"Take your eyes off my mate or I will gouge them out!",Riven said coldly. His eyes turned dark and he glared at the Dragon Lord in hate.
Suddenly other dragon shifters appeared from the fog and joined Magnus. They growled and seethed with anger with the way Riven addressed their Lord. Dragon shifters were haughty and prideful creatures and they didn't appreciate being treated like nothing.
But it was a foolish move on their part. Riven took with him a total of eight hundred lycans, including those on horseback and those in their lycan form. So the dragon shifters were not a threat to him. If a fight were to break out, the dragon shifters would be at an unfavorable point because they were greatly outnumbered.
"Silence your little bodyguards Magnus. You don't want me to lose my temper",Riven said darkly.
"Stop! Go back inside",Magnus immediately ordered the dragon shifters behind him. As arrogant as he was, he knew who Riven was and he wasn't about to aggravate the Supreme Alpha.
After the dragon shifters reluctantly left their Lord with the Alpha, the atmosphere became thick and oppressive. The wind blew softly over the shifters as they glared down at Magnus.
Riven knew his coming here would end in bloodshed and he didn't want Layla to witness another gruesome scene like the last time. She was still recovering from that first shock and he didn't want to add another to it.
"My love, I want you to stay here with Caleb and Alex",he said to Layla while one hand caressed her cheek. "I have some business to attend to with the Dragon Lord. Will you be okay without me for a while?"
Layla looked up at him with her beautiful eyes. She didn't want to be away from Riven, not when she was feeling nervous with all the strange dragon shifters around. And that familiar feeling of being watched. She would have loved to go in with him, but one look at the Dragon Lord's face had her changing her mind. Magnus had his red eyes trained on her and when their eyes met, a sinister smile appeared on his lips.
"Alright",she whispered.
Riven smiled at her and kissed her forehead, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. The moment he turned away from her, the smile disappeared and a cold expression took over his handsome face.
"Follow me",he said to Magnus and brushed passed him, making his way towards the building that was almost covered with fog. Half of the lycans went in with him while the others stayed behind to protect Layla.
Magnus scowled darkly and walked into the building behind Riven. His pride was hurt with the way the Alpha addressed him but he could nothing about it.
The two storey building was old and worn out. Old chandeliers dangled from the ceiling, bedecked with thick cobwebs. There were broken furnitures scattered around the large living room. The stairs were rickety but still in good shape and the top floor was much pleasant to look upon than the lower floor. Grey coloured curtains hung from the walls, shielding the room from the harsh light. There were several lit lanterns that illuminated the room and the furniture were still intact.
Riven lowered himself into an exquisite leather armchair and crossed his legs. He rested his chin on his fist while his eyes scanned the group of dragon shifters and lycans.
"I believe you know why I've wasted my time in coming here",Riven began, addressing Magnus.
Magnus glared at him and hunched his shoulders stubbornly. "I don't know why you've come, and I don't wish to know. You think after exiling me and my kind all these years, I would wish to see you?"
"You're not in any position to question me Magnus!",Riven said coldly. His cold dark eyes were expressionless as he stared at the Dragon Lord. "I'm here concerning this"
He threw the bronze dragon scale towards Magnus and it landed on the ground. The Dragon Lord picked it and examined it, turning it over in his hand. He knew what it was and yet he put on an expressionless face as he looked up at Riven.
"What about it?",he asked.
"One of your kind had the audacity to trespass on my territory and spy on my home",Riven said, his voice turning hard with each word. Centuries ago, after the dragon shifters betrayed the lycanthropes by joining the creatures of Tartarus, Riven had ordered Henrietta to place a curse on the entire Dragon Race. Never in their lives would they be able to shift into their dragon forms, unless the curse was lifted.
By spying on his mansion, the dragon shifters committed two crimes. One was defying his order and shifting, even with the curse placed on them. The other was trespassing on his territory. Riven was slowly losing his calm and he would give way to his beast if Magnus continued to try his patience.
Magnus knew who's scale it was. Each dragon had a peculiar scale that wasn't identical to another, just like a human's fingerprint. But he would rather have his tongue cut out than reveal who it was.
"I don't know what you're talking about",he said and looked away from Riven, trying to hide his nervousness.
Riven smirked, a deadly smirk that had no trace of humour. His eyes fogged and suddenly, Cade moved swiftly towards Magnus. His hand shifted halfway and he brought down his claws on the dragon shifter's hand, cutting it clearly in two.
Riven had mind linked the beta to cut off Magnus' hand.
A terrible shrill scream echoed loudly in the building as Magnus fell on his knees, holding his cut arm. Black blood sprayed out and dripped towards the ground, forming a mini pool. Because of the curse, Magnus couldn't heal himself. He groaned in pain while his red eyes glared furiously at Riven.
The other dragon shifters growled in anger, body itching to protect their Lord. A single hard glare from Magnus held them back and they could only growl in anger, furious eyes trained on the shifters.
"I will cut each of your limbs and then your tongue if you don't give me the answer I need",Riven said slowly, talking as if he was discussing the weather. He didn't even flinch at the sight of the dragon shifter's obvious pain and he only moved his leg aside so the black blood wouldn't stain his shoes.
[Is she okay?], he mind linked Caleb, wanting to know how Layla was doing.
[She's fine Alpha. A little shaken from the scream], Caleb replied.
[Take her a little distance away from the building. And make sure nothing harms her!], Riven ordered the gamma.
[Yes Alpha]
Riven closed the mind link and focused on Magnus who was now breathing through his teeth, face contorted in pain.
"Do you have an answer for me now?",he asked.
Magnus glared at him and spat on the ground beside him. "Kill me if you want. You won't get anything from me",he growled menacingly.
Riven smiled darkly. If Magnus wanted to prove stubborn, he would oblige him.
"Cut of his head",he said to Cade.
Cade moved to rip off Magnus' head with his claws when Riven stopped him.
"Not him. Him!",he said and pointed his chin towards the dragon shifter behind Magnus.
Magnus turned and his eyes widened fearfully as Cade dragged his brother, Odyssey out to the centre.
"No! I will speak. I will tell you what you want to hear! Get your hands off my brother!",he roared and tried to move closer to Odyssey. A lycan pounced on him and pinned him to the ground with his sharp claws, growling ferociously.
Riven raised a hand and stopped Cade from ripping Odyssey's head off. He had been threatening the wrong person. He knew Magnus was greatly protective towards his brother and wouldn't want any harm to befall him.
"Tell me then, who was it?",Riven asked.
"Brother no! Don't do it!",Odyssey shouted and Cade pushed his head against the ground, trapping him with his leg.
"Speak Magnus! Do not waste my time",Riven snapped. He was getting impatient and he needed to make sure Layla was safe.
Magnus looked towards his brother who was pleading with his eyes, telling him not to say a word. He looked away and glared at Riven. He didn't want to do this, but he couldn't put his brother's life at stake.
"Fine. The scale is mine!",he said angrily. "I shifted against your order and trespassed on your territory. Now let my brother go!"
Riven was quiet for a while. His eyes stared hard at Magnus and he knew instantly that the Dragon Lord was lying. He turned to Cade who was pinning Odyssey to the ground.
"Kill him",he ordered.