"You see there, she can't feel anything, and neither can I. Then it's settled," he growled out, sounding casual, although I could hear a twinge of pain in his voice—or I was imagining it.
"What do you mean?" Eryx asked, sounding as confused as I did.
"What do I mean?" Zeus said with one of his brows raised, while he clenched his fists by his sides.
"I mean your all-so-loving mate here broke our mate bond. She didn't just feed me poison; she somehow managed to get her hands on 'Tawseeds' and fed them to me along with the poison, and broke our bond. She is no longer my mate. There is no cursed mate bond between us," Zeus gritted out harshly, while Eryx stared at him—his eyes wide in shock. He then shifted his gaze to me, still not believing what he had heard. Honestly, I was as shocked as him. Anel had told me nothing about Lana breaking the bond with one of her mates.
I shifted my eyes from Eryx's questioning gaze, growing uncomfortable under his stare, while thinking of appropriate words to say that wouldn't make me sound clueless or suspicious.
"You see, brother, this is why we don't trust the Defragus. They are all traitors, and I told you before that she was no better. She is a traitor, just like her father," he sneered—pausing on his words as he took me in, his face scrunched up heavily in disgust.
"She is a weak and useless omega, no less than a slave. Have you forgotten what she did to my family? She is the reason my mother and Amphine are dead. It's all her bloody fault. And yet you still give her the time of day, all because she opens her legs for you like a heat-sick, stray moon-damn harlot that she—"
"Enough!" I shouted, surprising myself—and it seemed, everyone else.
PROFILE IDENTIFIED
MYSTICAL CREATURE: WEREWOLF
NAME: ZEUS DEFRAGUS
WOLF GRADE: ALPHA
WOLF PACK: Vargheim
WOLF ABILITY: UNCLASSIFIED
Warning: (System Profile too low, cannot access)
And almost immediately, memories of Zeus with Lana filtered through my mind, and all of them were filled with Lana's pain, her cries, her suffering, and her shame.
I watched, stunned, as young Lana stood at the center of what seemed like a crowd, her teenage features looking exactly like mine. She knelt on the ground, bound with chains, while Zeus stood at the center of the crowd with her. His eyes were pure black and haunting, but now there was a tint of red in his iris as he walked up to two people wrapped up in chains—an older woman and a man. They looked at him entering, their eyes filled with what looked like fear, as the crowd shouted, hailing Zeus.
He stood directly before them, a haunting smirk on his lips. Then he turned to face Lana, who looked at him, tears streaming down her face, her hands clasped before her in a begging posture.
"Please have mercy, Zeus… Please don't kill them. Don't kill my parents, please, Zeus. They are all I have. You've taken everything away from me already… Please don't kill them. I beg of you, Zeus… Please don't kill them…" Her voice choked up as more tears streamed down her face.
Zeus' smirk turned into a full-blown smile, although it didn't reach his eyes, as he looked down at her begging him, as though he enjoyed seeing her like that—looking weak and helpless.
His eyes flashed, the red in them increasing, covering more black as if making himself known. His hands shaped into long black claws, and a growl ripped out of his throat. Within a blink, he swiped the man's throat clean, detaching his head from the body. It fell to the ground with a thump and rolled toward him. He lifted his foot, stomping on the head, which squashed disgustingly on the floor, more blood streaming out, while the man's remaining body fell straight and limp, blood gushing out from where the head used to be. A loud wail came from the woman beside him, and a scream pierced through the air.
He looked toward the woman, his dark eyes narrowing as she immediately started pleading for her life. He looked indifferent, as if he were deaf and blind to her pain and begging.
This time, he dug his claws deep into her chest and brought them out dripping with blood, which soaked the carpet. The light in the woman's eyes slowly dimmed as she fell straight to the floor beside her husband.
Zeus then turned to face Lana on the floor, who sat frozen in shock, not moving or blinking.
He bent down to her level, his hands wrapping around her throat tightly, and still she did not make a move.
"Next time, Omega, don't you dare refer to me by my name.
From today on, I am your Alpha and nothing less," he growled, pushing her back without regard.
"Lock her up in the dungeon and chain her with wolfsbane—not enough to kill her, but enough to make her scream in pain and wish for death.
Dump her parents' bodies beside her there till they rot with her. They do not deserve a burial," he spat out darkly, and immediately, the vision was cut.
More memories poured through—and not a single one of them was good. And in not a damned one was Lana treated well and with dignity by Zeus, let alone love. Even after Zeus married her, he continuously brought other she-wolves into their bed in her presence. He didn't just cheat—he humiliated her. He made her watch him fuck them, forced her to serve them like a slave, lavishing them with attention while she stood off to the side, silent and aching for the love of the mate who was supposed to cherish her.
"You see, this is your problem, Zeus. You're always so quick to call me a slut, when I've never seen a bigger manwhore than you," I spat, rage coursing through me as heat rose to my cheeks.
"You're angry. You're mad that I broke the mate bond with you—fine, your emotions are valid. But what about me? Have you ever stopped to think about what I felt?" I snarled.