Page 98 of Princess

“Me, you bitch.It was all me.”She laughed again.“Men are too stupid.They think with their dicks and only see the small picture.I envisioned the destruction of the entire damned world.I’m the genius and they wouldn’t listen to me.I even had to fix my husband’s stupid mistakes.The hellhounds got out of hand because of him.He needed the Shadow Warriors to fix the fucking problem he created.I wanted to kill all of you from the beginning.You were far too dangerous, but again, the idiot wouldn’t listen to me.”She was panting now, trying to get it all out so I could see the genius she claimed.“Then your worthless father took over the Shadow Warriors.He had a soft spot for them.Or I thought he did.It turned out, his daughterwasone.”Her laugh turned into a cackling sound that sent shivers down my spine.

My mind raced with questions.“What about the electromagnetic pulses?”This had bothered me for years.

“What about them?”I could almost see the wheels in her brain turning.“Oh,” she laughed again.“You thought they were connected to the hellhounds.You’re as big of a fool as your father.Hellhounds and electromagnetic pulses have no connection.We used thermonuclear fusion deep beneath the earth’s outer crust to throw the government off our scent.That was my idea, too.I would go into more detail, but you’re too stupid to understand.”She glanced at Ace, who remained still, then looked back at me.“The U.S.government had lost all credibility in this country and abroad.We were a laughingstock, and the administration left me no choice.While the men in charge picked their noses, I did what had to be done.I am the brains behind the Federation.”

Evil leaked from her pores.Because of her, millions of people died.I didn’t care if she was clinically insane or completely sane.She would be next.

“Do you really have a cure for the hellhound serum?”she asked snidely.

“Yes,” I lied.“But you’ll never get it.”I wanted her to die thinking that she would turn into one of the monsters she created.I couldn’t think of a more fitting punishment.

“I’m not sure I believe you,” she scoffed, “but even if you do, hellhounds are only the beginning.I’m making a new breed of monster.”She gestured toward Ace.“He’s my crowning glory.His kind will be under my control, and just think, you brought Shadow Warriors to my doorstep.”

Her gaze dropped to my side where I’d been shot.I could feel the blood running freely.“You and your monster are going to be mine.She glanced at King.Or maybe he’s dead already.”She smiled again.

Ace shifted slightly toward Lesley.I was waiting for him to attack me.Nokita stayed back.I didn’t see Desmond.

“Isn’t he a work of art,” Lesley said, turning and smiling at Ace for a second.

When her attention came back to me, he took another small step in her direction.It seemed odd.

“I’ll kill her,” Desmond yelled from beneath one of the tables.He held a gun leveled at Lesley.He was six feet away, closest to the thing Ace had become.

“Protect me,” Lesley yelled at Ace.

The creature turned its head in my direction and stared at me for two seconds.Then he lunged at Lesley and grabbed the gun from her hand.His other hand circled her throat.Her eyes grew large, but she could only squeak.He kept squeezing and dug his claws into her neck.He pulled sharply, and her head came off in his hand.Blood sprayed across the walls in all directions saturating her gown.

Before I could move, he looked at me, brought the gun to his head, and fired.

My brain was having trouble keeping up.

He fell on top of Lesley, but he wasn’t dead.His eyes stared into mine.His low, growly voice filled the room.“I can’t control it.Take my head.”

I stared at him, understanding he wanted me to kill him.He’d saved our lives, and this is what he asked.I stood frozen.

King materialized in front of Ace and severed his neck with a powerful swipe of claws.For just a second, before Ace died, his eyes showed relief.

King fell again and landed face-first.He didn’t move.I dropped to my knees.The Barnes were dead, and I didn’t care.My hand slid through King’s blood.I grabbed him and turned him over.He’d taken a bullet to the chest.Blood pumped from the wound with every shallow breath he took.A rasping scream filled the room.

It was mine.

Chapter Forty-Six

Ruth

We waited in the tunnels.Some Shadow Women held children, some entertained them.One group sang funny songs, and a smile escaped me a time or two.

Mostly, I waited for an attack.I looked at Julia and saw the same look in her eyes.We couldn’t trust the Shadow Women to defend us.We stood between life and death for the children.

I had watched hellhounds tear my father apart.My mother and I barely escaped.I wouldn’t run again.Maylen asked me to take her head if she died.I knew I could do it.If I’d been injected with the hellhound shit, I would want the same thing.I couldn’t remember the little girl I had been once.Death and war were what I remembered.The kids on my team hadn’t had it as bad but they had all lost someone.We were tired of being insignificant and a liability.

My friend Che sat against the stone wall, holding a small sword.Che’s father and then his stepfather were killed by the monsters.He was too young to battle hellhounds on his own.I was too, but I now had a team standing with me, and we would kill the enemy.

Waiting was the hardest part.It was something Marinah told me and she’d been right.I was worried about my mother and glanced over at my baby brother, held by a Shadow Woman.He slept peacefully and had no idea what we were facing.

Julia and I were becoming friends.She didn’t see me as a child.I was only a year younger than her.I knew part of her story, but she wouldn’t talk about most of it.Her brother, Desmond, had gone with Marinah.She was worried about him.Desmond fascinated me.He seemed older than he was.I hoped he would be okay but I knew that there was always a chance he wouldn’t return.

Suddenly, the walls shook, and small rocks and dust rained down from above.

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