2 Chapter 2:

〰 Proximo 〰

"I am going to fucking punish that Valkyrie." I curse, slicing my blade through the thick undergrowth of the forest. The scent of her and the Valkyries still fresh and the sun blaring down at me making it hard to walk through the forest without getting angrier and angrier.

Memories of her betrayal and laughter stained my mind, the strength of hatred growing while my control was wavering. Just imaging her face when I woke and found myself tied in the middle of a siren infested town, pissed me off.

I recalled how she seduced me into bed and had poisoned me with her playful and loving kisses. Her body had been so giving yet so manipulating. The thought of chaining her down and taking her only seemed to fuel the burning need to punish her.

The Valkyries seemed amused as well but weren't taunting and teasing me about my siren phobia, unsure of how Hrudra found out about my strange phobia, but damn.

She had caused me so much torment.

The sirens had let me go surprisingly as if they were bored of torturing me. However, the thought of Hrudra going into the vampire coven disguised as a whore angered me. She was mine and she went out doing this kind of stuff?

What kind of woman would do that to herself?

When I got to her, she'd know she belongs to me and me only.

I'll smack that skimpy Valkyrie ass and-

"Yoo-hoo, Proxi! Catch me, darling!" Before I realized what happened, someone fell on top of me causing both of us to fall on the ground. My anger grew as a burst of soft laughter resonated above me. "I thought you were gonna catch me," Getha says on my back, her silver eyes watching me with unwavering mischief.

"Where is she?" I snarl when Valrun and Sevetha joined us, shaking their head at their fellow companion.

"Getha, get off the poor man's back." Valrun orders as Sevetha helped her twin off me. I quickly jumped off the ground but a blade prevented me from attacking them. "I'd calm down, Proxi. We did nothing." She says with swift movements that had me perplexed with her speed.

Though Valrun was known to have unimaginable speed, even for an immortal of the Lore.

"Where. Is. She." I grated out, the dagger at my throat cutting into my Adam's apple while she glanced over at the twins then back at me.

"She's gone to the coven." Valrun answers with ease, her black hair framing her face that held her dangerous irises. I knew trying to break free from her was hopeless, she was dangerous at daggers but even more dangerous in her strategic nature.

Valrun was Hrudra's second in command and would follow Hrudra's orders till the very end, even if she disagreed with them. Though the way she was acting right now had me believing that the Valkyrie was being forced to do something she didn't want to do.

Her movements and actions had me grow more worried than angry with Hrudra. What had Hrudra dragged herself into?

"How long?" I question my tense shoulders and shift going dying away making Valrun remove the dagger from my throat very slowly. Her eyes watching me very closely but her faith in her moves had her remain calm and collected as always.

"Almost two days." She answers gravely.

"Two days! What the fuck have you be-"

"We've been waiting for you. She ordered us to remain here until you've come and were searching for us." Valrun looks me over, tilting her head as she does. "Seems like she was right about you hunting her down. Though I am unsure whether to be happy or upset about this." She admits before looking at the twins. "Get ready. We leave at dusk." They nodded, scurrying away to a camp a few feet from the trail I created.

How did I not notice that before?

"We should leave now." I snap angrily as Valrun slipped the blade back in its holster.

"I agree, but I must follow my orders. Hrudra has infiltrated the coven, and even though she has not contacted back, we must go with what she wants." Valrun tells me, nodding me to follow.

"Why didn't any of you guys go with her? Why did you send her alone?" I question while Valrun chuckled humorlessly and tossed her hair into a tight bun.

"She wished that she, herself was the only one to go out there. She, and I quote, said that 'this will surely anger the demon.' Also, there was only enough poison for one of us. The witches only gave us one vial." Valrun quotes Hrudra, almost making me go back to raging.

"Wait. You gave her poison?" I ask, my anger resurfacing quickly. My demon, Dawyn, rose to meet the anger as I felt myself starting to shift from lack of control. Though I tempted him down, I still felt the burning desire to follow her scent all the way to the coven and slaughter every single vampire there.

"It wasn't particularly poison." She said, sitting down a log and stretching out. "It was a potion that was supposed to make you human. However, the side effects were very traitorous so we just ended up calling it a poison." Valrun shrugs with an exhausted look. By the look of her tense muscles, she didn't see it as potion but more so as the poison they claimed it was.

"Where was I when this all happened?" I question, not remembering meeting up with any witches or getting vials at that.

"You aren't going to like this answer, Proxi. Are you sure you want to hear this?" She asks me, her eyes flashing a bit when I leaned forward and sat on a log opposite from her.

