The doors leading to the common area blew off their hinges, and it took the enemy a moment to realize they were being attacked from behind by a much larger force than expected.

Werewolves, vampires, and immortals burst into the room and took up position as they ran. Their foes were like rag dolls at a shooting range in those first few seconds.

Marcus motioned with his hand, and they moved forward again, changing positions and taking ground.

Flashes of gunfire, grenades going off, smoke, and the acrid stench of gunpowder, blood, death, and burned flesh turned the scene into an overly realistic nightmare.

They never hesitated, and even as their adversaries realized their predicament, they were caught between a rock and a hard place. Despite their far superior numbers and the skills of a few of Megan's assassins, the combined attack force compromising of Marcus, Darius, and Thane's soldiers cut through them like a scythe through wheat.

The enemy's arrogance and the taste of a victory already won faded too slowly for them to shift gears, and none survived.

"Move!" Marcus ordered, not even taking stock of his victory.

They burst into what was left of the command room, their numbers swelled by the allies they had just rescued, and spotted fifty of the enemy fighting against twenty of Thanes' guards and the Incubus himself.

"Get to them!" Marcus ordered, and none of them hesitated or considered strategy.

A dying foe aimed a gun at the vampire prince, and Kay would have emptied her clip into him if she wasn't almost out of ammunition.

***

Thane glanced up to see wolves, vampires, and immortals storming into the room, bearing his standard with Marcus at their front and Cat in his wake like a shadow.

The vampire cast his gun aside and drew a sword, looking quite impressive as he cut through three immortals simultaneously, but the other familiar face caught Thane off guard. The one person he would never have thought would come to his aid. And he had not expected either, thinking her incapable. Where would she have gained the training? And she was a mere newborn, but she did not look like one as she methodically, lethally, gracefully, and with terrible intent, cut through their enemies.

Although she didn't move like a succubus, it was there.

Thane's cold heart contracted painfully as the warmth of pride ciphered into it. That organ only beat for Akira, but feeling it come alive for this tri-ling, caught him off guard.

Her gaze landed briefly on him and flashed past him. When she moved, it was with more speed than he could credit.

She grabbed one of his female guards by the arm, and as Kay yanked her away from him, the woman's cap fell off. With one quick movement, the succubus snatched that blond wig away.

"Well, we meet again, Megan," Kay bit out through clenched teeth. "This time, it's your henchmen on the ground," she added quietly, almost as if divulging a secret.

Megan attacked, and the fight was brief, vicious, and brutal, but the vampire ended up face down on the ground with her arm at such an odd angle, as Kay stepped on her back to keep her down, that it almost popped from the socket.

Although she did not scream, the pain on her face was evident.

How had he not recognized or seen her?

***

How had Megan so easily infiltrated Thane's personal guard? Someone must have let her in and provided the uniform and the key card, but not many would be able to do that.

It explained how Akira was captured.

Megan squirmed and tried futilely to fight the hold she had on her. The vampire was unused to being bested and thought she might break free.

***

Thane's gaze wandered the room as the fight ended. When they landed on Conner, his oldest and most trusted friend, the head of his guard, the man's eyes avoided for an instant.

The cold settled back into his heart.

Marcus witnessed the little exchange and caught him in an inescapable grip before Conner realized the danger.

Some of his guards aimed their guns at the vampire prince.

"No," Thane commanded, gesturing for them to lower their weapons.

"Conner, my oldest friend. What did Azera offer you that was so tempting you would give our princess to her and the head of your king?" he asked with a calm that had a deadly edge to it.

Connor lowered his head in shame.

"Speak."

Connor's head rose, and his eyes went to Megan, who grinned evilly.

Her eyes were as cold as ice when she winked at him, and something in Connor's eyes died.

"Megan," Connor admitted with a desolate sigh.

It was too late to be sorry, and he should have known better, but now his fate was sealed.

"Love?" Thane scoffed; his mirth quickly gone.

He glanced at Marcus, nodded once, and without a word, the vampire prince snapped the man's neck; the penalty for treason was death.

"Who helped him?" Thane commanded, and as Conner could not deny the order, neither did his second in command.

"Speak," Thane commanded again.

The man glanced at Megan with hate, and her grin widened.

"I had a secret; they found out and blackmailed me, Your Highness," Ross walked over to Marcus and kneeled before the vampire with his neck exposed.

"What secret?" Thane commanded, but to his surprise and all of theirs, the man simply shook his head. Willing to take death over telling the truth.

"Coward," Megan spat, and even as he glanced at her, she stared right at Thane.

"He's screwing your precious daughter, and he's in love with her, but she is not in love with him," Megan chortled with glee, and Thane frowned.

"So?" Thane asked of the man, and the man frowned, his eyes wandering to Megan in confusion.

"You have always chosen the men in your daughter's life with care and intent. We convinced this poor young seedling that you would be angry at her if you found out that Akira was disrespecting you by spending time with an ordinary guard. You should choose guards with more spine," Megan mocked, and when Marcus moved to snap the man's neck, Kay lifted her hand.

"No, Marcus," she commanded and did not notice the look on his face when he realized he could not counter her request.

Thane's brow furrowed.

"Sorry, master, but I have a better idea. He was a fool led astray. Imprison him, beat him, or cut his tender parts out, but he does not deserve death and has learned his lesson."

Before anybody could move, she ripped off Megan's arm, and the smile slid from Megan's face as a scream tore from her that rattled the walls.

Kay cast the arm at his feet, and blood spattered his shoes, which were already covered in red.

"Your Highness, excuse my insolence, but why don't you send that to Azera? I will bet that before we send the matching arm, she will be prepared to discuss Princess Akira's release," Kay suggested, and Thane's frown turned to a scowl.

"Maybe more than that."

Her odd tone as she stared down at the woman, trying to squirm out from under her boot, made him uneasy.

Blood sprayed everywhere, but the wound was already closing.

"Why?" he demanded, and it did not affect Kay.

What?

She was as shocked and confused as him.

"This may be Carduran's daughter, but she is no seedling and the real thing. Carduran was not as powerful as you thought, and it seems not even Azera's blood enabled Megan to defeat a mere newborn."

Megan screamed in fury. Gone was her coolness and her mockery.

Kay lifted her foot, and Megan awkwardly tried to attack her again. The young succubus kicked Megan in the face, and blood splattered the men standing nearly two meters away.

Megan stilled instantly, out like a light, hitting the ground hard for the second time.

"How do you know that?" Thane asked.

The newborn casually leaned over and stuck her finger in the healing wound. She came upright and unceremoniously stuck the bloodied finger in her mouth, tasting the blood.

"Ask Marcus, Sire," she suggested, but he didn't have to.

Kay had enough vampire DNA to know whether two people were closely related, just from the taste of their blood, and it was as accurate as a DNA test. There would also be no human markers in Megan's blood. If Kay's theory was true, it denoted something else only a vampire could tell.

"What would stop Azera from killing or maiming Akira?" Marcus asked.

"Megan is the only child born from her body. She is a mother and psychotically protective of what she sees as hers. The dark fae queen knows Megan would die if she maimed or killed Akira. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but soon. She must choose between her empire and her daughter. I think not even Megan could predict the outcome of that decision.

"Azera has always mocked your weakness for Akira. It made you vulnerable, and yet she has committed the same sin. Now we must see if she is as mercenary as she thinks."

Thane slowly nodded; his respect for this child he shunned was undeniable.

I don't know if Azera will fall for this. Newest Version ©2014-2023 All rights reserved. If you find this on any other platform but Wattpad under @CSDreamer, please report it. No part of this book may be copied or reposted without the author's permission.