Triton's Oath - His Hybrid Princess

14 - The mind of fool

Blaze

“What a mess!” Mark murmurs as we enter the lower dungeon where Yolanda and Philip are being kept.

I shake my head at the mess that was once Yolanda.

“Ava certainly showed Yolanda what for.” I hear the pride in Michael’s voice.

I brought my eldest sons down here with me because I wanted them to see that Ava doesn’t need them running around and fixing everything. My daughter is not a woman to be messed with. Ava is stronger than we all gave her credit for. Besides, women are not as weak as we men like to believe. My mate proved that many years ago when she ended the lives of two women who threatened Mark.

Mark was our only child at the time, and Rain’s psycho birth mother and a woman obsessed with Rain’s father kidnapped Mark. Rain’s aunt brought Mark home to us, but those women had put my three-year-old son through hell!

Once Michael was born, Rain decided it was time to end those who threatened our children. One thing everyone knows about my mate is you don’t fuc.k with her babies, no matter how old they get. Those women suffered before Rain ended them, and it seems the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Ava has decimated Yolanda. I have never been more proud of my daughter! Ava didn’t need saving, and she took those who harmed her and made them pay.

“She deserved what she got,” I tell my sons before walking toward Philip’s cell, Mark and Michael following. I stand for a moment, just staring at the mess that is Philip. Ava gouged out his eyes and took his tongue.

‘I am so proud of Ava!’ My Lycan growls inside my head. ‘Our pup is strong, Blaze.’

‘That she is, Ace. That she is.’

“I don’t know whether to throw up or find Ava and high-five her.” Michael seems in awe of his sister. I can’t blame him for that; I am, too.

“How is he still alive?”

I breathe deeply, wishing I hadn’t because the stench of the place hits the back of my throat. You would think I’d be used to it, having been down here more times than I can count in my life, but I’m not.

“Your sister knew what she was doing,” I reply. I enter the cell. Philip whimpers. He knows who’s here for him; even if he can’t see or speak, the bastard can hear. “You’ve been a silly boy. Haven’t you, Philip?”

He squirms in the chair he’s chained to, yanking at them and thrashing his head. I shake mine because he looks pitiful, yet I have none for him.

“Goddess, he pissed himself.” Michael gags.

“You’d piss yourself if someone hacked at you the way Ava did Philip here.” Mark laughs.

Philip mumbles, something that sounds like begging through his sobs. He must be in immense pain, yet I have no sympathy. Keeping Philip alive was cruel but the perfect punishment. I have a newfound respect for my little girl. She certainly holds no prisoners.

“If I were you, I’d save what little breath I had left. Boys,” I nod to my sons, who move closer.

I didn’t need them here for this, but Mark and Michael insisted. I have warned them that this won’t be easy, but they wouldn’t back down. I didn’t have the time or the heart to deny them, so I let them come along.

“Remember, boys, what you see will be nothing but memories. You cannot alter them, no matter how badly you might want to, and you will want to.”

They both nod in understanding.

As my hand, along with Mark’s and Michael’s, touches Philip’s head, my power kicks in, and the air grows thick with tension. I reach out to Philip’s mind, sinking into the murky depths of his memories. I brace myself for what I might find, my eyes closing as I seek the moments that will reveal the truth. The world around us fades away, replaced by a kaleidoscope of images and sounds that paint a chilling picture of a night that changed everything.

The first scene unfolds at the lake party, where lights twinkle and laughter fills the air. Ava’s radiant blue eyes are captured in the glow of the bonfire, oblivious to the malicious intent that lurks nearby. Philip’s sly movements are clear as he slipped something into her drink, the glint of triumph in his eyes as he watches her take the fateful sip.

I see my beautiful little girl struggling to stay on her feet, her eyes rolling before she passes out in Philip’s arms.

The scene shifts to Philip and Yolanda making their way through the trees, Ava’s body limp in Philip’s arms.

‘Philip, we can’t do this.’ I hear Yolanda hiss.

‘Give it a rest, Yolanda. No one will ever know.’

The fucke.r actually believed the words he spoke.

‘What if Ava remembers?’ Yolanda asks while jogging to keep up with Philip’s long strides.

‘She won’t. The amount of drug in her system could take down an elephant. She won’t remember a thing.’

‘This doesn’t feel right, Philip.’

He stops walking and turns to Yolanda. ‘Then leave. But aren’t you sick of being overlooked? Ava is a prick teasing little bitc.h, Yolanda. She’s not really your friend. She just likes having you fawn all over her all the time. Take this one thing for yourself, Yolanda. Then tomorrow, be there for Ava. You never know; she might even fall for you.’

Yolanda, the stupid bitc.h, actually smiles. She believed him!

Desperate whor.e!

