His Lover, My Mate

Thirty-Three: Anya

Those of you reading Anya's story, this chapter is very far ahead. But minor spoilers.

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*Rush*

He didn't know she couldn't smile. He didn't know she'd been so forlorn before. He'd suspected something to come out of her captivity, and finally he knew. Things like torture, it was vile. It couldn't be forgotten. It was burned into the victim's head, and it played over and over in their heads, making them go mindless and insane. It almost happened to him, the insanity, the grief, the dehumanization. For several years, he felt like he was still owned by someone, by something. And maybe he still was—he was owned by the darkness that fed on his soul every day.

But he would never let it take all of him away, not when he had a life to live for.

Two more nights. Two more nights and his mother would come to his territory.

Two more nights Aletha would be safe before...

His thoughts were interrupted and he turned around when he felt a large gust of air at the center of his throne room. It looked like a wide, gaping mouth with sharp, jagged teeth. But the teeth were made of gleaming crystals.

"What the hell?" said Marik.

"It's a portal," Iyla explained. "Someone's using moon magic to come here."

And Rush knew exactly who it was.

A female with night black hair and violet blue eyes stepped out of the portal and it disappeared behind her. Then she looked around his throne room, somewhat impressed, before she saw him. A large smile spread on her lips as she raced toward him. "Rush!" she exclaimed, engulfing him in a tight hug. "I've missed you so much."

"Anya," he said, smiling as he ruffled her hair. She was his other half-sister besides Kyla. Anya and Rush shared the same father but different mothers. While Rush's mother was the vampire queen, hers was the Moon Goddess. "What the hell have you been up to? The last time I saw you, you claimed Iyla's brother. And now Iyla tells me you're trying to end your mother's rule. How the hell did this happen?"

Anya pulled away. "That bitch messed with my mate. I need her dead. I don't even care if she's my mother. She's no mother to me and she's no Moon Goddess to anyone." Her gaze darkened, and he knew she was thinking of what the Moon Goddess did to his mates. Anya could see glimpses of all the females through his soul, and she could see the lives they had led until they were matched to Rush and therefore killed by their own Goddess. "I will make her pay for what she's done, Rush." Then she turned around and her gaze found Iyla. "Iyla!"

Iyla looked almost relieved as she pulled her into a hug. "You finally notice, huh? Am I that forgettable?"

Anya snorted. "No, you're unforgettable. But then again, so am I. Except Rush, he's totally forgettable."

"Hey, I heard that."

"Should I say it louder then?" Anya teased, pulling away from Iyla. "You're so useless. That's why I'm here."

"As if," he retorted. "You're here because you want to kill my mother."

Anya grinned. "Who doesn't?"

"Anya, are you alright?" Iyla suddenly asked. "And my brother...?"

Anya and Iyla's brother were mates. About two week ago, Rush attended their marking ceremony.

"I'm alright. But I need to talk to you about Archer. You won't believe who your brother really is," Anya said.

Iyla's face hardened as she nodded. "We will talk, sweetheart. You'll tell me everything, won't you?"