unconcerned with. She sobbed, more from a broken heart than anything else, feeling as though she'd committed the ultimate betrayal to her mate. She couldn't imagine how she would feel when she got her wolf back.

The horrific smell of burning flesh filtered under her nose and she turned abruptly as the sound of a heart monitor flat lining hit her, making her panic as she realized what was happening.

Anthony was across the room, his hand bloody as he stared down into the container, a smile on his face as the flames danced merrily away.

"What did you do?" Natalia screamed as she jumped to her feet and looked at Dominic.

"I needed to completely sever your bond with him. The only way to do that was for him to die." He smiled at her, like he'd just given her the best gift.

She hurried over to Dominic and looked down inside of his chest. Blood was pooling and she reached inside feeling for what she knew wasn't there. It was empty, his heart gone. She turned back to Anthony. "You said you would let him live if I let you mark me!"

"I lied."