Victoria

My worst nightmare is coming true.

Magnus is running his hands over my naked skin. I’m trembling, wanting nothing more than to disappear, but I can’t. I’ve been an utter fool.

What was I thinking? That I’d take on an alien warrior that’s twice as tall as me?

Nero is chained against the wall, and the sight of my love being locked up like a wild animal hurts me in the very center of my being. He doesn’t deserve this. The universe is cruel.

“No!”

A low, animalistic growl catches my attention, forcing me to open my eyes. It sounds like Nero, but it also doesn’t.

What I see makes my heart skip a beat.

Nero has ripped the chains from the wall. His chest is heaving up and down with every breath he takes, his red eyes fixed on me, his menacing fangs shimmering in the light…

…His fangs?

It’s my Nero in front of me, yet at the same time, it isn’t.

My Nero is tall, yes, but not nine feet tall. My Nero’s eyes aren’t red. My Nero doesn’t have fangs.

My Nero doesn’t have horns, either.

Yet this heaving figure, this beast, certainly does. He leaps forwards, sinking his claws right into Magnus Bruttius.

I duck down and crawl away, escaping between his legs, surrounded by snarls, bites, growls and claws. I reach the corner and turn around, relieved and frightened in equal measure

Nero has Magnus pinned down to the ground, and with his claws he’s ripping his skin to shreds. He sinks his fangs into Magnus’s shoulder, and rips a piece of him right out, blood trickling down his chin.

For a moment his red eyes flicker towards me. For a brief second I wonder if I’m next, if my mate is still in control… but then our eyes meet.

And I see that, inside, he’s still my mate. He recognizes me. I can’t explain how, but I just know.

The moment is ruined by Magnus throwing Nero off his chest. To my horror his body shifts and changes, just like Nero’s, two giant horns curling up like a rams.

“Let’s do this, brother,” Magnus growls, his voice low, animalistic, raw.

“Run,” Nero barks at me. “Run!”

I grab the dress that’s in my corner of the prison, and throw it on. As I clamor to my feet, my back pokes against a nail with a keychain dangling from it. I grab it and unlock Romulus’s chains, my hands shaking from fear as the two beasts keep each other locked in battle.

Finally, the key turns, and the lock springs open. Romulus stumbles forwards, barely conscious.

“Are you still there?” I ask.

He nods, one arm resting on my shoulder as we head towards the door.

“We need to burn this whole place down,” he says.

* * *

Nero

Magnus lunges for me.

I dodge to the side, swiping at him with my claws.

I connect, and pieces of fur go flying through the room.

He kicks off the wall and jumps forwards me, fangs first.

Again I dodge. He crashes into the wall, his horns leaving a mark on the stone wall.

I move with ease, my muscles brimming with power, as if I just unlocked my true potential. Perhaps I have.

I have fought against this presence, this darkness, this beast my entire life, as I was afraid of losing control.

Afraid of what might happen. Afraid of what I’d do.

Yet, I’ve never felt more alive, more in control of my body, ironically. I control every muscle, every fiber of my being, feeling stronger, faster, better than ever.

I don’t fully understand what I am, or what Magnus is, but that doesn’t matter. All that matters now is killing the bastard.

That might prove tough. We are equally matched, both quick enough that barely any blow lands.

I must win.

I must save Victoria.

I have no other choice.

* * *

Victoria

Romulus leads me down a dark hallway. Behind us I hear snarling and growling, like two wild wolves are going at it. I’m aware my heart is racing and my stomach is in knots, but I push on.

“Here,” Romulus chokes.

His voice is fading rapidly, and my dress is stained red with his blood. He leads me to a room filled with books and parchment, every inch of the walls covered with them.

“This is Gaius’s lifework,” he says. “All his research into opening portals is right here. And we need to burn it all down to save your planet.”

I grab a torch from the hallway, the fire burning brightly, the warmth heating my skin.

I never started a fire before.

Here’s to firsts.

I hold the torch against the bookcase.

This feels so wrong. Books aren’t made to be burned. And these aren’t even printed books — the pages have been filled by hand. The papers are stained with ink. A whole life’s work… taken by the fire.

The flames lick the fire, smoke circling up into the air, as the fire quickly spreads. The dry parchment is an excellent conduit, and within seconds the fire reaches up to the ceiling, a a wall of fire now staring down at me.

“Let’s go,” Romulus growls, “before it consumes us, too.”

We hobble down the hallway, the roaring fire behind us, its glow casting shadows on the walls.

My heart is racing as we turn the corner.

Will I find my mate defeated? Ripped to shreds?

As we get closer, I hear the two Elban warriors growling and snarling, still locked in their battle.

They are facing one another, their claws locked, their entire bodies trembling as they try to push the other over.

“Give up,” Magnus growls. “You are dead.”

“Never,” Nero answers.

“Beg for death like your father!”

To my horror, I see Nero’s feet are slipping. Behind us, the fire roars louder with every passing second — we have to get out.

Now.

I grab the key I used to free Romulus, and jab it into Magnus’s side with every ounce of strength I have. He howls like a wounded dog, his strength slipping away for a fraction of a second.

And that’s all it takes.

Nero pounces on top of him, his claws raining down on Magnus. He bites his neck, blood spurting out, Magnus crying out in pain.

Thick, black smoke starts to fill the cell. If we don’t leave now, we’re never getting out.

“Come,” I say, placing my hand on Nero’s shoulder. “We have to go!”

He whirls around. His eyes are red and filled with bloodlust, his fangs dripping with blood.

Is that still my mate in there?

Or has this beast taken control?

Nero nods, and before I realize what’s happening he throws Romulus over one shoulder, grabs me with his other hand, and sprints into the black smoke, keenly finding the exit with his heightened senses.

We reach the top of the stairs and enter the main hall, where a whole squad of House Bruttius guards are waiting for us. Their eyes are filled with fear as they gaze upon Nero’s shifted, beastlike form.

“W-where’s Magnus?” one of them stammers. “What have you done, you, you… monster?!”

They raise their swords. Fear fills my heart once more — we’ve gotten too far to be struck down now, with the finish line in sight, right?

Luckily, Nero agrees.

With a thunderous roar he leaps up into the air, over ten feet high, jumping right over the shocked men. Bursting through the door we head into the night, free, finally free.

Behind us, black smoke billows into the night, blotting out the stars.

House Bruttius burns.