Free Let Him Reign: An Underworld Romance by Lane Hart

woman, and only four bloodsuckers I almost feel insulted by how easy Drake is making this. I hope for Hope's sake that everything goes smoothly, and that her three-year-old boys haven't been harmed. If they have...the mere thought causes rage to bubble up inside of me, so damn intense the sizzling energy feels like it’s about to seep out of my pores.
    The normally short drive into town seems like it takes ages since I'm on edge and my alpha blood is boiling. Yesterday I never would've imagined that within the next twenty-four hours I'd be ready and actually looking forward to ending these bastards' lives. I've taken a life before, several actually. But this time it's different because I'm not doing it under my father's orders to punish people who crossed him. When I was just thirteen he started commanding me to slit men’s throats, sometimes to punish them for nothing more than not paying a year’s worth of his tribute. Of course it worked real well as a deterrent, but the guilt ate away at me. It was even worse when I turned fifteen and could finally shift. After that, my father ordered me to execute without the use of weapons, making me use my werelion teeth and claws so that the blood was literally on my hands, or worse, a bitter taste in my mouth. Back then I dreaded ending lives, but today I want these fuckers to die by my hands, or at least my will.
    Finally we pull up in the parking lot in front of the row of four small, one level apartments. The eyes of the sole grungy vampire out front of 1B widen an instant before I unleash the power, commanding enough pressure in his skull to make blood seep from all his orifices, right before his head explodes. If I can see them, I can control them, hurt them, or end them by simply exerting my alpha dominance over them. 
    The vampire that steps outside to investigate meets the same fate. Lesson learned, the two remaining inside begin firing shots at us. We're in bulletproof vehicles, but the woman and kids inside aren't. Without giving them time to unload, I reach for the car door right as I hear the clicks of it locking.
    "Sir," Ryan starts to say from the driver's seat. "I can't let you go in there. It's not worth the risk."
    I stare down the lifetime military officer wearing black fatigues with his coal colored hair buzzed short. Ryan has worked for my dad the last ten years and is now in charge. I know without having to look that the platinum medallion dog tags around his neck, just like the one all of our men wear, displays a wolf under his last name Bailey. The wolf is the animal of his bloodline, strong but not dominant to the lion. The man has known me since my rebellious teen years, hell even my rebellious twenties. This is where the regret catches up with me. Now that I'm in charge of an entire society, I'm still going to be treated as that same boy who acted out, refusing to take on any responsibility, lacking confidence, and motivation.
    "You must have me confused with one of your soldiers because I sure as fuck don't need your permission. Give me your vest," I order him.
    The narrowed-eyed look on his red, scowling face tells me he'd rather eat shit than obey my alpha command even though he's powerless to do anything but what I say. I could order him to jump off a bridge and he'd have no choice but to do it.
    He takes off and hands me his Kevlar which I put on even though it's likely unnecessary. I want to show the rest of my men I'm not completely careless.
    Once the vest is strapped on I ask for a gun since shifting in public is frowned upon and causes problems, and then I start for the entrance. A guard takes point while several more stay flanked beside me. Again, I know I can't go barging recklessly into the apartment. One shot to my head could be enough to take me out. Could , but that's not a guarantee.
    The first guard pushes the faded blue front door open, causing more gunfire. I order my men to hold theirs because I don't know where the woman and kids