<h4>Chapter 536: 536-Killing My Blood For Her</h4>


    <strong>Yorick:</strong>


    My parents did not even know if their n had worked.


    I screamed again, the sound tearing out of me in pure rage.


    I lunged forward and shoved my father aside when he tried to block me. My fist collided with Charles’s jaw, and he tumbled away from Mariana.


    "Yorick," Mariana whispered.


    I nced at her and saw the concern in her eyes.


    "Oh fool, what are you doing?" my mother shrieked as I stepped in front of Charles, blocking him from reaching my mate.


    Charles was on his feet again, lunging at Mariana.


    I stepped into his path, but his body stretched in a way no human body should. His arm elongated and shot toward me. His fist closed around my neck and lifted me off the ground.


    "No, let go of my mate," Mariana screamed at him, straining against the ropes. "You want to eat me, right? Thene and eat me. Please, do not hurt my mate."


    Even as my vision blurred, her words cut through me.


    Was this what loyal love looked like? Was this what it meant when love ran both ways? She was risking her life for mine.


    I drove my elbow down on his forearm and tore his grip loose. As soon as my boots hit the ground, I blocked his next swipe with my forearm and mmed my shoulder into his chest, forcing him back several steps. His skin scraped against mine and it felt so rough and scratchy.


    At this point, he was no longer my brother.


    He snarled and swung again, but his gaze flicked past me to Mariana. He lunged for her.


    I jumped onto his back and locked my arm around his throat. Using my weight, I twisted and dragged him down, rolling him across the dirt until he crashed onto his side.


    "Move aside, you stupid boy. Let him do it," my father shouted. "Your brother will be normal. Do you not want that?"


    They kept their distance from me, but they stayed close enough to ensure Mariana could not free herself.


    Charles swiped at my ribs. I caught his wrist midair and shoved him back. His bones felt wrong beneath my grip. He folded low, his towering frame bending inward as he snapped his teeth inches from my face.


    "You are not touching my mate," I growled, driving my knee into his abdomen.


    He staggered, then howled and rushed at me again.


    We kept colliding, wing against fist, breath against breath, until my eyes fell on the bags lying near the tree.


    The files.


    I had read them. There had been one specific detail about my brother. One injection. One poison strong enough to end it.


    It would not be easy.


    This time, I let my ws slide free. I shed across his stomach and raked upward, tearing through rough skin until blood poured down his torso. He stumbled back, howling in pain.


    I had seconds to think.


    My parents rushed toward Charles, then hesitated, fear keeping them from getting too close. My father suddenly turned and ran toward me.


    "What are you doing?" he demanded as he saw me reach for the bag and pull out a needle.


    "No," he shouted when he understood.


    "Jill, stop Yorick while I help Charles get closer to Mariana," my mother screamed.


    My father obeyed her at once. He lunged at me, not to kill, but to knock me out so they could finish this while Iy unconscious.


    Before his punch couldnd, I caught his wrist and twisted it hard.


    A sharp cry tore from his throat. I nced at my mother. Fear filled her eyes.


    She understood then.


    I was not giving them another chance.


    "Have you lost your mind?" my mother screamed. "You are going to hurt your father for that bitch? Have you not already lost one mate and found another?"


    She kept her distance from Charles. Fear held her back even as she turned toward my father.


    Charles rose again. This time, he moved faster.


    He lunged toward Mariana, my innocent mate who had been dragged into this nightmare.


    I had promised herst night that I would keep her safe.


    My parents had always found a way to ruin anything good in my life. This time, I would not let them.


    I rushed at Charles and raised the needle to strike. Before I could drive it into him, he spun and swung his arm into my chest.


    Pain exploded through my ribs.


    I crashed to the ground and struggled to breathe. When I forced my head up, I saw Mariana had somehow freed herself.


    Charles had her.


    He gripped her face with both hands and pressed hard against her skull. I saw her eyes begin to redden.


    "No, no, no," I roared as I forced myself onto my feet.


    I stopped thinking.


    I charged him and drove the needle straight into his back.


    He jerked and his fingers loosened. His hold on Mariana’s face weakened until it vanishedpletely.


    She dropped to her knees.


    I shoved Charles aside and caught her from behind, pulling her away from him. I wrapped my arms around her and held her against my chest as her body trembled.


    Behind us, chaos broke loose.


    My brother copsed to his knees and screamed in agony while my mother stared at him, horror spreading across her face.


    "What have you done?" my mother cried as she dropped beside Charles, who was writhing on the ground like a fish out of water.


    It was not easy for me to watch him like that.


    I loosened my hold on Mariana and turned away, covering my face because I could not bear the sight.


    "It’s okay," Mariana murmured as she stepped closer tofort me.


    I turned back to embrace her, but as I did, my gaze caught my mother standing behind her with a silver dagger in her hand, already lunging forward.


    "No," I shouted.


    Mariana spun around and caught my mother’s wrist before the de couldnd, twisting it sharply so the dagger turned toward her instead, and within seconds they were struggling against each other.