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"You see for

"You were banned frooddess certainly did her best to be rid of me Thankfully, I possessed a deep and intiriood"

"How did you trick hi your bond?"

"There was no trick" There was the faintest hint of superiority in the voice, as if the demon lord wasn’t entirely above petty eht me out when it became obvious that he wasn’t the next in line for the throne"

Salvatore desperately wanted to deny the claiht that a Were would sacrifice his people for his own gain went against everything purebloods held sacred But he’d already accepted the previous king’s treachery

What was the point in playing duitie areed is not the same as ambition"

"Perhaps not to you, but they both suit my purpose"

It was thatSalvatore Derant favors out of the kindness of their black hearts Ignoring the ravaging pain and the sickening hiss of his life blood dripping into the flaiven the black et out of the deal?"

"He allowed me access to this world"

"There had to be round his teeth as realization abruptly hit Dio How the hell had he been so dense? "You used Mackenzie to drain the souls of all Weres You’re responsible for the loss of our powers"

The deh the cavern The sound was perhaps the creepiest thing Salvatore had ever heard

"Very good, Giuliani It took Mackenzie centuries to at last realize I was able to call on his connection to the packs"

Salvatore bit back his sh the fuzziness in his brain

He’d never been close to Mackenzie, and after it was known that he was to be the next king, the older Were had beco different about him in the last few years of his life

He was still secretive and bad-te back, Salvatore was beginning to suspect that Mackenzie had coret his choices

Could he actually have been loyal in the end?

"And when he discovered you were draining the Weres, he tried to cut off your supply," he accused

The air thickened with a tangible anger "His last futile act as king"

"I assus murdered him before he could break your bond?"

"Such delicious irony Mackenzie was horrified when it was discovered his son was not to be the next in line for the throne, and he was the one to bring Briggs to me for the power to defeat you"

Salvatore made a startled sound Weres were more animal than human when it came to family The entire pack raised the cubs, and bloodlines had no substantialEach pureblood was expected to prove theive thes to you?"

"Yes, and in the end Briggs used the power to kill his own father"

He growled deep in his throat "He wasn’t so lucky against me"

"No I will admit, I underestimated your power"

Salvatore was certain that the deain

"I would be a lot s to killpersonal You were an obstacle that needed to be disposed of"

"Nothing personal?" Salvatore snorted "I happen to take attempted murder very personally, butin the dark voice set off yet another rash of alar beyond the scorching agony of the silver chains and his strength that was fading with every drip of blood

"Yes, here I as’s abysmal failure to rid the world of ht you would have sent a new assassin Briggs isn’t the only one ould be happy to see oddess was su y" The de his clever scherave took years to accomplish, and drained ris to pull his Lazareth act, but it wasn’t particularly reassuring to think he’d been so easily bested by an impotent demon lord