Chapter 448: Vulnerable Beginning 2
Penelope realized the male who had been headed their way was now on top of her mate, restraining him from behind. Zagan’s head was pulled back so that his black eyes were on her—eyes that had previously been so dull and lifeless but were now swimming with every possible emotion.
Shock, rage, fear, guilt—she saw glimmers of them all passing behind his black irises like his soul was being lit within. But the most powerful emotion displayed there, the one that struck her to her core, was the depth of care that seemed to overwhelm all the others once she met his gaze.
"I have to help him," Penelope swallowed, alerting August to the predicament Zagan seemed to be in.
"We are nearly done," August replied hurriedly when she felt Penelope start to break away. "Stay with me. We will help him when we have this structure completed."
Zagan roared with the increased pressure on his arms and neck and the male who was sliding against him, torturing him in this unexpected way.
"I wonder what your blood tastes like," the intruder grunted in his ear.
"Come here and find out," Zagan snarled, spitting blood from his mouth that had continued to pool there from when he was hit.
"I bet it tastes like hers," the male replied, ignoring him and glancing up at Zagan’s mate in the distance. "If I drink from you, it will be like tasting you both."
Just then a body slammed into them, knocking the intruder off of Zagan and splaying him across the ground. Zagan quickly jumped to his feet to find Seth on top of the male, hitting him repeatedly in the face with no effect other than pure surprise.
"Another loyal pet," the male chuckled, launching Seth off of him and against a nearby pile of rubble. "How sweet they all are."
"You will pay for that," Zagan growled, the threat so low and menacing that it had the apparent effect of causing the ground to quake beneath them.
"For what? Tossing the mongrel? He attacked me first," the male rose from the ground, brushing himself off with a smirk. "Oh," he chuckled again, seeing the color in Zagan’s cheeks that was unheard of in vampires. "You mean for finding you quite appealing. How am I to help it?" He shrugged. "You are unique, and now you are blushing in a most alluring way. How about this: I will do you the favor of killing your mate quickly, and then you will allow me to finish what I started."
"Instead, how about we see what kind of eternal existence you will have to look forward to without your skin?" Zagan snarled.
"It has been done," the male acknowledged, a pleased smirk still playing on his lips. "It is grotesque. The skin does not grow back."
"Perfect," Zagan replied, stalking around the male in a circle, his eyes narrowing to determine the most likely area of weakness where he could attack.
"Looking for a weakness?" The male asked. "It is not easy to find mine, is it? It is quite amusing, because yours is so obvious. She is right there," he pointed to Penelope who was concentrating in earnest now, her eyes squeezed shut so she would avoid being distracted by the males who were fighting.
The male moved like he was going to go after Penelope, causing Zagan to launch himself in that direction to block the way.
"I hope you appreciate how pathetic this is," the intruder chuckled, rolling back on his heals after the feint. "Just give yourself over to the fate that awaits you. There is no escaping it, but I can make it less painful for her at least."
"You will not touch her," Zagan snarled, circling again like a predator.
"Oh," his opponent tsked, "Why would you make it so easy to prove you wrong? I am certain that touching her will actually be quite easy," he chuckled again. "Even if you were to somehow stop me from this mission the royals have sent me on, which is unlikely—what will you do after that? They will never stop coming for you or for her. There is nowhere you can hide that they will not find you."
"How is it that you found me here?" Zagan asked, glaring at the male who was standing so still and arrogant now with his hands folded behind his back.
There should have been no way for any vampire to find this portal, much less enter it. Even with Nedra growing weaker, the integrity of the portal had never been compromised.
"The royals have always known where you are," the male replied with a smirk that began elongating on his face again, as if he couldn’t resist the urge to become terrifying to behold. "There was never a time when they have not known how to find you."
"What?" Zagan scoffed. "They have never pursued me before. I have always been insignificant to Gray Vale."
"That does not mean they do not maintain an interest in where every vampire resides, particularly those outside of our world. It is those who are more likely to find a mate, even if it is rare," he answered. "There have also been vampires who grow too attached to others who are not of our kind and reveal their true nature, whether intentionally or not. That must be surveilled."
"You are speaking of me and the alyko," Zagan realized, his eyebrows pinching together with this new revelation that he had been watched all along.
"You, yes, but others have also done it," the male shrugged. "You are not the only one. It is a long existence in one place like Gray Vale. Not everyone is cut out for it. There are those who seek something else to pass their time."
"Would it not be worthwhile to find a way to end our existence should a given vampire want it to end?" Zagan growled. "That is what I was seeking. Such a thing would be a gift."
"Such a thing is treasonous," the male hissed, his demeanor changing instantly. "You speak of something forbidden."
"It is forbidden because it is a threat to others in the seat of power who wish to maintain that position for eternity," Zagan roared. "But what I speak of is a right every individual should have rather than being made to withstand their own eternity of nothing but the same."
"You have found that for yourself, but you will not spread the hope of it to others."
"Others do not even know that such a hope is available to them!"
"Neither do you!" The male roared back. "You have not found the way of doing what you speak. You have found a mate. That is all."
