Maximus allowed the shear force of pent up anger through his system, his whole body physically shaking as he continued his ruthless rampage through the bodies of the undead. His veins popped as he uncurled his fist and his vision was clouded with dots of crimson red, urging him to spill blood.

That c*nt Zarcon had hidden himself in the mass of the undead, using them as a shield between him and the murderous lycan.

Maximus mentally snorted. If he thought he could escape Ignus, he had another thing coming.

Being King was not easy. Having a childhood filled with pain and abuse was even worse. And Max? Max had suffered through it all.

All of this was like a miniscule problem compared to the rest of his f*cked up life.

A small smirk slipped it's way onto the King's lips and his canines flashed through them as he finally spotted the betraying Elder.

He pushed each abomination away with ease using his claws and stalked the Elder, the feeling of revenge now the only thing in Maximus' mind.

Once he reached the Elder, he did not allow a split second for the Elder to react. His paw clutched the fragile neck of the betrayer and Max slowly lifted his small body off of the ground, squeezing as he did so.

Zarcon did not have any time to react. He grunted and struggled against the large paw of the King, trying to whisper ancient words of magic but it did not work. Ignus watched sadisticly as Zarcon turned a scarlet red, his eyes squinting and spilling water as a natural reaction the lack of air. It was music to his ears.

The more he tried, the quicker the air escaped his lungs.

Max smiled wider, his eyes shining with blood lust.

"This is for betraying the council."

His claws dug deep into the wrinkly skin of the old man and he pulled them across his stomach, watching in happiness as crimson liquid poured endlessly from the gaping wound.

"This is for thinking you can hurt my mate."

He clawed over the same wound, digging further into his body. The feeling of flesh against his paw only brought satisfication, the soft, squishy feeling giving him relief.

"This is for trying to overpower the crown."

This time, Max left the horrifying wound and aimed his next attack at the pointy ears peaking at either side of Zarcon's head.

The claws penetrated the flimsy skin and Max smiled once last time.

"And this? This is because I'm a f*cking psycho and I feel like it."

Maximus released a deep chuckle of pure giddiness as his claws elongated and winked at the crying Elder as he pulled his heart clean out of his chest.

Max's grip loosened and he dropped the Elder, holding his heart in one of his paws.

The King finally looked up to see all the zombies lying on the floor. His mate was staring at him, her eyes wide with fear.

Her lips parted and she whispered words that only Max heard.

"I love you."

Maximus closed his eyes as the adrenaline abruptly stopped it's journey and exhaustion filled his muscles. His eyes drooped dangerously low and the image around him blurred tremendously as he forced himself to think. He felt light headed and scared. Scared because he was about to faint, to be in his most weak state and not even make sure that his mate was okay. His eyes squeezed shut as he stumbled back and the pounding sound of his heart filled his ears, similar to the feeling of drowning in uncontrollable amount of water. Max tried to whisper Lana's name but the time he parted his lips, his vision only contained darkness.

Lana's pulse increased as she watched her mate fall. Her eyes started to fill with water and the fear of being abandoned crawled through her skin as she ran over the bodies to her mate and she slapped his face, her bottom lip wobbling as the worst case scenarios became movie-like in her mind.

Tears managed to spill from her eyes as she pulled his upper body up, clinging to him like a second skin.

"Come on! Max, get up. Max! Please. Please..."

Lana's vision blurred as tears continued to spill from her wide eyes and she tightened her arms around him. Her heart hammered against her chest as she listened closely to his heartbeat and sighed in relief as she heard the perfect rhythm that matched magically to her heart beat.

Lana rested against him and forced her mind to relax, blocking out everything around her.

Even her brother.

•••

Leo followed Lana's every movement, right until she blocked off everything.

This is it. This is the last time Leo will ever see his twin. His other half.

With his jaw clenched, Leo turned away from his sister and quietly walked towards the large doors.

A light breeze of icy wind hit his scarlet cheeks and carried the smell of smoke, reminding him of the last moments he had just had with his sister.

Leo inhaled deeply as he tried to cling to the smell of smoke, to the smell of his sister.

His heart tightened and his lungs felt like they were filling up with air he could not release as he continued his journey away from his family. His family.

Everything was too quick. The door was approaching too quick. The mission was over too quick.

Leo squeezed his eyes tightly, trying to force the tears back. It felt like a frog was blocking his throat and if any one would talk to him, he was sure to burst into a round of uncontrollable tears.

His hands shook as he forced his suddenly heavy legs to cooperate with his mind and not his heart. Because his heart was distracted. His heart yearned for the comforting hug of his sister and the reassuring words of the King.

Leo's fingers wrapped themselves around the metal handle of the magnificent door and with one last painful sigh, he opened the door and walked out because glancing back to see his sister would be too difficult.

Too difficult.

•••

Lana lifted her head from the comfortable position and squinted in the darkness, her eyes searching for her twin.

Her heart felt heavy, as if someone had just put a horrible weight onto her and compressed her into a tiny cage full of worry.

She could feel her heart beat faster as she sniffed, her wolf desperately trying to find her only family.

Nothing. No safe scent of her only family was in the mansion. She couldn't even sense him.

A groan echoed from beside her and th King slowly lifted himself up, using Lana as help.

"Why are you so scared?"

His husky voice brought some sense of relaxation for Lana and she attached herself to him as she continued to look for him.

"I don't know where Leo is."

The words came out as whispers and Max instantly stood straight, his lycan trying to find Leo's wolf. Lana was right. It was like Leo was never here.

Max hugged his mate tightly as a heart-wrenching sob made it's way out of her trembling lips. Salty water stained the side of his ripped shirt and Max's lycan howled loudly, calling for Leo's wolf.

He stiffened as she continued to cry, his muscle's tensing as he desperately waited for a response.

Nothing.

"We will find him. I promise."

Max held her tighter as he whispered the words into her ear and rested his his chin on her head.

He tried to convince her with his comforting words but he his body shivered violently. How was he supposed to successfully assure his mate that her twin would come back when he himself didn't believe it? Max's lips twiched as sadness washed over him like a blanket of choking water and he buried his head into Lana's soft neck as he tried to think.

Leo was like a brother Max never had and had helped him and his mate a lot. Max had suspected something was wrong when he saw the fearful look Leo had on his face during the fight.

He opened his eyes and stared straight into the dark abyss.

I will find you Leo.