James was snapped awake by Lily’s none too quiet cursing. He groaned in complaint sitting up watching her look for something. “Looking for this?” he asked taking out the vial where he stored it and she narrowed her eyes at him confirming that she was indeed looking for just that. Lily tried to grab it from him, but he moved it out of her reach. “What is it?” he asked.
“None of your business James! Give it to me,” she snapped and James got up from the bed, feeling suspicious.
“No, not until you tell me what this is. I know it is something from Xavier, I recognize his handwriting,” he told and she scowled at him.
“I don’t think I have to explain myself,” she started and James interrupted her.
“Actually that is the one thing you have a lot of doing,” he told her and she narrowed her eyes at him. “You go off on your own to take on Xavier and Wendy said it took you a long time to “take care” of Xavier,” he explained.
“He didn’t get anything he didn’t deserve,” she shot quickly looking very angry. “Xavier had to pay for what he had done,” she added sounding as if she was trying to convince herself as much as she was him.
“And what really happened when you found Wendy and Xavier because I have heard enough to know that much more happened there than what the girl told her father,” James demanded feeling his anger grow. Lily growled at him.
“What do you want James?” she snarled at him. “You want to hear step by step how I had to handle the vampire and the beast at the same time to kill a big freaking ass monster and get to Xavier! How I started to lose control of them! How about when I had every intention to kill that girl as long as it meant Xavier would die too and I only changed my mind a split second before I pressed the trigger,” she shouted at him with a wild look in her eye.
“I guess you want to hear to how I continued to lose it to the point I enjoyed all the pain I cause Xavier much more than any good and sane person should! Or how when I was finished and I found that Wendy was still waiting for me I was tempted to do the same to her,” Lily explained with icy fury in her voice. She turned away from James to throw herself into a chair. “It’s a miracle I managed to come back… but not completely,” she stated the anger suddenly gone from her face. “I’m not the good person I thought I was. I have darkness inside me,” she finished.
“You’re a good person, the darkness comes from your vampire and the wildness of the beast,” James told her wanting to comfort her, but she glared at him her anger returning.
“You don’t know anything, James Lacrosse,” she snapped shooting up from the chair. “You want to know what that is,” she said looking at the vile he still held. “It’s what Xavier gave to Lacy so she wouldn’t be mated to Chris anymore,” she told him and James stared at her in horror.
“You were going to take it?” He asked her hoping to hell she had some other reason for having it.
“No I wasn’t going to take it,” she told him and James relaxed with relief. “I don’t suffer this whole mate thing. I had thought of giving it to you,” she added and James’s jaw dropped as he stared at her with pure disgust.
“To me?” he started and she shrugged in confirmation. “I bet you didn’t even plan on telling me either?” he asked and the look on her face told him she wasn’t going to. James’ rage flamed up to dangerous levels. “You’d play me just like Xavier played you,” he growled at her.
“I was trying to decide. This whole mate thing has screwed with your brain James; you didn’t look at me twice until that night in the woods. Now you think I am the one and you expect me to feel the same and act like the happy little mate!” she answered him.
It wasn’t true, James had noticed her before and he didn’t expect her to act any different except for her to love him back and let him in. Instead of telling her all this he could only focus on his indignation that she would do such a thing to him. “You’re a damn hypocrite Lily,” he told her.
“So this is what you want? To get rid of me that badly?” he asked her accusingly but she simply shrugged at him. James growled sick and tired of her indifference. “Fine, you got it,” he snapped and before she could say anything he ripped off the cap and drank the liquid.
Shaking from his anger, James stomped to the door ripping it open and found Dorin and Bianca standing there. He stepped aside to let them enter the room ignoring the sudden icy chill that washed over his body. Lily shivered demonstrating she felt the same chill, they were no longer mated. He was going to leave, but something in Dorin’s expression made him stay.
“Congratulations Lily,” Bianca cheered. “Xavier Thompson is no longer a threat! King Silvano was most pleased when I told him this evening. He gives you his thanks… but now that the lycan is dead, it’s time Lily,”
“Time for what?” James demanded, getting a bad feeling from this. Lily’s face fell and licked her lips nervously.
“But I haven’t lost control,” Lily replied and James tensed, realizing that the vampires had come to kill her.
“Doesn’t matter,” Bianca said plainly walking into the room while Dorin stayed next to the door. “You may not have lost control yet, but you will. Hybrids always do and lots of innocent people die. That is a risk King Silvano will not allow,” she explained.
“But the Aequivalere decide that not the king,” James snapped, glaring at Dorin. Was he just going to sit there and allow this to happen? Bianca rolled her eyes.
“Well they’re stupid enough to think Lily is actually stable,” Dorin snapped at him. James growled at him. Was all that story about his brother a lie just to get him to let down his guard? Well if they thought he’d let them kill her, they thought wrong. She may not be his mate any longer, but he would still protect her.
“You’ll have to go through me first,” he snarled at them.
“Oh don’t be so hasty,” Bianca told him. “The king figured Lily wouldn’t allow herself to be put down peacefully so keep your beast caged James and Lily don’t make this any harder than it has to be or innocent people will suffer, your family to be exact. The king’s men are in position and ready to take out all of the Alpha’s family,” she explained. James growled louder, shaking with fury.
Bianca took out a silver stake with a large grin. “The human had such nice array of weapons, I don’t think she will miss this one too much,” she stated starting towards Lily and James wracked his brain, trying to think of what he was going to do when Dorin stopped the redhead.