Bloodlust

Family Connections

— LIAM —

Droves of royal guards and guests swarmed the bricked horseshoe driveway all afternoon as the weekend activities winded down. Lycans were heading home, back to their packs and their normal lives. The sight left a bitter place in the back of my throat.

Although I'd rather do anything other than watch people come and go while I was stranded here, the window offered more entertainment than the plain white walls of my detainment room. Lycans could call it whatever they wanted, but this room was a prison cell.

My hands wrapped around the cold steel bars over the window. The sharp coolness burned against my palms, but I was more preoccupied with new movement from below.

A flash of honey-blonde hair emerged from the front door. My heart leaped into my throat. Venice looked so tiny from way up here, so fragile and delicate.

I frowned at the hulking, raven-haired Alpha walking beside her. My teeth gnashed together as I homed in on their figures.

His hand rested on the small of her back, guiding her forward. They advanced leisurely toward a white SUV parked in the bend of the horseshoe.

"Venice," I hissed, even knowing she couldn't hear me. "VENICE!"

I tried to pry the steel bars apart but they were too strong even for me.

What was she doing? Was she leaving with him?

The Alpha paused, his gaze flicking up to my window. His eyes narrowed and I growled.

That was my fucking mate he was taking. Mine.

I felt just as helpless as I had when watching the Princeps carry her away. Her body was lined with tension, her steps reluctant. She seemed unwilling to get in the car.

She doesn't want to go.

That realization brought only momentary relief before I reasoned that she must have been coerced into leaving. Venice wouldn't leave me here if she had a choice. She wouldn't do that to me. Not after everything we'd been through.

My hands pulled away from the bars to curl into fists. I slammed them against the window, expecting the glass to shatter, but my fists were met with bullet-proof plastic instead.

A prison made just for supernaturals, I realized with a bitter scoff.

She climbed into the car, and a pang of terror gripped me. Why was he taking her with him? Was he just escorting her or were they leaving together?

This shouldn't have surprised me, though. Of course, he was taking her with him. She was his "second chance." Such bullshit.

I'd been around a long time and had never heard of such a thing. She believed me, at least at first. I warned her, but it was up to her whether she believed him or me.

Was the King Alpha in on it? He was the only authority here who could make them leave together. Alasdair must have arranged this.

But why? Why would Alasdair have any strong opinion on her life? She was a human and she had no involvement with his domain, aside from this weekend.