Chapter 95: One True King

A trap? It's my turn to laugh.

"This is supposed to impress me?" I shake my head, my wereform not allowing a full smile as I go on. "You do realize I have sorcerers of my own with me."

Caine lurches down the first step, face morphing to wereshape. "You're too late to stop us," he snarls. "I am the one true king!" His pack shift nervously, and I wonder if he's lost his mind and their loyalty.

Rupe's grin is as evil, his eyes bulging as he focuses on Syd. As he speaks, I feel the thread of power between him and Caine and realize it's not the Californian leader who has cracked.

"I hoped you'd come." Rupe is clearly broken inside, his mind gone, though what caused the snap I have no idea. He was deluded and had a God complex the last time we met, but he wasn't insane. Not that he showed me. The sorcerer who stands on the dais is no longer fully in control of his faculties.