The scream that erupted from Layla's mouth was bloodcurdling and it echoed deep into the forest. A bright purple wave pushed out of her body and slammed into every shifter that stood around her. It broke through the barricade the lycans had formed and struck the dragon in the heart.
The dragon shrieked loudly and reared upwards, loosing his balance. This gave the golden beast an advantage and Riven plunged his claws through the thick scales and ripped out the heart of the dragon. Dead on the spot, the huge form of the dragon crashed down heavily, shaking the earth tremendously. He lay there lifeless, as black blood pooled out from the black hole in his chest. Slowly, the body shifted and Odyssey's body could be seen, curled on the ground, eyes looking lifeless with a hole in his chest.
The forest became eeriely quiet. The sound of the wind howled as it rustled dead leaves and branches. Bones popping and reshaping could be heard as each lycan shifted back. Cade and the others instantly rounded up the remaining dragon shifters and restrained them.
Magnus stared at the dead body of his brother and bowed his head in defeat. He did what he had been ordered to do and yet, he lost his brother. He began to regret his decision. His eyes landed on Layla and he was shocked at the powers the girl possessed. In all his immortal life, he had never seen such tremendous power and he began to wonder what exactly she was.
Riven was back in his human form and he made his way hurriedly towards Layla.
"My love...",he whispered and scooped her into his arms. The relief that went through him made him tremble slightly. He was glad that she didn't cower away from him in fright. And more than anything, he was proud of her. For the first time, she just proved to everyone the kind of power she possessed and the kind of Luna she would be to them. He couldn't wait to make her his Luna.
Layla felt her body turn weak in Riven's embrace. To feel the sparks from his touch, to feel his arms around her, to touch him again, it all made her weak with relief. Remembering the pain and fear she felt when she thought he died under the explosion of the house, she shuddered. If she didn't know what she felt for him before, now she knew. And she was overwhelmed with the love she had for him.
Riven pulled back and gazed into her eyes. He cupped her face in his palms and placed his forehead on hers.
"Are you okay?",he asked softly.
Unable to speak for the moment, Layla nodded. She held him close, fingertips trailing down his jawline. His hypnotic eyes were pulling her in and she found herself unable to look away.
Riven smiled softly at her. "What's wrong my love?",he asked quietly.
"Nothing",Layla said softly. "I'm just so relieved that you're okay. I thought I lost you... back there"
Riven dropped a soft kiss on her lips and she smiled, delighted with the sparks that tickled her lips.
"You're never going to lose me, my sweet Layla",he said to her while caressing her luscious lips. For a while he forgot about everything else, focusing on only his mate until Cade forcefully cleared his throat.
Cade was reluctant to interrupt the private moment between the Supreme Alpha and his Luna but there were other important things to attend to. And since none of the shifters dared to interrupt Riven, it was up to him as the beta to do it.
He cleared his throat and was about to speak out when he paused. Talking out loud would ruin the atmosphere, he thought. Instead he used the mind link.
[Alpha! We still have a few matters to attend to]
Riven was greatly annoyed with the interruption but he knew his beta was right. He would have a lot of time with his mate when they returned to the mansion. Right now, he needed to know why the dragon shifter had been spying on his home.
"Wait here with Caleb",he said to Layla and smoothed her hair with his hands. "We will return home soon"
Layla smiled at him and nodded. She was still shaken with what occured and she was trying hard not to show it. She just wanted to return home.
The moment Riven turned away from her, his eyes turned black and his claws emerged. Stalking slowly towards the Dragon Lord, his face was a mask of fury and he was only holding it at bay because of his mate.
"You're going to tell me why your brother was spying on my home",he said in a voice tight with rage. "And if you dare waste my time, I will not hesitate to wipe out the last of your kind!"
Cade pulled Magnus up and gripped his hair, pulling it backwards so the dragon lord would look Riven in the eye.
Magnus knew Riven would wipe out his kind truly, if he stalled in anyway. And he couldn't let that happen. The last of their female was murdered in the last war with the creatures of Tartarus. The war they had betrayed the lycanthropes by joining the hellish creatures. Now that they had no other female to continue the race of the dragons, the dragon shifters were slowly reducing in number and they were terrified of going extinct. If Riven wiped out the remaining dragon shifters, they would be erased from the face of the earth.
"I'll tell you everything",he said to Riven finally.
"Start taking!",Riven ordered. He turned swiftly and looked towards his mate. Seeing that she was okay and waiting for him, he turned back toward Magnus and his furious expression returned.
"We were told to spy on your mate",Magnus began.
"By whom?"
"One of the seven deadly sins of hell",Magnus said. "She is called gluttony, and she wanted to know what kind of creature the girl is"
"Go on",Riven said calmly while his eyes burned with rage. The seven deadly sins were sworn enemies of the lycanthropes and now that they had their eyes on his mate, it made him burn with fury.
"Every creature in this realm knows about the arrival of your mate..."
"What do they want with her?",Riven interrupted him.
Magnus hesitated for a while, contemplating if he should tell Riven everything. Riven's eyes suddenly fogged as he mind linked Caleb to turn his mate away from what he was about to do. As Caleb shielded Layla's eyes, the sickening sound of claws slashing into flesh was heard and Magnus turned in time to see two of the dragon shifters dead on the ground. It was just him and two more that were left. He glared at Riven with hate, trembling under the arms that restrained him.
"What do they want with my mate?",Riven quietly asked again. His claws were soaked with black blood and he watched Magnus with hooded eyes.
Through gritted teeth, Magnus spat out. "They want to use her against you. You have many enemies Alpha, enemies you made through out the past centuries. And they will not rest until you feel the pain they felt when you killed their kind. They will not stop until your mate is dea..."
Crack!
The sickening sound of bones snapping sounded as Riven twisted the dragon lord's neck and ripped it off. The headless body fell down and Cade quickly covered it with the robe Magnus was wearing, not wanting Layla to see it.
A few distance away, a woman stood in the cover of the bushes. She had the physical appearance of a human but her eyes falsified it. Her eyes were a sickly red colour and when Riven ripped off Magnus' head, she grinned evilly, her forked tongue slithering out of her mouth. She was Beelzebub, the sin of gluttony;one of the seven deadly sins.
The Dragon Lord had broken their deal. It was this woman that told the dragon shifters to spy on Riven's mate and bring a sample of her blood if possible. Not only did they fail, but they also let out the secret. If Riven had not killed him, she would have given Magnus a slow torturous death.
Her eyes flickered to the young girl that was Riven's mate. She licked her lips hungrily, wanting to have a bite out of the girl. There was just something special about the girl. And with time, they would know what she was and use her against Riven.
She disappeared suddenly and went straight back to Tartarus.