The Alpha Assassin novel Chapter 45

He tensed only for a second, but I heard the sharp inhale of his breath and smiled.

“Where did you get that?” he crooned and wrapped a hand around my wrist that held the dagger. I let him think that he could stop me with only that. “Do you want to play?” His face was closer to mine.

I twisted the dagger a small bit. “That’s why I’m here.” My smile widened.

“Wait..” His grip loosened, and the blindfold was ripped off. The now evening light seemed almost blinding compared to the pitch black. I blinked as my eyes quickly adjusted, and I made out his startled expression, which quickly turned into a wicked smile.

“Simone.” He looked me over in disbelief as I ripped off the scarf covering my hair, whipping some strands loose from my braid. “This is a nice surprise,” he said but seemed utterly puzzled.

“I was hoping it would be you,” I purred. “How far away is Nolan?” I asked.

“Even if he were close, he couldn’t save you. Not from me.” He tilted his head, studying his prey. “Neither will that little knife.” His voice was condescending, and I smirked.

“You’re worried about the wrong person.” I shot back, meeting his dull eyes and standing tall.

Confusion rippled across his face as he paused. I realized it must be shocking for him to see me without the meek mask I wore for so long. I rarely ever met his stare; I never stood straight or even spoke back.

He nodded as if deciding something. “A bit of a backbone, I see.” He grabbed the back of my braid, and I yelped as my head was tugged up so I was inches from his. His smile was cruel and wicked. “Since you’re here, I’ll have a bit of fun before I claim you as my prize.”

“That’s what I was thinking,” I retorted confidently.

He raised a brow. I knew my hardened voice and stance were unraveling everything he thought he knew about me.

One of his hands came to my breast again. I rolled my wrist out of his loose grip and struck his with the dagger. He stumbled back, shock plastered on his face, and I reveled in it. My anger flared like embers around me. I had to make sure I didn’t drown in the rage; there was a fine line between honing it as a weapon and letting it overcome logic and rationality.

His shock quickly turned to some sadistic kind of rage. He outstretched his hands, trying to grab me, but I slipped just out of his reach, flipping the dagger in my hand as I moved to the edge of the small platform.

“You know,” he said sourly, bending down to pick up the rope that Amber was tied with, weighing it in his hands. “The more you resist, the more I’ll punish you,” he said, his lips curled over his teeth.

I shrugged and said, “I’ll punish you no matter what you do.” I glanced at my dagger nonchalantly. “Nothing you can do will save you from me.”

His eyes flashed, and he lunged again. I sidestepped him.

Even his beloved trainer didn’t catch during his training. He always glanced where he was about to attack. The split-second flicker of his eyes gave him away.

“This is more fun, I have to admit,” I mused, meeting his enraged stare. “Dominick had to be quick, unfortunately. It wasn’t satisfying.” I frowned, shrugging. “But this… this might be what I’ve been waiting for.” I tilted his head, meeting him with a wicked smile of my own.

He snarled and broke eye contact, lunging with such force he threw himself off the small platform as I twirled away from the edge. He managed to grab some of the trailing skirts of my dress, making me lurch forward, but I slashed through the fabric, so he hit the ground with such force.

He let out a frustrated growl as he stood, shaking uncontrollably.

I tutted. “Letting your wolf come forward already? I thought we were having fun.” I pouted.

“How?” he seethed, looking at me standing over him.

“I’m the heir of Blood Moon,” I stepped toward the end of the platform. “I have been trained in the art of death, and I have mastered it.”

I looked down at him. His eyes flashed black, but I wasn’t sure if he truly believed what I was capable of. I would have to show him. Well, what I could with the limited time I had.

I flipped the dagger in my hand again, reveling in the familiarity of the weapon and the grounding sense that I knew it was borrowed from Ezra. I could so easily throw it right into his heart.

But this was my first fun kill.

Well, Dalton, but the first one I could play with that could play back. I smiled at the memory.

Take your time - Aksala purred in my mind, and she wagged her tail.

Sadistic wolf - I responded

I am your other part - she barked a laugh.

“Power recognizes power,” I explained, watching as the moonlight flickered off the dagger. “It makes sense you wouldn’t recognize mine because you aren’t powerful. Not in a way that is true,” I explained.

He growled and tried to clamor back onto the platform. I went to stomp my boot on his hands, but I realized I was barefoot, so I let him right himself in front of me.

