And Then There Were Four (Lilith Carrie)

“How do you come to that conclusion?” I asked, trying to understand what exactly she had against the

girl. Yes, she had shown interest in her over the years but never truly explained why her sudden interest

in killing her had been so high.

Opening and closing her mouth, she pursed her lips to- gether and grinned instead. It was a clear sign

she wasn’t go- ing to say anything to me, and when she finally did open her mouth, I wasn’t surprised.

“Your son has taken the news of you well.”

Diverting the question as usual. “That’s good. Does he seem open to what we are asking him to do?”

Shrugging her shoulders, she slowly stood to her feet, flicking her hair over her shoulder with a grin that

spread soft- ly across her lips. “I have been… helping him to understand.”

“Your mind tricks aren’t what I asked you to do, Inanna.”

“I know,” she hummed as her gaze glittered in the dim lighting, “but it’s working, so what does it matter?”

She was cocky in her approach to do what we had planned, and knowing she played with fire when it

came to the pawns in our game, I was concerned. However, unlike so many others I had played with

before, she was effective when it came to getting what she wanted.

“Very well,” I sighed, shaking my head, “just no more com- plications.”

Pausing in her step, her eyes met mine with another glimpse of hesitation, and I knew that something

else had happened she had come forth to tell me. “What is it?”

“The dragon,” she said slowly, “he’s become a complica- tion and a possible issue.”

“Dragon? You mean Silas?”

Nodding her head, I sighed with frustration. Silas had once been a friend of mine and over time became

an enemy as our views on certain things changed. He didn’t see the cause I was trying to fight for, and it

wasn’t a surprise he would put his nose into things that didn’t concern him.

“I see. Handle it. Put some space between him and what- ever complication he is creating. I’m sure your

creative nature can think of something, Inanna.”

Lucas.

The moment Inanna had stopped me in the garden after I spent the evening with Cassie, I knew she

wanted something. However, I hadn’t expected her word to be true about meet- ing my father. The dark

eyes that looked back at me were the same as my own, and everything about him was untrusting.

Lucas.

The sound of his voice when he said my name that night was something that would forever haunt my

dreams. There was no way I had come from that, but the more I thought about it, the more I knew it was

true.

He was my father, and I was filled with more darkness than I realized.

The moment I returned to my room, I reeled over the con- versation I had with Cassie. I hated I was

being cruel toward her, but the last thing I wanted was for her to get hurt. For the darkness inside me to

lash out and destroy her in some kind of way.

She may have been a lot of things, but deep down, I could see her heart was purer than most of us here.

Even if she did hide it behind a wall of sarcasm and cruel intentions. No one can blame someone for

lashing out in unkind ways because of what they have been through, and I knew that better than anyone.

The moment I slept, I dreamt of the dark world I belonged to. Whispers of hatred and unhappy endings

swirled through my mind as I saw the destruction the past brought and the fu- ture held.

A world of flames and chaos which would consume every- one I loved if I didn’t keep my distance from

her. Cassie would be the one to do it, and it would be because of me.

However, as I tried to keep my distance, something dark inside me sought to complete our bond. Sought

to force her into submission, and as much as I tried to fight it, I couldn’t. My lycan tried to push himself to

the front and craning my

neck now as I stared at her, all I wanted to do was taste her blood.

Feel her heart beating against my own as I fucked her into submission.

“Lucas, let go of me,” she cried out softly as panic filled her eyes. Panic I was enjoying more than she

knew. “You’re hurting me.”

“Hurting you?” I growled as she stared up at me with the same blue eyes I had fallen in love with so

many times before. “How many people have you hurt?”

Shock swept through her face at my comment. She had definitely not been expecting me to ask her that,

and honest- ly, I was pleased with her reaction. Yet, disgusted with myself as well. What the hell was

wrong with me?

“What happened to you?” she whispered as her eyes brimmed with tears. “How can you say something

like that to me? You wanted me as your mate, and then you treat me like shit…. what the fuck is wrong

with you?”

“Wrong with me? There is nothing wrong with me. I feel better than I ever had.”

Shaking her head, she refused to accept my answer, and as she tried to pull herself free again, I

tightened my grip on her. My hand slid up to her throat, causing her to whimper in both pleasure and fear.

“Lucas, please.”

“Oh, don’t pretend you don’t like being treated like this, Cassie. I can smell your arousal, and it’s so

fucking delicious.”

A soft moan escaped her lips as a single tear fell down her cheek. I knew she could use her powers to

hurt me if she wanted to, and that battle waged behind her eyes as she tried to contain the anger that

wanted to lash out. “Please, let me go.”

Before I could answer her, I was roughly hit from behind. My hold on Cassie loosened as my gaze turned

murderous and was spun around to find Pollux had pulled Cassie behind him and was staring down at

me with a newfound hatred I found deliciously enticing. “Pollux,” I chuckled with delight, “how good of

you to join us.”

Narrowing his gaze, he bared his fangs at me, “I don’t give a fuck if you’re her mate or not. If you ever

put your hands on her like that again, I’ll fucking kill you.”

Laughter escaped my throat at his comment as I felt the shift wanting to take over me. Every part of me

wanted to kill this boy for putting his hands on me, but I knew that wasn’t possible. Odin and the other

gods wouldn’t allow that to hap- pen.

“Pollux, please… let’s go.”

Her soft voice caught my gaze and her hand on his arm. Regardless, if it was her brother, it pissed me off

more than anything. “You’re not going anywhere, mate.”

The moment I went to step forward though, I was frozen in my place, and stepping from around the

corner came a flash of blue hair and glowing grin eyes. The same girl I had seen with Cassie so many

times stood with her hand gently in front of her and a grin on her face.

“Oh, isn’t this interesting,” she purred, turning her gaze to Cassie and Pollux for a moment as I stood,

unable to do any- thing. “Cassie, why didn’t you tell me your mate was part dark- ling.”

What did she just call me?

Cassie’s brows furrowed in confusion as she let her gaze fall from me to her friend. “What is that?”

Chuckling, the blue–haired girl looked to me again with a mischievous smile. “Let’s take this conversation

into his room, shall we? It looks like we have a lot to talk about, and the hall- way isn’t the best place to

do it.”