Shifters - The King of Wolves - Book 1

CHAPTER 61 - A FEVER DREAM

I sat up slowly, my heart pounding in my chest as I stared at Egon in disbelief. Akuma had told me that Egon had killed his mate, but I hadn't believed him. I didn't think Egon could do something like that. A mate was considered sacred in their world. No matter how cruel someone could be, it was unthinkable to take that bond away from them.

Seeing the shock on my face, Egon immediately straightened up too. "It's not what you think," he said quickly, urgency lacing his tone. "I only killed her because she asked me to."

I frowned, still unable to wrap my head around it. "She asked you?"

Egon nodded. "Do you remember what I told you a few days ago about forced mating?" he asked.

I nodded, the memory of our conversation fresh in my mind. "You said it would taint the bond, that it would leave us both miserable in the end."

"Indeed. And Akuma forced his mark onto his mate," he explained.

I blinked at Egon in disbelief. But then again, now that I had met Akuma, I couldn't say I was truly surprised he'd done something like that.

"After losing my family, I was desperate to find the one who caused it," Egon continued. "But Akuma was a master of deception. It took me decades to learn it was him—and even longer before I finally confronted him."

Egon sighed, his gaze distant as if he were lost in a memory. "One hundred and twenty years ago, I found a house in a small mountain village in Hikarishima. It was abandoned, but there were rumours about a man who resembled Akuma. I went looking for him, but I found nothing. I was ready to leave when I discovered a hidden door leading to a cellar. It was dark and cold, yet in one of the rooms, I found a young woman chained to the floor."

I gasped, my stomach twisting at the thought as I kept listening to his story.

"It was a Kitsune. Her name was Himari. She was barely alive, her body nothing but a fragile shell of skin and bones. But what struck me the most was the look in her eyes. The hope she held as she pleaded for her death."

I swallowed, my heart aching for the poor woman. "That's... horrible," I whispered. "How could anyone treat another person like this?"

Egon's jaw tightened. "It shows just how cruel Akuma is. It's unimaginable for a shifter to treat their mate that way. Forced mating or not, this goes beyond anything."

I sat there, my mind racing, trying to process everything he had just said. "But why keep her as a mate if he was going to treat her like that? Why didn't he just let her go?"

"Do you remember what I told you in the temple of Gesunthian?" Egon asked.

Not knowing what he was referring to, I waited for him to elaborate.

"Shifters can only reproduce with their mate," Egon continued, noticing my confusion. "Akuma used her for that. Himari told me she had been pregnant several times, but each pregnancy ended in a miscarriage. And after each loss, she was punished. The scars from those assaults covered her entire body."

The thought of what Himari had endured made my stomach turn. How could anyone be so cruel, especially to the one person they were supposed to cherish?

"And so you did what she asked? You killed her?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

Egon shook his head. "No, at first I tried to persuade her to come with me, offering her help and protection. But Himari refused. She said if I couldn't kill her, I should at least free her from her chains so she could end her suffering herself. I didn't want to take her life, but I understood that death was the only mercy I could give her. I knew it was the only way she could find peace. In her condition, no amount of help would save her. She was already too far gone. So eventually, I did. It was quick and merciful. I buried her in a cemetery nearby."