“We’re ending this little game now. We’re done pretending that you’re a killer.” He laughed hollowly. “You are not-” He pinned my hand that held the dagger to the pole behind me, but that hand was empty now. I had already flicked the dagger into my other, and it was now dug into the hollow of his neck.

“Go on, what else aren’t I?” I purred.

He tensed as I dug the knife a bit so his blood dripped down it. Confusion turned to rage.

“You have the advantage of a weapon,” he finally managed.

That wasn’t my only advantage. “You had the advantage of a girl tied up.” I shrugged.

He growled, but it only dug the knife deeper. “How the hell did you get here? Who sent you as the prize?” he demanded.

“I sent myself. I’ve been planning this, you know…. For years.” My voice trailed off as the fiery anger coursed through me. It flickered and lapped and shone through my eyes. “I had to get some practice in, but…”

“You.” His eyes widened. “You did not.” He shook off the possibility. The truth.

“And there is one of your many weaknesses,” I explained, removing the dagger only a bit. it still hovered over his skin. “Your ignorance clouds your judgment even from the proof presented in front of your very eyes. “

I stepped back, and anger flashed across his face, but he laughed loudly. I only pinned him with an emotionless stare. He lunged again, and I sidestepped, sighing deeply. He fought to find his balance and not fall off the platform again.

I stepped off the platform with a deep sigh. I glanced up at him. “You always look where you’re about to lunge,” I explained, pinching the bridge of my nose.

He dropped off the platform in front of me, but I didn’t move, holding my ground. He wasn’t a threat. “How did you-”

This wasn’t just for me; this was for all of those he harmed. All those that he wouldn’t be able to hurt. For the women that feared him. For Amber. For his future mate.

“You’re really that fucking mad about your dead parents?” His eyes were wild now. That familiar mad spark lit his black eyes. I was unsure if he truly understood that I was better than him or if he was sinking further into his delusions.

I stalked toward him, becoming anger. It wrapped around me like armor. “Yes,” I said in the voice of a hundred ancestors.

“But this is more than revenge. You yourself brought this on yourself. Not your parents, not their actions. Yours,” I spat.

He raised a hand to do Goddess knew what, but I braced myself, focusing on my target, and whirled around for momentum. I heard his scream before I steadied myself.

“You will no longer be able to touch what is not yours; take what is not yours. Not given.” I looked down at the stubs of fingers lying between us.

He cradled his bloodied hand. I stepped toward him, and he took a shaky step back. I flipped the dagger, holding it into my fist, and grabbed his shirt, thrusting it through an eye. I winced as I pulled back and breathed a sigh of relief when the eye didn’t come out. I didn’t think I could stomach that.

“You will no longer be able to look at what isn’t yours,” I snarled. “Leer at anyone.”

His screams were incoherent, or maybe it was just the rush of adrenaline and blood coursing through me. I pushed him easily to the ground and stood over him.

I took a deep breath through my nose and reveled in this. This was the moment I saw every time he harassed me. I promised this to myself, and I was delivering.

“Look at me,” I demanded, breathing heavily.

I waited until his screams were finally carried away on the wind. His chest rose and fell shakily, and I glared at him with a mix of anger and disgust. He looked so pathetic, so helpless. But I didn’t feel a scrap of pity. He finally had the appropriate amount of fear in his face, and it was a beautiful thing.

For all the wrongs he committed, he would not commit anymore.

“You are not paying for any actions other than your own. Do you understand that?” I asked.

I didn’t know what I wanted from him, but I got nothing. He glared at me, coming back to himself from the pain and confusion. His eyes flashed black. I knew he was seconds away from shifting.

“This is not only for my pack; it is for yours.”

I knelt and plunged Ezra’s dagger into his heart.

I fell back as the world righted around me. The night was quiet and calm as my heartbeat steadied. As the anger recoiled back in me a little and my breathing evened, I felt the sharp pang in my side where he cut me.

With every breath, I was brought back from that place where only death and rage existed, and I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to be here.

Because in front of me was the corpse of my enemy, but I only felt hollow.

I stood and grabbed the dagger from his chest. His eyes rolled back as he let out one last rattling wheeze.

I wiped the blood from it on a slightly clean patch of my now filthy dress and stood tall. When I looked up, I was met with Nolan’s shocked gaze over ashen skin, even in the moonlight.