Page 120 of Their Blood Queen

CAIN

I can’t remember the last time I allowed my beast full and complete control, not in hundreds of years. Whenever my beast had come out before, it had been against my wishes and a battle of souls between the rational and darker parts of myself.

But when I see my mate pinned and naked beneath Earl Rinhold, I throw off the shackles and let him rip free.

Kill them all.

He eagerly agrees as our power locks all the doors, ensuring that no one gets in.

Or out.

Our mate has brought us through the depths of the Dream Realm and revitalized us with her sweet, decadent prayers. I intend to answer them with bloodshed in her name.

Cage and Sabre are called Strigoi in their world. I learned more about them than would ever have been possible with words while we had fallen in the Dream Realm.

I will take time to learn both of them in the real one, too, when our mate is safe.

First, we have useless humans to kill, and my beast needs to feed.

Starting with Earl Rinhold.

He screams when I rip him off of her. His body tumbles through gauzy drapes that had parted him from a sizable crowd.

I’d been around during the early years when this sort of marital ceremony had been popular. It was distasteful then, and it’s distasteful now.

Especially given that the bride in question was coerced. That’s precisely why I abolished the practice in the first place. I don’t like to interfere with my Elites, unless they stray too far and require correction.

This is one of those times, once again.

Sabre goes for the Earl, but I hold up a bloodied hand. My claws had dug into the mortal’s side, and the graze might have been fatal had I not held back.

But my beast and I share our intentions. Neither of us wants the Earl’s death to be a quick one.

He scrambles backward as I march toward him, towering over the insignificant human who dared to paint himself with my blood.

Now, I will return the favor.

“Cain, wait. You can’t kill me,” he says as screams rip through the air.

I know that the other two, the Strigoi, are feeding. They will take their fill before they comfort Scarlett. For now, they’re killing everyone around her who dared to participate in this insanity.

The most efficient way to keep her safe is to make sure no one who was in compliance of this is left breathing.

“Why’s that?” I ask as I grab him by his ankle and drag him toward me. My claws sink into his flesh with the motion, making him grunt in pain.

I don’t just want grunts, though. I want his screams.

“We control over half the Offerings in the Magic Sector,” he babbles. I imagine it’s a rehearsed defense should I ever decide the Rinholds aren’t worth keeping alive. “If I die, you won’t know how to continue the programs. You will be decades behind without us. Centuries!”

I’ve heard it all before. Elites tend to be arrogant, and they get ahead of themselves.

They think that monsters need them. We don’t. It is a more efficient way of running things, and effective, at times, but this is all an experiment to see what’ll reap the best rewards.

“Scarlett is a compatible mate,” I growl.

It’s difficult to talk in this form, but my beast wants me to make Edward fear us. He wants to watch the light bleed from his eyes when he knows he’s lost.

I tilt my head as I drag my claw over my massive tongue, tasting Edward’s blood. “But you knew that.”

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