We'd spent the next day preparing, setting traps, positioning ourselves, going over every possible scenario. Now, as midnight approached, I stood in the master suite dressed in bloodied bandages that told of how injured i was.
"They're here," Avalon's voice came through the mate bond.
"Wait, I can sense twenty of them?" I said aloud, tension coiling in my stomach. "Did they bring an army?"
"They are scared," Zane's voice replied through the bond. "They should be."
I positioned myself on the bed, arranging my body to look weak and vulnerable. The claw marks on my back had healed enough to move, but they still hurt like hell.
I heard the front doors open downstairs. No forced entry which means someone had unlocked them from the inside.
"We have a traitor," Osilus's said in anger.
"We'll deal with it later," Avalon commanded. "Take your positions everyone while you wait for my signal."
I closed my eyes and steadied my breathing, listening to the footsteps echoing through the estate. They sounded like marching army.
Then I heard his voice.
"Search every room," Father ordered. "Find her."
My fingers curled into the sheets. Almost...
The footsteps grew louder and closer as they climbed the stairs. I forced my body to relax, to look like someone barely clinging to consciousness.
The door to the master suite slammed open.
"Well, well, well," Bron's voice, but there was something was different. He sounded more confident. "Look at you now, sister. Not so powerful after all."
I didn't open my eyes, or react. I wanted them to think I was too weak to respond.
"Is she even alive?" I heard my father say. "The message said she was badly injured, but..."
"She' still breathing," Bron said and I felt him approach the bed, and the air around him felt like I was surrounded by a burning building. "I can hear her heartbeat, smell her fear."
That made me open my eyes.
Bron stood over me, and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. He looked different, his eyes had a reddish tint, his muscles were more defined, and when he smiled, his canines were too long and sharp.
"Surprised?" he asked, tilting his head. "You're not the only one who got an upgrade, sister."
"What did you do?" I demanded, sitting up despite the pain.
"What I had to," Bron said. "Father made a deal with the vampires. They gave me their blood which made me stronger." He smirked at me. "I can kill you now, without breaking a sweat."
My life flashed before my very eyes. "You let them turn you into..."
"Not turn," he corrected. "Enhance. I'm still a wolf. Just better. And you..." He moved, faster than any werewolf should be able to, and his hand closed around my throat before I could react. "You're mine."
I tried to summon the Phoenix fire, but his grip was too strong. I clawed at his hand, gasping.
"Bron!" Avalon's roar shook the walls as he emerged from the shadows, ice already forming.
Bron didn't even flinch. He threw me across the room with supernatural strength and I hit the wall hard enough to crack the plaster, and pain exploded through my barely-healed back.
"Avalon Cary," Bron said, turning to face him. "I've been looking forward to this."
Avalon launched himself forward, shifting mid-leap into his massive white wolf but Bron was ready. He met Avalon head-on, and when they collided, it was Avalon who went flying.
"What the fuck?" Zane breathed, emerging from his position. "How is he..."
"Vampire blood," I gasped, struggling to stand. "It enhanced him."
"Correct," Father said, stepping into the room with smug satisfaction. "The vampires were quite generous with their gifts. Though it cost me a fortune to secure enough blood to make it permanent."
"You made your son into a monster," Osilus said, appearing beside me to help me up.
"I made him into a weapon," Father corrected. "One specifically designed to kill Phoenixes. The vampires have been hunting your kind for centuries. They know all your weaknesses."
"Then they should have told you about this one," I said, and let the Phoenix fire explode.
Golden flames erupted from my hands, but Bron moved through them like they were nothing. He grabbed my wrist, and I screamed as his grip burned worse than anything I felt before.
"Vampire blood makes us resistant to Phoenix fire," Bron said, twisting my arm until I heard something crack. "Did Father mention that?"
Tears streamed down my face from the pain, but I refused to beg. "You're going to die tonight, Bron."
"No," he said, throwing me down. "You are... But first, you're going to watch me kill your mates."
He moved toward Avalon, who was still recovering from being thrown. Zane intercepted with fire in his fists, but Bron was faster. He caught Zane's punch and broke his arm by twisting it.
Zane screamed.
"Stop!" I shouted, trying to stand. "Fight me, not them!"
"Why would I do that?" Bron asked, kicking Zane in the ribs and that sent him skidding across the floor. "This is more fun."
Osilus rushed him, earth magic erupting from the floor, but Bron just laughed. He ripped through the stone bindings like paper and grabbed Osilus by the throat.
"You're the weakest one," Bron observed. "I think I'll kill you first."
"No!" I screamed, and this time when the Phoenix fire came, it was different. Hotter. Wilder. Fed by pure desperation.
The flames hit Bron, and for the first time, he flinched. The vampire blood might make him resistant, but it wasn't immunity.
He dropped Osilus and turned to face me. "There she is. The real Phoenix. Not the broken little girl playing pretend."
"I'm going to burn you alive," I promised.
"Try it," he invited.
I threw everything I had at him, wave after wave of Phoenix fire. The room became hotter than hell as the walls turned black but Bron kept coming, walking through the flames like they were nothing.
When he reached me, his hand closed around my throat again.
"You're weak," he hissed in my face. "Just like Mother. She begged too, at the end. Begged Father to spare her. It was pathetic."
Rage exploded through me. "You were there? When he killed her?"
"Of course," Bron said. "I'm the one who held her down while he administered the poison. I watched her die, Zephyr. Watched her choke and convulse and cry for her precious daughter."
Something inside me broke.
Not broke, completely shattered. Every piece of control, every restraint, every bit of humanity I'd been clinging to, it all burned away in an instant.
The Phoenix fire changed. It had been gold before. Now it burned white-hot, so bright it was blinding.
"What-" Bron started, then screamed as the fire finally got to him. He released me, stumbling back.
"You held her down," I said, my voice cracked. "You watched my mother die?"
"Zephyr-" Father shouted, "Control yourself-"
"CONTROL MYSELF?" The Phoenix fire exploded outward, consuming everything. The walls, the ceiling, the floor-all of it burning with white fire. "YOU KILLED MY MOTHER!"
The door exploded inward and through the flames stepped a figure wrapped in dark leather, face hidden behind a silver mask carved with ancient runes. The fire parted around him like he was immune.
"Phoenix," the figure said, his voice like gravel. "Stand down."
"Who the fuck are you?" I demanded.
"Someone who's killed dozens of your kind," he said calmly, pulling silver chains from his belt. "A Phoenix Hunter and you're coming with me."