"Tell me what the fuck happened."

〰〰〰

"YOU SON OF A BITCH! LET ME GO!" Hrudra screeched while vampires dragged her across the walkway, lightning-spewing around the dark altar. A white dress hung from her generously, giving her the faint curve of her breasts and hips.

The lust and need to protect her slammed into me causing me to stand though Valrun yanked me back down. Her silver eyes gave a sharp look as she turned to the twins on her left.

"We must get down there, but we can't rush. We have to be patient." She tells us while another ear-piercing shriek came from Hrudra, the lightning striking the ground nearby her.

Our attention snapped to her as she lunged out and kicked the vampire on her right away and shoved the one of her left. Hrudra snapped her fingers, expecting something but a vampire raced up to her almost catching her.

"Not so fast punk! I'm here for that motherfucking vemon!" She snarls, ducking from the attack and sweeping the vampire off the ground. Hrudra was quick to stand up and slam her foot on the vampire's ankle, shattering the bones.

"Come now, beast. Must you be difficult?" A large man questions, standing before the altar with his large hands stuffed in her pockets. Hrudra growled lowly at him, her claws still unsheathed confusing me.

"Isn't she supposed to be shifted, Valrun?" Sevetha, the twin of truth, asks her while Getha backed away and walked away to grab something. The need to follow her need burning within me but I remained, wanting to figure out why Hrudra hasn't fought back like she normally has.

"It could be the poison still in her system," Valrun says unsure.

"You said that shit would disappear within a day. Why is sh-"

"You think I can't sense your friends, beast." The vemon announces, glancing in our general direction before turning back to Hrudra. "Would you like me to tell them why you haven't let your claws come into play? Why the big Valkyrie isn't fighting back?" He questions as Hrudra tenses and ignored our burning stares.

"I don't have friends here. They abandoned me days ago when you drank me." She says in a cold voice, my throat tightening at the thought of someone drinking from her. "I ordered them to leave because I was not wanting to have them steal the glory of slaughtering you myself." Her confidence always seems to amaze me as she clenched her fists tightly.

The vemon merely smirked before crossing his arms and stared down at her. "You'd risk your life trying to fight me rather than me changing you? You'd be the most powerful being that ever lived in the Lore, and yet you will die merely because of your defiance? Do you have nothing to live for, my lovely beast." The vemon asks with curiosity clouding his face as Hrudra glanced at the vampires around her.

"I won't be the one dying tonight, vemon. I will be taking you to hell if I am destined to die tonight. And to your question," She straightened and worked out the joints in her shoulders. "I have nothing to live for unless your misery and pain is a reason to remain alive." Her words stung me as I felt anger and rage filling into me.

How could she say that so easily?

Why would she say that when I am around and listening?

Did our mate bond mean nothing to her?

My rage seemed to double when the vemon grinned at her with astonishment sparkled within his eyes. The vampires started to crowd her, but she paid no mind to them and continued to stare the vemon down. Her pride and fearlessness seemed to cause the vemon to call the vampires off as he slipped off his coat.

"So be it, beast. But once I've got you down, I will change you and you will be mine." He promises, the vampires starting to back away while Hrudra chuckled underneath her breath.

"We will see, vemon." She says when Valrun growled and flung herself away from the hiding spot and towards our camp. Sevetha shook her head before following Valrun only angers me more.

Knowing Hrudra wouldn't go down without a fight bought me enough time to backtrack and question Valrun.

"We're fucking getting her." I snarl, snatching Valrun's arm.

"Proxi-"

"I don't fucking care what you say. That slimy bastard put his hands on her. Hrudra, mine and only mine. I will slaughter that son of a bitch with or without your-"

"Proxi. We won't be helping you. You heard what she said." Getha says with a hard shake of her head before pulling out her gun. "She will fight and die. But we won't let her get changed. I will deliver the finishing blow if I have to." She admits only pissing me off.

"You'd kill one of your companions? Your leader?!" I bark at them, not caring if the vampires heard us. Lightning hit the ground near the altar as Hrudra cried out. "I will sl-"

"He's mad enough. Stop taunting him." Sevetha whispers, pulling me away from them and back to where we were. "Alright, Proxi. You've gotta let your demon in control. It's the only way to kill this vemon." The truth coming from her lips pleases me but the anger within dug deep in me.

What the-

Nevermind, I didn't have time to think about what was happening.

"I- can't. I'll be out of control and could hurt any of you." I tell her, the anger diffusing before I watched the vemon slice open Hrudra's throat.