Jonas’ POV
I dragged my body weakly out of the forest that bordered my mansion. The smell of smoke invaded my lungs, and when I turned to look back, I saw thick fumes rising over the heads of the trees behind me.
I gritted my teeth in anger. Those fools had burnt down my family house.
I was lucky to still be alive and not followed by his men. I dragged my bad leg across the ground, and my blood made a trail as I inched closer to my destination.
My eyes were deep red; I had watched my family cut down in front of me. My father, Lilian, Jaden, and probably Javier were all dead.
Hailey was nowhere to be found. No one knew her whereabouts half the time. But frankly, none of us really cared about her. She was the weak link in the family, and deep down in my soul, she was the only one I truly hoped that burned.
A house came into view, and I felt relief wash over me. It was an agonising pain, but in a few more steps, I would be there.
I mustered the energy and dragged my weak body closer and closer to the house before me. He had to know; he had to know what happened to my family.
I got to the door and leaned my entire weight on it for support. I was out of breath, exhausted, and in terrible pain. My wounds were healing slowly. It was only the Goddess that knew what Andre had done to me.
And Olivia…
I saw the way she watched when Andre struck Lily and down. I hadn’t seen her for a while but I could tell that she was stronger, bolder. Her aura was nothing like before.
So much had changed about her, and I knew that it was all Andre’s doing. She seemed more refined. I couldn’t tell for sure, but I was certain that she had a better grasp of her powers.
I didn’t understand why she didn’t use them to stop me. Nonetheless, it was all for my benefit. I would have her, and I didn’t care about the cost.
I summoned enough strength to raise my arm to knock on the door but before I made contact with the wood, the door flung open and I fell head-first into the room.
My legs crumpled under me, and I couldn’t will myself to stand upright again. In front of me was a pair of shoes. The hair on my neck stood on end as I raised my head and locked eyes with the master.
“Crawling on the ground now, are we, Jonas? How pathetic can you get?”
The master walked away from me, leaving me grovelling on the floor at the open door.
“Pick yourself up, close the door, and meet me in my study. I believe we have a lot to talk about.”
His voice was grim, and I couldn’t catch a glimpse of his face as he headed up the stairs and disappeared around the corner.
“Fuck!”
A sharp pain seared through my legs as I battled to get my feet up. I grabbed a chair for support and hoisted myself up. I managed to close the door, and I began another long journey up the stairs to the study.
******************************************************
“It took you long enough. You know that I don’t like to be kept waiting.”
Those were the Master’s first words as I collapsed into the room. The lights were dim, and he sat on his chair with the shot glass of whiskey in his hands.
I lost all strength to get up from the floor I simply lay there, giving my legs some well-deserved rest.
The master stood up, swirled his glass, and walked up to me.
“Pathetic weakling,” he hissed.
His heavy leather shoes kicked me in the solar plexus and I felt the wind being knocked out of me. I collapsed to the ground, fighting to catch my breath and process the pain that I now felt in my stomach.
“I wasted all my resources on you and your stupid family, and you were still unable to get the work done. How useless can you be?”
His sour words were followed by another kick to my ribs. Unbelievable pain shot through my entire body.
“What’s the matter? Can’t you defend your failure?”
I tried to speak but coughed up blood instead. My breath was wheezy, and I felt slightly lightheaded.
I raised my head as much as I could and saw the master take a sip of his whiskey. His furious eyes caught mine, and he stopped and glared at me.
“I am still waiting for a response, Jonas.”
I took a deep breath and swallowed the pain.
“We weren’t expecting them, Sir. It was a surprise attack. None of us had prepared for such an occasion. We thought that they had left town.”
“You fool!”
Another kick peppered his words, and I was groaning on the floor in agony.
“I believe I wasted more than enough resources on your family for you to plan for a surprise attack. Now, you make me wonder where all that money went. Engaging in fraud, are we?”
“They killed my family! We’ve been wiped out!” I yelled in anger.
“Fuck your family! They serve a better purpose now that they are dead! All of them were getting in my way!”
I felt another kick to my stomach, but I didn’t groan. I was quiet and swallowed the pain. I couldn’t believe that he said those things about my family.
“Anyway, now that they are out of the way, we can focus on bringing Andre down.”
I wanted to scoff, but I held my tongue.
“Andre is way stronger now. He’s been feeding off Olivia’s powers.”
I tried to pull myself off the floor. I struggled hard but kept myself from making any noise.
“He isn’t like any wolf that we have faced.”
I was finally standing, and I saw the master’s wide grin. What was so funny?
“You give him too much credit, Jonas.”
He walked back to his seat and poured himself another shot of whiskey.
“I know that he gets his powers from that little Luna of his, but I have found a way to stop it.”
My attention was drawn. What did he have in mind?”
“How are we going to do it?” I asked curiously.
“You’ll know it in due time, Jonas. But rest with the fact that they will be having less time in bed. And besides, I have another job for you. I need to call a meeting with the other Royal families. With enough men, we can bring the fight to Andre and win.”
My awe vanished.
“But I am the only person left in my family…”
“And that is more than enough. If I am correct, you can start a family by yourself.”
He took a step closer to me, and his voice deepened.
“I did say that if you get me, Olivia, I will make you the ruler over everything. I will keep my promise, but you have to keep yours.”
Despite the pain, my face was in a big smile. I was going to have it all.
“Olivia is going to be mine, final…”
I was immediately doused with the whiskey that he had in his glass. My hair was dripping, and I smelled strongly of alcohol while his eyes regarded me coldly.
“Make no mistake, Jonas. Don’t forget your place. Once this dance is over, Olivia will be mine…”