Chapter 278: Baiting
Natalie~
I couldn’t believe my eyes. My heart stopped, a jagged shard of ice lodged in my chest as I stared across the blood-soaked floor. Nathan. His name clawed its way through my mind, a poison that burned hotter than any flame. The man who had made Zane and his father suffer so much was suddenly standing in front of me. He stood there, smirking, his dark hair gleaming under the flickering chandeliers like some twisted mockery of a king surveying his kingdom. The bodies of his own kin lay broken around him, their blood pooling in ugly distorted patterns, and yet he stood untouched, his arrogance a living thing that choked the air all around us. How could he be here? After everything, how could he stand there, grinning like a demon?
"It’s Nathan," I whispered through the bond, my voice trembling with a fury so raw it felt like it might tear me apart. Jasmine snarled within me, her rage vibrating through my bones, a primal drumbeat urging me to rip and tear.
"I know," Zane’s voice growled back, low and lethal, his massive wolf form quivering with barely contained violence. I could feel his crimson eyes burning through the dim hall, locked on Nathan like twin embers ready to ignite a wildfire. His fury pulsed through our bond, a strong wave threatening to drown us both.
I swallowed hard, sweat beading at my temples despite the cold air biting at my skin. My mind raced, clawing for answers. "Why is he here?" I sent to Zane, my thought a quiet thread weaving through the storm of our connection. "What does he want?"
Zane’s response was a snarl that thundered through my skull, shaking me to my core. "Does it matter, Natalie? He’s breathing. That’s reason enough for me to rip his throat out."
My chest burned with the same rage, a molten anger that begged me to let Jasmine loose, to let her tear into him until there was nothing left. But I forced myself to breathe, to think. I studied Nathan’s posture—the way he stood, relaxed, hands clasped behind his back like he was strolling through a garden instead of a slaughterhouse. His dark eyes glinted with something sinister, something calculated. Every fiber of my being screamed that this was a trap.
"Wait," I urged Zane, my voice sharp and desperate through the bond. "Don’t attack him yet."
His growl grew louder, a low rumble that made my skin prickle. "Why not?" The question was a challenge, his fury straining against the fragile thread of our connection.
"He wants you to," I whispered, my gaze narrowing as I locked eyes with Nathan. I pushed Jasmine’s power outward, silver threads of light weaving through the air, invisible to all but me, probing the shadows of his mind. Flashes of his thoughts assaulted me—twisted satisfaction, cruel anticipation, a sick hunger for chaos. He was baiting Zane, daring him to charge, to lose himself to rage. The realization hit me like a fist, stealing my breath.
Nathan tilted his head, his black hair sliding over one eye like a curtain of oil, his smile slow and venomous, curling across his face like a wound. "A little birdie told me that you and your father have been looking for me for years now, dear nephew. So I decided to pay you a surprise visit. I’m here now. What’s wrong, little prince?" he drawled, his voice slithering through the hall, smooth and rancid as decay. "Scared to face me? Or are you hiding behind your pretty little toy there?"
A savage snarl ripped from Zane’s chest, his massive paws gouging trenches into the marble, sending chips flying. I felt his fury explode through our bond, a wildfire scorching everything in its path. It was hot enough to burn me from the inside out, and for a heartbeat, I thought he’d break free and tear Nathan apart.
"Zane, don’t—" I started, but Nathan’s dark chuckle cut me off, sharp and mocking, baiting him in.