Rabid For Her Revenge
ELEVEN

My consort had evaporated into thin air in the days following the naming ceremony. Unlike the days before when I had been content to lounge around and entertain myself in whichever way I had desired with no care if he showed his face or not, I now found myself increasingly restless with every day that past, without a single word from the One.

Perhaps it was the emergence of a threat that had me on edge. The man with the eyeless white mask was on my mind more often than I liked.

After I had killed Myrin he still haunted me, his apparition appearing at random times. Whenever I saw him, or sometimes could only hear his cruel whisper, I found the mercury freezing in my veins. My breathing would halt, and I would be paralyzed. Sometimes I was able to break out of my frozen state faster than others but even a split second where I found myself unable to move was too long.

I hated that Myrin still had such a strong influence over me. I loathed that he had a power over my body that I didn’t.

The slightest touch of another had my skin prickling as if a thousand spiders were crawling across my skin.

I had nearly ripped the entire arm off of an employee who had brushed past me with an arm full of fresh linens. I had snatched his arm and yanked it around and back before I had thought twice. I had only dislocated his arm before I had been able to fully assess the threat and realize he had meant me no harm and it had been but an accident that I was every much as to blame for as he was.

Still, had it taken me even a moment longer to clearly assess the situation the male would be missing an arm and that would have been a lot harder to dismiss than a dislocated elbow.

Now thinking back on it, maybe such an act would have had Sarakiel confronting me, and I would have finally been able to catch a moment with the busy One.

I clicked my tongue and dug my claw deeper into the groove in the rock I was making. Holding the rock up, I felt my lips twitch down in displeasure. The tiger stripes looked too rugged and uneven. I chucked it across the gravel driveway and blew out a breath, leaning back on my elbows. The hard steps leading to the front entrance of the mansion dug into my spine. Wiggling my bare toes, I felt the little rocks dig into my calloused feet that were layered with scars from where Myrin had whipped them bloody and raw and cut them with the thin slices from a knife.

It wasn’t that I liked pain, it was just that I had a pain tolerance that made such small discomforts inconsequential.

Lifting a hand to shield my eyes from the sun I stared down the long stretch of gravel to the black iron gates that blocked off easy access to the mansion. In the distance I could hear the purr of an engine approaching and I watched those gates slowly pull open to allow the sleek silver car to roll down the driveway, the rocks crunching beneath the tires.

Raising my arms above my head, I stretched out and then pulling my shoulders back let out a yawn and slouched back against the steps. Through narrowed eyes I watched the vehicle arc the roundabout and come to stop just a few yards from where I was lounging.

Two tall males, Threes by the aura they were emitting, exited the car. One opened the back passenger door, and I felt my heart leap into my throat. I smelled a familiar scent, one which belonged to the Western Province.

I lurched forward, ready to spring at the male who gracefully exited the vehicle.

I had sworn that I would kill all of the Ones of the Western Province for that meeting Myrin had dragged me to and the humiliation I had been subjected to. Here was my first opportunity.

My heart was beating in my throat, my fingers twitching in anticipation to tear into that chocolate skin.

Ramiel’s gaze alighted upon me. His eyes were more of a caramelized brown than the smooth chocolate color of his skin. I had never really taken the time to observe the male, or any of them really for that matter. I could recognize them just fine by their scents and their mocking voices.

I watched those lips part as his languid voice flowed over me. “Like a cat sunning itself and watching on with annoyance to see who dares to disturb her nap. I can almost see your tail flicking.”

The tone he used irked me, his voice wasn’t ever mocking it was just lazy and uninterested. Everything about Ramiel screamed bland disinterest because those eyes said that he already knew everything and could see through everyone.

Slowly rising from the steps, I didn’t rise higher than a crouched position, my hands at my sides with my claws out and ready to shred. I said nothing in response to his odd way of greeting me. He would be dead soon, so it didn’t really matter to me that he lacked proper manners.

I took a single step forward and watched his Threes immediately step in front of their One in response to my threatening gesture. Anyone could tell that I was wound tight and ready to spring.

