Page 177 of The Forsaken Heir
In the distance, I could barely make out the forms of Aurelius and my brother fighting. A group of wolves were running straight toward Aurelius. He’d need help. Bastien needed to be stopped. That was the only way to end all this for good.
To my left, Vincent—in his full dragon form—slashed out, nearly decapitating a wolf, who only survived by throwing itself to the ground.
“Vince!”I screamed, cupping my hands around my mouth.
He swung his huge head toward me, a questioning look in his emerald-green eyes.
“Take me to Aurelius,” I shouted, pointing toward the fight.
Of all the dragons in the Decimus household, Vince was the fastest, and when he bobbed his big head and came rushing toward me, I grabbed the heavy scales of his back and hoisted myself up before he jumped into the sky.
Three quick flaps of his wings sent us bolting along. God, he was fast. We were nearly upon Aurelius and the group of gathering wolves before I had time to blink. Vince unleashed a terrifying screech of rage as we approached.
Nudging Vince with my knees, I urged him onward, bypassing Aurelius, and heading straight for my asshole of a brother who was doing his best to make it to the cover of the woods. The wolves that had been about to attack Aurelius bolted. Seeing what I was doing, they went to protect their lord.
Vince swooped in and landed with a bone-shakingthudon the ground in front of Bastien. Leaping off him, I landed more gracefully than I’d imagined possible. When he saw me, his eyes went wide with surprise, but a moment later, he began to laugh.
“Really? You? Is that what you think this is? Some final showdown? Brielle, there is nothing you can do to beat me. You understand that, don’t you?”
“All I understand is that I’m here, and I’m ready to do whatever is needed to end this,” I said.
The wolves surrounded us in a semicircle, their jaws open and growling, their eyes malevolent as they stared at me like a hunk of fresh meat.
“Stand down,” Bastien said, raising a hand. “I don’t need help with my sister. After all, she’s not even a real shifter.”
That was it. I was done with him, with all of this. It was now or never.
Stepping forward, I raised my voice to be heard over the dying rumble of fighting.
“My name is Brielle Marie Laurent. I am the oldest child and rightful heir to the noble house of Laurent. I challenge you”—I leveled my finger at my brother—“Bastien Pierre Laurent for the right to lead our house.”
Bastien’s jaw dropped. He truly couldn’t believe that I actually planned to go through with this.
“Youstupidgirl,” my mother’s voice cried out. “What right do you have?”
Turning, I saw my parents rushing out of the forest. Apparently, my audacity to try and take control of the house was enough to drag them from their hiding place.
“I have every right,” I said, glaring at my mother.
In a twist of fate, Delphine reemerged from the opposite side of the forest. The only woman who’d evertrulytreated me like a mother should. She was my friend, and more than that, she was the one who’d loved me over the years. Catching sight of her gave me even more confidence to stand up to my parents.
“Shut up,” my father said. “Your brother is the leader of our house now. That is final. Get your little dragons and leave now, before this ends badly for you.”
Aurelius stepped forward, a deep growl rumbling from his chest, and pointed at my father. “You’ll watch your mouth, Laurent. You don’t speak to her like that. You lost all rights to tell her what to do when you tossed her out on her own.”
My father looked like he wanted to tear Aurelius apart, but we all knew how that would go. All around us, the fighting had ceased. Everyone wanted to see what was about to happen. Dragons, wolves, fae, and the indigenous shifters all surrounded us, looking on with curiosity. Most were covered in wounds or blood, but for the moment, the hostilities had been forgotten.
“You think you can best me, sister?” Bastien said, a cocky smile spreading across his lips. “This will not go well.”
“It doesn’t matter,”my mother screamed. “Even if you trick Bastien and beat him, we willnevergive you control of the house.” She seemed to be taking this worse than anyone.
“That’s not true, Mother,” Freddy said as he stepped into the circle. “When Father retired, he bestowed all rights and leadership upon Bastien. It is legally binding. If Elle defeats Bastien, that constitutes a legal change. These rules have been in place for centuries. It won’t be up to you.” He shrugged casually. “Maybe you should read the rules before handing the reins of our house over to a jackass who doesn’t deserve it.
“Disowned,” our mother hissed, glaring at Freddy. “You’ll be disowned when Bastien defeats her. Disowned atbest. At worst, we’ll have you killed as a traitor.”
Freddy gave her a sad smile. “I wish you were a different person. It would have been nice to have a mother who cared about us as much as she cared about power.”
She flinched back as if he’d slapped her, but she didn’t say another word.
