Forty two

RYLAND POV

Living with the witch for a month was both heaven and hell. Hell, because every second that went by I kept hearing of all Jade's achievements just on the eve of her return, and heaven because, despite Skye being a witch, she treated me like she saw me. She treated me as an equal, and never used her divine power on me to do her bidding after that first time that she had intruded on my life.

It was just the both of us against the world, and as the days rolled by, I found myself falling into a routine that I was starting to enjoy. We woke up, went into the woods to gather whatever it was she needed for a potion, came back, made breakfasts, ate together, and talked while she shared her stories of conquest.

Those alone time made me notice things about her that I never noticed in other Human beings. There was also a darkness that lurked within her, a darkness born out of pain and it coated every action she took, even her smile.

And the knowledge of that pain made me want to do everything to make her feel better, I hated the pain she was going through which was something I never did, and that made me snap.

Feelings weren't for me... I didn't care about anyone and I would not start now. The witch was keeping me isolated and messing with my mind. I had to put an end to everything so as the day progressed, I got progressively more hostile. If I spent another month with her, I was going to lose my whole freaking identity.

"I should never have trusted you. We have been here for a whole month while Jade is conquering all the territories that should have been mine" I yelled, barely stopping myself from yanking out the hair of Skye who just sat and watched me with no emotion in her gaze. I hated that about her too. Why should it be only me that struggled while she lived oblivious to the war raging Inside of me?

"You owe me your life, Ryland. If I hadn't used all my strength and powers to teleport us out of there, do you think you would still be breathing? I told you there would be consequences for the delay but you ignored all my warnings. Well here it is now, our plans have been held back because of your unbelief. But there is nothing to fret about. I am almost at a hundred percent and once that happens, then we will start the second phase of our plan".

"Our plans? You say stuff like that and give me some hope, but why do I feel like I am just a pun you need to do whatever shit it is you are concocting"I accused because for a while I had also felt that she was using me. She was not really trying to help, she had her own agenda to push and as she stared back at me without denying my allegation, I knew I was right.

Skye sighed, then pushed herself to her feet. "You are not that dumb after all".

"What the hell is that supposed to mean"I yelled, stepping into her space. Did she think just because she was a witch I would cower in a corner and beg for her to have mercy on me?

"It means exactly what it does. I saved your life because I needed you for my plans to work. I needed you alive, because you have the same blood flowing through you as that of Jade your step-sister, and I needed it for my plans to work. Do you think If I did not need anything from you, I would have sacrificed losing a chunk of my power to save your sorry ass... " And there went my thoughts that she saw me as a person. I was a freaking pawn to her.

I raised my hand to strike her across the face then groaned as my fingers were twisted at a weird angle. "Son of a bitch" I cried out, grabbing at my hand to try to relieve the pressure on them. All the feeling that had grown within me wilted to ashes as she held my gaze.

"Behave Ryland, or I might really kill you and look for another alternative" she threatened, then released my fingers which remained bent until I straightened them, groaning in pain as my bones popped back into their places.

I glared at her, hating myself for ever agreeing to go with a lunatic, or feeling protective over her. I should have known better than to trust a witch. "Are you going to kill me after all this?".

"I have no problem with you Ryland, just follow my lead and you will get all that you have ever wanted. Piss me off one more time, and you might not live to achieve all your goals "

I nodded, knowing better not to argue even though everything about the whole situation did not seat well with me.

The strange objects on the walls were also giving me nightmares and hallucinations. If I ever got out of here, I was sure I was going to carry literal demons with me. It was all Jade's fault. Why couldn't she just die? Why!

It didn't matter, I was going to get back everything. The family would feel my wrath when this was all over. They had wanted to get rid of me so much that they hadn't even bothered to find me when I had disappeared. They had willingly accepted Jade back without her having to do shit while I lived in the dark, waiting for the stupid witch to get back her powers.

It was not fair, not after all I did. All the territories she was conquering should have been mine. Lexis, my sister had joined hands with the enemy to kill me. She could have chosen any other way to stab me back and she choose to side with Jade. I wasn't going to forgive her, and the little boy toy Hayden. He dared to defy me when all he did was cower before Jade. He wasn't going to escape me when I returned.

"Save your rage for when we begin the second phase of the plan Ryland, we will be needing all that toxic energy for what we are going to create".

"Can we really kill Jade? You saw how she broke through my security system and was in my private office just like a blur..." I trailed off, just remembering those last few moments. She had fired the gun, and it managed to graze my skin before we were fully gone and the scar still lingered.

It was a given, if I couldn't kill her With the help of the witch this time around, then it would be my head rolling on the floor. That was not the life I envisioned for myself. Never.

"You do not have to worry about her strength Ryland. Nothing is going to stand in the way of my vengeance" she gritted out, crushing the rose she held in her palm. Her blood dripped to the floor where the thorn had pricked her before the wound slowly closed up.

Despite myself, I still wanted to understand her and that made me feel like tearing my hair out of my skull. "What did Jade ever do to you. I have never seen you in my life and you are not part of any of the mafia clans, why do you want to destroy her so badly".

"Jade was not initially my target Ryland, but since she is the mate of the man who killed off the only family I had left in this world, she became my enemy."

"Mate?" I asked, wondering if she was spewing her nonsense again.

"How do you think she got her power, it is because she bears the mark of that animal, a werewolf, and just like him, she is a feral beast waiting to cause chaos the first chance she gets", Skye looked at me, her eyes burning with pure hatred.

"What did this man do to you"I asked, getting angry because she was angry. It was a fucking rollercoaster.

"He murdered a child" she spoke quietly. "He murdered an innocent child, the child of my sister, and he did it too right in her presence, and after that, what do you think he did".

I shook my head unable to guess.

"He murdered her too. He ripped out her already broken heart. She died painfully yet they didn't have the courtesy to bury her or the innocent blood that they had unjustly spilled. They burnt her body and that of her daughter as if they were nothing. They were the only ones I had left in this world and they were ripped away from me," she finished, her lips trembling. She met my gaze, the pain in her eyes gut-wrenching.

I didn't know how to react. I had never felt strongly for family. I had even planned my father's death and attempted to take the life of my step-sister and my own sister. Everyone was expendable in my world, but if her thirst for revenge guaranteed that she would work with me to achieve my aim then I would act the part of an aggrieved member over such injustice.

"I am sorry..." I began when she cut me off, her whole demeanor hardening.

"Do not be. I know the type of Man you are so I do not expect you to understand the pain that I feel inside. You might be human, but you are quite dead inside, you do not understand the pain of losing a loved one because you have never truly loved anyone".

Her words made my stomach queasy. What did she mean by that? She was wrong! I had feelings. It was just that they had been squashed out of me, and now I was just a husk of a man that was only seeking for more power because that was the only way I could feel I mattered.

"Dearil is his name and he was cursed by my sister before she breathe her last, and I'd always basked in his suffering just like my sister did in her grave but now he has found his Mate and because she managed to survive his bite, the curse is broken." She grabbed my hand, the hate in her eyes shimmering. "He hasn't suffered enough Ryland, and death will be an easy escape for him. I won't allow him to go off that easy Ryland and you might think that he cannot be killed, but he is not immortal, and once I succeed in killing his mate, and introducing the potion I have been concocting Into his veins, he will know and feel what true pain really is"

My hands squeezed around hers. "I will do anything to make your dreams come through. We are going to make him suffer for the wrong he's done to you, and while we are on that, we're going to kill Jade for breaking his curse and taking away what rightfully belonged to me".