Yet, Ramiel brushed his bodyguards aside with a raised hand that told them to stand down but remain on standby. “Hello, Daylin,” he said. It was a soft greeting meant to soothe me. He really was treating me like a wild animal but for some reason that made me feel more at ease. He wasn’t underestimating me. “You are looking well. I told you that Daedra had more in store for you.”

My eye twitched in irritation. I didn’t like how he was speaking with me so casually as if there was no bad blood between us. He may have asked for my forgiveness during my trial but that didn’t mean I was about to grant it to him. Taking another step towards him, I lowered another inch, now only a few feet away from him. I shifted my weight onto the balls of my feet, my toes digging into the sharp gravel. The grinding of the small rocks was the only sound before my own voice broke the silence. “You may have been the most tolerable of that despicable group but that hardly means I will allow you to keep breathing.”

One of his bodyguards made a move towards me but the back of Ramiel’s hand slammed into his chest, stopping him in his tracks. Ramiel’s caramel eyes never left my face. “Regrettably, I cannot allow you to exact your revenge today.”

I hunkered down, the only warning I was giving him that I was about to attack. “Regrettably, you don’t have a choice.”

“Your consort invited me here.” Ramiel countered as my calf muscles tensed in preparation. “I think he would be quite perturbed if he found his guest dead at his doorstep, left like the unfortunate mouse offering a cat likes to gift.”

I snorted at his feeble attempt to sway me. “He’d get over it, he’s callous like that.” Sarakiel would only lament over the lost opportunity not the lost person. “Everyone is replaceable.”

The words had hardly left my lips when Ramiel rebutted me. “Are you sure that’s an assumption you are willing to risk making?”

My lips twisted up into a wicked grin. “Better to ask for forgiveness than permission you know will never be granted,” I chirped.

Ramiel stepped back from me, the Threes coming forward to form a wall between us. “You’ll have to excuse me for defending myself. You see, I very much value my life and would like to continue living it.”

“It doesn’t matter. I wasn’t going to let them go either. Whether they die first or last is of no consequence to me.”

I went for the instant kill knowing I didn’t have much time before some of Sarakiel’s people, or perhaps even Sarakiel himself, arrived to escort Ramiel.

The Three anticipated my attack for his heart and brought out an arm to block, only for me to duck lower than his chest to slice at his heels instead. My cut was shallower than I’d intended but it served its purpose in bringing the male to his knees.

I had no time to make my second attempt at his life when a heavy foot smashed into my shoulder and sent me stumbling over my feet and eventually losing my footing entirely, crashing into the gravel. The tiny rocks scraped my arms and knees, drawing silver blood.

With a hiss I got to my feet, displeased to see that the kick had put so much distance between me and Ramiel. I was now several meters from them.

Shaking out my hands, silver droplets splattered on the ground. “That was a mistake.” Anywhere my blood touched would leave a burn and it would be a deadly distraction.

Disregarding my own safety, I barreled straight into the Three, colliding with his huge form.

Just like a rabid animal I latched onto him with claws and teeth and started mangling him.

Hot blood filled my mouth, flowing over my tongue and trickling down my throat. The taste fueled the savage beast.

The male had me by the neck, squeezing in an attempt to make me let go but I only sank my teeth deeper into him. I could feel my oxygen fading fast, so, in a last-ditch, effort I brought my arm back and then plunged it forward.

There was a sickening squelch as my hand punched through skin, muscle, and tissue and sank deep into his belly. My hand seized the slippery organ there.

The male stilled, his hulking body doubling over. The hand around my neck disappeared and then a second later a solid punch was delivered to my temple, making me see stars.

I was ripped away from the male, Sarakiel’s people finally having arrived at the scene.

As I was forcefully pulled away, I tore my head back, taking out a chunk of flesh with me. I didn’t let go of the organ in my hand either and proceeded to take it with me as I was hauled back.

There were three sets of hands on me, one set on my left shoulder, one on my right, and one on my neck and the top of my head.

