London

8:48 a.m.

Lyn sat on the edge of her bed and stared at the object in her hand sullenly. Her body trembled beneath the pink nightgown. She covered her mouth. The test kit blinked before revealing two red lines side by side. Her head snapped towards the door as someone turned its knob. Drake stepped in and closed the door behind him.

He tilted his head. Lyn shot up from the bed and cupped her hands behind her back. She forced a smile that did little to prove her innocence. Sweat loosened her grip on the object in her hands.

“You’re home,” she said.

Drake gave her a quizzical look. His glance strayed towards her cupped hands. She gripped it with all her vigor until her hands shook.

“What are you hiding behind your back?” Drake asked.

He stalked her, and she stumbled back until hitting a wall. Drake reached for her arm and she pulled away, slipping past him and towards the door. Lyn was fast, but not fast enough. He snatched her arm and pinned her to the bed by the shoulders. Drake snarled and sank his fangs into her neck; fiery blood gushed and sullied the mattress.

It felt like the longest ten seconds of her life, and Drake released his jaws. His face was feverish with anger and his blue eyes glowed with an unstoppable rage. She knew as much as he did; the truth was out, and it was ugly. He sifted through her entire life in an eye’s blink. This separated Drake and Aspasia from other Shaytan.

No other Shaytan and all their power could perform such a feat, sorting the memories of others. As Adam and Eve to all things evil, this connected them to their accursed children, though they themselves were slaves to eternity.

Lyn opened a hand, revealing the test kit she had so desperately hidden. Drake glanced at it before meeting with her serene rain-like eyes that flooded with tears. His face softened, and he sighed.

“You betrayed me for Sullivan,” he said with accusing eyes. “Now, you’re carrying his children too…”

He freed her from her inquisition and stood up, staring at the blinders, hands resting on his hips. Then he shook his head and ran his hands through his hair. The tacturnity tormented her, and she sat up to console him. Drake couldn’t stand to look her in the eyes and he turned his head every time she tried to pull him towards her.

Soft sobs escaped Lyn’s lips. “I thought you were dead,” she began. “I was alone and devastated. He was there. I was so scared!”

Drake turned abruptly and roared; it thundered throughout the studio, shaking walls and cracking glass. Lyn blanched as he snatched her neck and squeezed. She grabbed his arms in a vain attempt at freedom. He didn’t budge and his grip tightened as he pushed her into the bed.

She whimpered. “Drake… please…”

He was gone. What she saw before her wasn’t Drake or the man she loved or the charming pilot that had rescued her in France all those years ago. Sure, this man sported bright blue eyes and a sharp smile, but beneath his shell was an apex predator.

She remembered reading about lions in school as a girl: when a new lion assumed the role as alpha among the pride, the previous pride leader’s cubs were killed.

Drake released his grip from her suddenly. She saw a flash of a white pony tail and a bald head. The giant of a man grabbed Drake by his neck and flung him through a wall. Her vision cleared, and she took a gasping breath. The lightning shaped scar on his eyes was prominent, Kalen Beckwith.

Godfrey appeared in the doorway and rushed to her aid. “Are you okay?” he asked.

Drake emerged from the man-sized hole in the wall, chunks of wood and sheetrock falling. Dark determination filled his eyes, and he glared at Kalen and growled. He patted the dust from his shirt and gritted: “You shouldn’t have done that…”

Before Kalen could react, Drake charged him and tackled him through another wall. They both bellowed as they tussled, Kalen sounding more like a wolf and Drake like a bat. Godfrey shielded Lyn with his own body as Kalen and Drake destroyed everything around them.

Lyn cried and buried her head in Godfrey’s chest. Kalen shifted into full form to match Drake’s strength. Which still wouldn’t be enough. The building rumbled as Drake plunged him through the floor into the ballet studio. Kalen pushed him away and caught his balance. Drake hissed, fangs and talons growing; a pair of wings as black as night sprouted from his back.

Godfrey peeked through the hole in the floor at Drake. He saw the leathery wings. Drake never sprouted his wings. He was pissed…

“God help us all…” Godfrey whispered.

“You’re not one of my creations,” Drake said. “So, I’m going to rip you to shreds.”

Kalen snorted. A wild mane formed around his head and the fur on his body hardened into armor. His face kept a humanoid appearance while the rest of his body succumbed to lycanthropy. They circled each other and Kalen took initiative, throwing himself into Drake.

Drake caught him and planted his heels. He redirected his momentum into the mirrors lining the walls, shattering them. Broken glass reverberated in the studio as Drake and Kalen collided. Kalen faltered from a heavy blow to the head and fell to his knees. Drake smirked and grabbed him by the ankle. He spun his body around, crashing it into the wooden pillars distributed among the room.

Kalen’s body went airborne and tumbled onto the wooden floors, carving a path of destruction. He tried to stand, but collapsed. Drake sauntered to him victoriously and lifted him single-handedly, surveying his broken body.

Drake sneered. He opened his mouth and stretched his jaws to twice its normal span. He would pump his blood into Kalen’s body and he would perish via the Andromeda effect.

“DRAKE!”

Lyn’s voice broke his blood lust and his humanity returned, even if only for an instant. He faced her as she ran down the steps, placing a hand over her belly.

She shook her head, and tears flew. “Please stop… I can’t say whose children I’m carrying… Give me a chance to find out, please. We don’t know for sure.”

A pistol cocked behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see its wielder Godfrey. Godfrey stared sullenly as Drake dropped Kalen. He shifted back to his human form, nude and vulnerable like a newborn.

The hurt on Drake’s face was clear. “Godfrey, why?”

Godfrey stifled a cry. “I know I’m powerless, Master Drake. I know these bullets wouldn’t do a thing against you… All I can do is buy Lady Lyn some time to escape, even if I have to perish…”

“You’ve made your choice, Godfrey?”

Godfrey nodded timidly. “I have.”

“I see…”

Drake bent his knees and with a lunge, ascended. His demonic wings flapped and blew a gust throughout the studio. He broke through the glass panels above, raining thousands of invisible shards before disappearing into the clouds.

Lyn fell but caught herself on the steps, staring at her palms. She cradled her knees and sat absently. This is because of me…