Deeper into the woods, the horror unfolds. My baby girl lies helpless on the cold, hard ground, her eyes pleading for mercy that never came. I don’t want to see what I’m witnessing, but there is no way I can’t when I’m looking into Philip’s mind. To get to where he hid the locket, I must witness the horror my daughter went through.

I can feel the raw terror in Ava’s heart as I watch the assault she endured, the pain and violation resonating through my own soul. My grip on Philip’s head tightens, the desire to tear him apart with my bare hands growing stronger with each passing second.

‘Please, don’t do this to me!’ I hear Ava’s plea through the mind link as she tries to reason with Philip. However, he ignores my child’s pleas and continues to assault her.

My heart is breaking inside my chest. I don’t know how to deal with what I’m seeing. Thank the Goddess, I didn’t allow my mate to be here for this. Rain would have lost control, and her Dragon would have taken over. I don’t even want to imagine what would have happened then.

‘When I get out of this,’ Ava’s voice cracks. ‘I’m going to kill you both!’

Philip cracks Ava over the head and knocks her out. Once she’s out cold, Yolanda takes her turn with my daughter. I clench my teeth so hard they almost crack.

When they’re finally done, they leave my baby lying half-naked in the woods. They walk away from Ava as if she was nothing to them. They laugh about how much fun it was and how they wish they had done it sooner.

Yolanda is lucky she’s already dead because I would have torn her apart! Philip won’t be long for this world; I’ll make sure of that!

As Philip and Yolanda part ways, the next memory grows blurry as Philip tries to shield his thoughts, but I am relentless. There is nothing this bastard can hide from me! I promised my little girl that I would find out where Philip hid her locket, and I will not stop until I get the information needed.

I push through the fog, seeing the glint of the locket around Ava’s neck. Philip is once again thinking about the moment he ripped it from her neck and pocketed it. My mind is locked onto the locket’s presence, feeling its warmth and significance even amidst the coldness of the scene.

The images grow more distant, the connection straining as Philip tries harder to bury the truth. Yet, my focus remains unwavering. With the help of my sons and their will to draw out the truth, we follow Philip’s path as he leaves the woods, the locket a beacon of guilt in his pocket. The destination grows clearer, a small cabin nestled in the dense foliage, obscured from the outside world. The link grows stronger, and the locket’s location is within my grasp.

Philip enters the depths of a place he has no right to have knowledge of. Someone must have told him about this place, someone who should have known better. That means I’m going to have to wheedle out the fool spouting things they shouldn’t and rip their head off!

Philip was a clever little fool, but sadly, he was not smart enough. He was clever only in the sense that he didn’t get himself killed. Well, he did, but not by what should have killed him.

I have the information I need, so I open my eyes. My hand falls from Philip’s head. The prisoner slumps forward, gasping for air as if he had just run a marathon. “You can’t hide anything from me,” I murmur, the promise of retribution in my voice. “I know where the locket is, and I know what you did.”

Philip whimpers. But as I open my mouth to say something, Blue Fire fills the room. It surrounds me but never touches me, meaning one of my sons has lost control. Their Dragon fire won’t hurt me unless they command it.

“Michael!” I scream his name. His emerald Dragon eyes are wide as Blue Fire burns Philip to a crisp where he sits. “Stand down!”

Michael is too far gone, and there is only one thing that will stop him now. I nod at Mark, who sighs but lays his hand on Michael’s shoulder. Mark’s eyes turn midnight blue, a sign his Dragon is upfront, and together, they pull Michael’s Dragon fire into themselves.

Michael falls to his knees, howling to the sky in pain and anguish. Mark drops beside him, and I follow.

I clasp the back of his head. “Michael, what the hell?”

He looks at me, eyes red-rimmed, and the dam bursts. “I did nothing! I thought she’d stayed out with some guy. Why didn’t I look closer? I would have seen how upset she was! What kind of brother am I?”

I shake my head and pull him into my arms. “It’s not your fault, Michael. Your sister is a strong woman. But I think you should talk to her about how you’re feeling.”

“Ava is the kindest woman I’ve ever met. Well, Mom, too.” Mark chuckles while stroking the back of Michael’s head. “Ava would hate to think you blame yourself for any of this, Michael.”

Michael lifts away from me. “I blame myself for dismissing the truth. The first place my mind went was that she slept with someone. Why did I say that when I knew Ava would never do that?”

I don’t have an answer for him. All I do know is Michael needs to tell Ava how he’s feeling, and I need to speak to her about the locket’s whereabouts.

My baby will be leaving with Triton soon, and I won’t let Ava leave, thinking anyone is against her and her mate. I won’t allow it, no matter how much we all hate Triton—and we do. But he is Ava’s mate, and it’s time everyone backed off.

If they don’t?

They’ll have me to deal with!