I spat the meat out on the ground, blood painting the driveway but I held on to the partial tube of the intestine I had pulled out.

I tried to wrestle my shoulders free while snarling and snapping my teeth at my captors.

I was quickly silenced when Sarakiel stepped in front of me. His back faced me as he stood between me and the carnage I had created. He turned his head slightly, not enough for us to make eye contact but enough that I knew his next words were directed at me. “Enough, you’ve already shed blood. Take a step back. Your petty feelings do not matter when you are threatening to fuck up my plans.”

His voice was icy cold. It was a tone he reserved for the others under his command but up until this point it had never been directed at me. This was it, I realized, he wasn’t punishing me, but he was putting me in my place. He wasn’t going to make me apologize or discipline me in order to pacify Ramiel but he was going to rebuke me for going too far, especially when I had known that my actions would not have been condoned by him. I had stepped out of line and he was putting me back behind it while drawing the line so clearly that I would have no excuse if I were to step over it again.

Seemingly satisfied with my lack of continued struggles, my consort next addressed his guest. “Ramiel, my apologies. I didn’t know that she would be out here.” His drab tone lacked even a hint of remorse.

The other One was aware of this and dryly replied, “But you didn’t bother to make sure she wasn’t either.”

“She goes where she pleases.”

“Yes, I can see that. She went elbow deep into my subordinate.” He remarked, eyeing my bloody arm and the intestine I still held in my hand.

With a sneer I tossed it away from me and spat on the ground.

“I’ll have them both escorted to the medical ward.” My consort easily dismissed the entire matter, not replaceing it to be of any worth to waste time over any longer. It wasn’t like either of the Threes would die because of the wounds I had inflicted.

Still, Ramiel didn’t seem as keen to simply dissolve the matter. “She put a hole in my Three, Sarakiel. I don’t think a band-aid is going to fix that.”

“I have a bona-fide doctor under my employ, not a school nurse.” Sarakiel flicked his fingers in a command for his subordinates to take care of the issue. In instant response the male holding my head and neck left me to the other two holding me and hauled the male who could no longer walk due to his sliced ankles over his shoulders. The other injured male limped after them, one hand pressed against his stomach to staunch the bleeding. His intestine was already regenerating but I had no doubt it would continue to hurt like a bitch for the next week

My consort gestured for Ramiel to follow him inside the mansion.

The chocolate skinned male eyed my consort before exhaling an unimpressed breath through his nose. He fixed his cuffs, the golden cufflinks matching the golden studs decorating his earlobes.

I was shifted out of the way as Sarakiel brushed past me without a further glance, Ramiel following a few steps behind.

The grip on my shoulders had relaxed after I had stilled at Sarakiel’s command and thus allowed me the perfect chance to suddenly jerk free, their fingers grasping too late at where my shoulders had been as I sprang forward, drawing my fist back and then slamming it square into Ramiel’s nose. I felt the bones crunch satisfyingly under my knuckles and watched the blood gush out.

In the same instant I had gained victory, I surrendered. “I’m done!” I shouted out immediately, taking a few steps back with my hands raised. “I’m done,” I repeated in a calmer tone, but it still had enough bite in it to keep anyone from grabbing me again.

Ramiel gaped at me incredulously, one hand cupping his shattered nose. I grinned in savage delight but made no further move to hurt him.

Sarakiel had stopped on the top step, the door having already been opened by Claude, the butler. My consort looked at me with hooded eyes that showed disapproval. He was not happy that I had executed one final act of rebellion so soon after his reprimand.

I wasn’t too happy with him either. He knew how I felt about the Ones from the Western Province if he didn’t want me to cause a scene, he should have made sure that I never encountered Ramiel during his stay here.

Besides, this was the first time in days I had even seen Sarakiel. I obviously would have questions for him after the naming ceremony, but he had left me in the dark to stew on my own thoughts and assumptions.

“You owe me Ursa,” I reminded him brusquely. Then I turned on my heel and rounded the side of the mansion, leaving all of the males to their business.