in his veins. Even stronger was the power of Lily’s love.
The moon was almost directly overhead—time was growing short. Moonlight caught him just outside the circle, and he dropped the glamour that had hidden him from view, standing there tall and proud, his naked body hard and pulsing with more power than he’d ever felt.
His skin glistened in the moonlight, his muscles practically quivered with power, and his cock rode high and hard against his belly. He felt as if all the elements waited for his call.
“Master! Behind you.”
Aldo spun about when one rogue called out. He stood just inside the circle, still too close to Annie, but his eyes went wide as he realized who it was who challenged him.
“Son. I was hoping you’d stop by.”
“Let her go.” Sebastian folded his arms across his chest, and he knew he looked larger than life, that the magic flowed from him in waves of power.
Aldo took a short step back, obviously surprised. “Sebastian ? Why, son, I had no idea.” The man practically cackled as he stared at him, and Sebastian wondered what the old bastard was thinking.
Then he felt a surge of power from the pack, and he was there, in his father’s mind, and the disgusting miasma coating the man’s thoughts almost made him retch. But he knew. Suddenly Sebastian knew exactly what his father had planned.
He hoped like hell he hadn’t made a terrible mistake. “Let her go, Aldo.”
“What? You’ve always called me father. Have those foul creatures turned my only son against me?”
“There was no need for them to do anything. You are not my father. Not anymore. I want no part of you or your plans.”
Aldo smiled, a hideous caricature of pleasure. “But they involve you, my beloved son. Why do you think you even exist? I fucked that bitch just to get you. Do you think I would have touched her otherwise? I knew about shapeshifters, even though they were still in hiding—documents I took from your mother. She’d gotten them when her older sister died. She was a lab technician who worked for a government official named Milton Bosworth. It seems Bosworth had authorized secret experiments on a freak, a female who was part wolf. Do you know what fascinated me most about her? Tests showed she was practically immortal.”
Sebastian. The authority in Anton’s voice raised shivers along his spine. Keep him talking. We’re familiar with some of this information, but we need to know more.
“What’s your point, old man?”
“Interesting way to put it.” Aldo’s smile made his flesh crawl. “You’ll never grow old. Did you know that? It’s one of the things those Chanku bastards have over humans. You have it too. I want it. I want your power, and your immortality. I want your life force, son.”
He stared at the one who had fathered him and felt ill. The man was truly insane. “Turn her loose. Now.”
“I will. On one condition.”
Sebastian glared at him. “Name it.”
“That you take her place.”
Lily cried out. No, Sebastian. You can’t. He’ll kill you.
I’m stronger than him. “Set her free, first.”
“How do I know you won’t attack me? Why should I trust you?”
“Because I don’t lie. And because I don’t think you have the strength to fight my magic.”
Aldo burst into laughter and glanced at the rogues behind him. “Set her free. The boy’s got delusions of grandeur. He’s never been stronger than me.” He muttered something under his breath as two of the rogues went to Annie and unfastened her restraints.
Sebastian felt the power of the spell surround him. The connection linking him to Lily, to Anton, and the power of the pack flashed out like the blink of a light.
He stood before his father, his magic lying dead in his veins as Annie stumbled away from the tree. She reached for him as she passed, but energy from the wards sizzled and burned her hand. Stricken, she backed away.
Sebastian stood alone. The moon was almost directly overhead, and he felt the power of its brilliant reflection. As the rogues moved toward him, he raised his arms overhead and called out to the Mother, but there was no sound.
He couldn’t let his father take him, but his legs refused to move, and he stood there, wondering if the pack would realize he was trapped within the same spell that had held Annie.
“Come, boy.”
Like a mindless automaton, he followed Aldo toward the tree. He was vaguely aware of Annie stumbling away toward the woods, heading straight for