trauma they’d been through. But Yakov’s death would mean he could never hurt another soul, and that would have to be enough.
Allowing his cold fury to settle over his shoulders like the coat he was still wearing, Kirill stepped into the woodshed.
/~/~/~/~/
Arvyn’s brain was full of jumbled thoughts. On the one hand, his wolf could appreciate that Ra needed to fight for his mates, the way any alpha would fight for his pack. He could feel a sense of pride in the way Ra was defending their mating. But as an alpha, Arvyn wasn’t used to feeling useless and unable to even offer verbal encouragement to one of the men who held his heart and soul. His wolf side was only mildly anxious, which helped. Arvyn trusted his animal spirit to know if anything went wrong in the fight he couldn’t see, although what he could do about it was a whole different story.
Then there was the mess with Kirill. Arvyn snarled at the vampires he’d dropped onto the ground, showing all his teeth. Yakov deserved to die. In Arvyn’s head, so did Sven. It was simple. Those victims in the barn didn’t hurt themselves. The only reason Arvyn could see for talking to Sven was to find out if any of the other vampires at the coven were also involved, so their names could be given to the vampire council. But with his worry about Ra, Arvyn wasn’t in the mood to listen to a bad-guy monologue.
The temperature in the barn dropped a full ten degrees when Kirill finally walked through the door. Arvyn could immediately see the difference, and from the way Yakov’s eyes were bugging out of his head, so could he. Cold. Stern. Kirill’s face was an emotionless mask. If Arvyn hadn’t have been able to feel his mate’s love for him through their bond, he’d have been heading for the hills. Kirill was every inch a vampire of old. Even his voice sounded deeper as he spoke.
“I’ve never been so disgusted in one of my kind before in my life.” One handed, Kirill scooped up Yakov’s bound body, holding it up in front of him, using the other hand to rip the gag from Yakov’s mouth. Yakov gasped and it seemed like he was going to start speaking, but a frosty glare from Kirill froze the words in his throat.
“Your crimes against me and one of my beloveds was bad enough. Drugging me, chaining me up, sending killers after the one the Fates decreed was mine. But then to find all those victims in the barn, to hear a list of similar crimes at three other covens – you’re a disgrace to vampires everywhere.”
Arvyn glanced at Sven who was still prone on the floor. The man had a look of disbelief around his gag, and he was shaking his head madly. Maybe there is a need to talk to him after all. But Kirill was speaking again.
“Your fate is already sealed. I told you I would rip your head from your shoulders the first time I saw you after I got free. Today’s the day. Any last words before I carry out your sentence?”
A trickling sound bounced onto the floor. Yakov had pissed himself. “I couldn’t help it,” Yakov cried. “I’m allergic to bagged blood... Er, my father abused me... I was never loved as a child. I didn’t hurt you when I chained you up and your beloved is right here... Please, believe me… I need help, not punishments. It’s not as though any of those other people meant anything to you… Why do you even care?”
Kirill’s eyes narrowed. “Nothing you’ve said justifies what you did to me, those poor victims, or my precious beloved. If the Fates hadn’t intervened my beloved and those captives would be dead by now.”
“I didn’t mean…”
“You’re not allergic to bagged blood, I’ve seen you drink it. If your father abused you it might have justified you killing him and your mother as the council strongly suggests you did, but that’s got nothing to do with what you did after that when you targeted innocents. The only reason why you didn’t want me to claim my beloved is because you knew he’d scent out your victims the first time he went for a run around the coven.”
“There wasn’t… I mean…
“And as for caring, I’ve always cared about others. That’s why I stayed in my position so long, even when there were days you all sickened me with your petty