“Go to hell,” she screamed.
He sneered. “Either way, I will win this fight. You are outnumbered, and no help is on the way.”
An idea struck her. If she could get close enough to him, she could try to take him down. “Fine,” she said. “I’ll come with you.”
“No!” Frankie cried out. “Adrianna, I forbid you!”
Anatoli laughed. “Finally. I knew you were a smart bitch.” Anatoli stalked toward them, deliberately and slowly, probably enjoying watching them squirm.
Frankie held on to her. “Stop, Adrianna,” she said. “You are not going with them.”
“We fight together.” Julianna’s voice trembled, but she gripped her other hand tight.
She should have told them, but there was no time. “Trust me, I know what I’m doing.” She lowered her voice. “Just get out of here as soon they have me.” She looked at Mika meaningfully. “Right?”
Her cousin hesitated, but when her expression changed, she seemed to understand. “Right.”
“No,” Frankie hissed. “You will not sacrifice yourself.”
“Come down here now, bitch.” Anatoli was at the foot of the porch steps. “Do it before I change my mind and I have your mother ripped up piece by piece while she’s still breathing.”
She swallowed hard. “I’m coming.” She yanked her hands away from her mother and sister’s grasp, but they wouldn’t let go. “Stop, please, I—”
A loud growl made them all stop, and when she whipped her head around, she saw a flash of silver tackle Anatoli to the ground.
Darius.
Chapter Twenty-One
Darius attacked his uncle without hesitation or second thought. He had been standing by the sidelines, waiting for something to happen, but the moment he realized that Adrianna was serious about giving herself up, he had to act. His wolf tore out of him in a fury of teeth and claws and took Anatoli down. He thought he heard a scream—Adrianna maybe? He wasn’t sure as his wolf had taken over their body, and it was out for blood.
The old man was surprised by his actions, but he recovered and fought back. As they rolled around the ground, Anatoli used leverage to throw him off, then Remus and Simion came to hold him down. He struggled but to no avail, as the two Lycans used their strength to keep him at bay.
“I knew it!” Anatoli roared. “I knew you had betrayed us for this bitch!” He was spitting and practically foaming at the mouth. “Stupid boy! Why didn’t you die along with your father?” He turned to the mage. “It’s your fault! Why did you spare him? Why did you kill the rest of his family and leave him alive?”
Blood roared in Darius ears’ as a wave of pain tore through his skull. It was intense, a dozen times more painful than this morning’s episode. Remus and Simion held him tighter as his body convulsed and his wolf yowled in pain.
And he remembered.
He was sitting in the kitchen, finishing his English homework.
Mama. Tatâ. Thomsin. Elena.
His parents smiled at each other, like they were hiding a secret.
Then everything happened so fast. The door burst open, and Mama screamed in surprise. Two men in red robes came in, their faces shadowed by hoods. Darius was sitting right near the door, so one of the men grabbed him and pulled him to the side.
The second man waved his hand at his father and said some strange words. He froze, his face went pale and so did his hair, then he dropped to the floor. Mama let out a growl and stepped in front of Thomsin as she began to shift, but the man turned to her now. Again, the strange words came out of his mouth and Mama’s eyes went wide. She didn’t make a sound, but her hair turned pure white and her body went stiff before she fell back with a loud thud.
Darius was lunging for Elena, but the man holding him down was too strong and pushed him to the ground. He heard two cries—Elena and Thomsin—and then silence. Tears poured down his cheeks as he curled up in fright.
“Look at me,” the man said.
Slowly, he lifted his head. The man staring down at him pulled his hood down. Long dark hair fell down his pale face and bloody red eyes fixed at him. He heaved and clutched at his chest. “Hold … still.” When he waved his hand and started uttering those strange words. Darius closed his eyes, waiting for death. Pain spread through his skull and he could feel his heart stop. His limbs went stiff and then …
“You didn’t tell me your half brother had a fully-grown child,” the mage said.
The mage’s voice—now he knew why it was so familiar—jolted him out of the past and flung back to the present.
“Did it matter?” Anatoli said. “You said you would get rid of all of them.”
“You creatures are too stupid to understand the subtleties of how magic works, so I’ll forgive your insolence for now,” the mage spat back. “But now you can finish the job and then I can leave with what I came for.”
Darius opened his mouth to speak, but realized he was still in wolf form. I must know, he told his wolf. Give me our body and we will find the truth.
The wolf relented, and Darius changed back quickly. The shift startled Remus and Simion, who scrambled backwards as his body changed. He tried to get back to his feet, but the two enforcers were on him again, taking one arm each and then pushing him to his knees.
“I remember,” Darius gasped. “I remember everything.” He looked at the mage. “You killed my family”
“It seemed I underestimated your resistance to my killing spell and my powers had drained from taking the life of your parents and siblings.” He smiled. “I remember too. How
