Page 16 of A Velvet Kiss After Dark

Lesther, or Les the Revenant (he goes by many names) had powerful magic in his reach. Beyond comprehension. But it was Olivia who had shunned her pure ways. By casting her own magicks against Lesther to aid her friends, she'd intentionally casted harmful magic. Powerful, dark magic using her own blood to fuel it exponentially. It'd changed her forever. In a permanent, unmendable way that's left her mate, Zeke, scrambling for a cure.

When a witch mixed magic and blood, shit got real. Fast.

She'd begun levitating in the air, lightning and magic crackling from around her hands, eyes and body. She'd summarily dispatched Lesther, but she hadn't been able to kill him. Only weaken him and assist her cohorts.

However, once you go black—you never go back.

Her purity was gone forever. Now her own madness had taken over her. Her own insanity. Just like her mate.

Zeke may have his mate back, but her mind was gone. And in its place was pure hatred and murder aimed at anything that moved or breathed or looked at her the wrong way.

She'd gone from blond to raven-haired. Pink lips to black-stained lips. Even her nails had grown into black claws. Her eyes like an abyss of death in the darkest parts of hell.

Everything about her was evil.

Now Zeke spent his days with a new quest: to find a cure to his mate's "evil" problem.

Kane took a seat in the only free chair, crushing an empty chip bag as he did and propped his muddied boots on the corner of Zeke's desk. "I have a problem," he said and kicked the back backward till it dangled on its hind legs.

He'd been around Zeke long enough to not only respect him, but to know the man wasn't capable of proper social etiquette. Not with the current state of his mind. So, Kane didn't expect to ever be invited to a seat.

"Normally I can solve my own issues. But this problem has been troubling."

Zeke never even lifted his head from his papers. "Indeed. You found your mate. I'd congratulate you, but from my experience all I can say is 'Good Luck'."

Never had Kane's head snapped in a double-take so quickly as it did in that moment.

His a-what-a?

The chair he hobbled in crashed to the floor. His head smacked against floor like a hammer crashing down over rock. Moaning, he righted the chair and sat back in it. This time with both feet planted firmly to the ground as he cradled his pounding skull.

His brain reeled like it'd taken a carousel ride backwards going a hundred miles per hour. Surely he hadn't heard what he thought he just heard.

The Alpha was prone to saying insane musings. It's why they called him "The Mad Were", after all. This had to be more gobbledygook.

"Come again?" Kane said, once his voice box was back in working order.

Zeke scrawled more harsh movements on the parchment, his strokes hard and furious, the quill's tip digging roughly.

When Olivia began banging what sounded like a tin can against metal bars, Zeke groaned and looked skyward as if praying for divine guidance.

"I SWEAR TO THE GODS YOU'LL ALL PERISH LEST YOU RELEASE ME, EZEKIEL!!"

"Yes, my little dove," he sang right back at her. "I'll be right with you." Zeke shared a look with Kane. "Women, am I right? Can't kill them. Can't find a cure for pure evil."

Kane remained tight-lipped. He didn't envy Zeke and his predicament.

"I'm sorry. If there was something I could do," he said at length. His mouth dry. "About what you said…?" He was eager to get back to that craziness he'd just discovered. Something about a mate.

Zeke exhaled a frustrated growl before finally coming to a stand. He couldn't sit still, fingers constantly tapped like he was striking a squeeling note on an invisible trumpet. Even his leg beat its own drumming rhythm. "Distractions. Distractions. Useless distractions. Here, take this." He tossed a…yellow rubber ducky into Kane's lap. It made a pathetic squeaking sound as it landed.

At one point, Kane might've laughed at the act of randomness. But truly he worried for his Alpha's mind. What if another challenged him for his kingdom? What if he lost?

Fortunately for Zeke, he actually had gained a substantial amount of power recently. After he won his presidential nomination. Not only was he an Alpha of the largest territory in North America, but he was the President of the Werewolf and Vampire council. They were the elite group of preternatural beings who governed the law and justice over their kind. They also worked alongside, to a degree, human governments to ensure separateness. It was a "You don't touch mine, I won't touch yours, kind of deal they had going."

"Want some advice, Kane? Here you go. Make sure you feed your mate. When they get hungry, they get loud." He glanced at Kane, his eyes flashing silver and glowing with a too-bright illumination. His Beast was alarmingly close to taking over him.

When was the last time he'd let his beast out, Kane wondered? If a were went too long without releasing the beast from the cage, that could spell disaster. Dead, eaten bodies kind of disaster. Add to that recipe a tremendous amount of stress and an insane man's mind and you had a recipe ala fucked-up.

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