It was like living through a recurring nightmare that refused to end.
By the time the first set of humans had been drained completely, the second group was dragged forward and slaughtered in the exact same fashion.
Then another.
And another.
Over and over again until every single human inside those cages was dead and the ceramic tub sat filled nearly to the brim with blood.
Roman watched the entire thing unfold with something inside him slowly breaking apart. The bodies were dumped carelessly to the side afterward, piled atop one another like trash instead of people.
Some of them still had their eyes open and
Roman could not stop staring at them. Those glassy dead eyes seemed to accuse him silently for failing them.
Nor could he escape the sounds. The screaming. The choking. The desperate begging. It all echoed endlessly inside his head now.
"Step in, Alpha," one of the witches instructed reverently.
Angus Richmond removed his clothes without the slightest trace of shame, completely unbothered by the blood and corpses surrounding him. Arrogance practically dripped from the man.
He stepped one foot into the tub first, then the other before slowly lowering himself inside. The blood immediately sloshed over the edges and spilled onto the ground around him.
Roman nearly gagged at the sight. The air reeked of the metallic scent of blood.
Angus relaxed deeper into the tub afterward until the blood reached just beneath his neck like some horrifying bath prepared for a monster.
The witches circled him immediately and began chanting.
The ritual had started.
Power crackled violently through the hunting grounds. Even from where Roman and Aeron were restrained, they could feel how vile the spell was. It slithered across their skin like dark oil. Everything about it felt wrong. It repulsed something primal inside their souls.
Still Roman remained frozen there unable to do anything. Had this been Asher or Alaric, they would have figured something out already.
They would have escaped and protected everyone. But him? Here he was kneeling helplessly while innocent people got butchered right in front of him.
Weak.
Pathetic.
Useless.
"You’re not useless," Aeron immediately shot down.
Only then did Roman realize he had spoken those thoughts out loud.
But he was tired. So fucking tired.
Tired of being the one Violet would have to rescue like some helpless child.
Tired of being the weak link among the Cardinal Alphas.
Tired of being vulnerable!
His hand suddenly reached for the collar around his neck and pulled hard.
"What are you doing?" Aeron demanded, alarmed now.
Roman ignored him completely. Instead, he gritted his teeth and kept pulling against the metal restraint with brute force alone.
His face reddened violently from effort. Veins bulged visibly against his neck and forehead while the muscles in his arms tightened hard enough to tremble.
The collar immediately activated in response. Electricity exploded through Roman’s body. He screamed from the pain but refused to let go. The current ripped viciously through him, enough to make smoke nearly rise from his skin.
Still, Roman kept pulling.
The nearby guards immediately noticed.
"Hey! What the hell is he doing?!"
But Roman no longer cared. The pain mixed together with fury and desperation until they became impossible to separate.
The electricity meant to weaken him only enraged his wolf further. His eyes suddenly ignited bright green.
The wolves surrounding him exchanged confused looks.
"What do we do?!"
They could have shot Roman, but Angus had specifically ordered him kept alive. Unfortunately, Angus himself remained fully immersed in the ritual and unable to issue new commands.
That hesitation became their mistake because Roman roared and with one final violent pull—Crack! The collar shattered apart.
Every wolf froze in disbelief. Even Aeron stared.


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