Page 51 of My Guardian Gryphon

I yanked open the door and stepped inside. My eyes adjusted rapidly to the dim lighting, and the farther inside the building I walked, the louder the screams became. The kind of screams I liked to hear, but only if I was the one triggering them.

“What are they doing to her? You don’t have permission to touch her.”

“The men are interrogating her, Sir. She’s the only source of information we have from inside the castle. I assure you, no permanent damage has been done.”

Imbeciles, all of them. I stormed down the hall toward the sound of the woman’s voice. My cock hardened just at the thought of finally having one of the Sisters within reach.

I hadn’t been sure the chance would present itself again.

A second chance to begin a race in my image that would rule both the Veil and Earth, a supernatural being more powerful than anything either world had ever seen, and they would be mine, my children. With them at my side, nothing and no one would be able to stand in my way.

I would be invincible.

I would be king.

Shoving the door open, I stepped into a small interrogation room. Two Lycan soldiers had a young woman—naked—and bent over a table with her hands tied behind her back. The man in front of her had his dick nearly in her mouth, and the man behind her had his dick out, about to shove it in her pussy.

She was screaming her head off about someone named Alek killing them slowly by plucking out their eyeballs. A smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. I had to admit her creative threats in the situation amused me. I’d never heard a woman talk about eyeball plucking. But I didn’t recognize the name Alek, which bothered me. I knew all of Rose’s players. At least I thought I did.

I glared at the men who’d imagined they had the right to sample a prisoner caught at my request. I lifted my hand, directing my magick. Both men gasped and clutched the invisible cords I wrapped around their necks. I squeezed tighter and tighter until the cord of power literally took their heads right off. Blood poured from the decapitation, coating the floor in a slick red pool. Their half-dressed bodies flopped to the floor with pleasant thuds. The scent of Lycan blood in the morning always put me in a good mood. It was a shame I couldn’t shed more of it.

Martin stood silently behind me with Cal. Neither spoke. I approached the hysterical woman bent over the narrow table.

Leaning down, I put my face even with hers. “Who is Alek?”

She snapped her gaze to mine and sucked in a surprised breath. “You’re going to kill me anyway. I have nothing to say to you.”

“I’m not going to kill you right now, little one. I’m going to impregnate you, lock you away in my palace, and have you carry child after child after child until your body gives out or you die. Though once your body gives out, I will have no further use for you and will kill you.”

A shudder of energy flickered across her bare shoulders and I bent to look closer at the white marks that flowed from one shoulder blade to another in a gentle upward-facing semi-circle. As I inspected further, I noticed the marks continued over her shoulder and down over the front of her collarbone and chest. It was a Gryphon’s mate mark—a necklace of magick that permanently linked them together. How the fuck? I’d killed off the Gryphons who’d escaped through the portal thousands of years ago. There were none left.

Unless Rose had gotten her claws into one and hidden him, they’d all been stupid teenagers who barely knew how to shift, much less control the powerful beast that lived inside them.

Easy kills.

“Martin?” I looked over my shoulder at the white-faced Commander.

“Alek is a Gryphon. She loves him, General Xerxes, Sir. She is afraid. I’m not getting a lot more. Her mind is still pretty jumbled from the chloroform…And angry thoughts toward them.” He indicated with a nod at the fresh bodies on the floor.

I shrugged. I had no sympathy for men who didn’t respect authority. Actually, I had no sympathy for anyone.

“Love, I guess that explains your mate marks. Those don’t just pop up after a casual fuck.” My tone remained light and energetic. A Sister of Lamidae caught in the open and mated to a fucking Gryphon. Rose must be losing her control over the town.

“You’re all going to die.” Her voice shot out like the crack of a whip. Even through her pain and torture, she chose to fight. “Alek with kill you all, and Rose will wipe you all off the face of the Earth.”

“I’d like to see him try, and I do think this would be much more entertaining if your Alek had to watch what I’m going to do to you. Why don’t I just activate these marks so he comes running to get you.” I flipped her over, exposing her bruised breasts. Teeth marks showed raw, a stark contrast to her white skin, and a snarl rumbled in my chest.

“Did those men do this to you?” I pointed at the bite marks. She glared, and I turned to Martin. “Who?”

He paused a moment and focused. “The first soldiers who grabbed her, General, before I knew she’d been reported captured.”

“How long has she been in your custody?” I narrowed my eyes and roared. “How long?”

“Overnight, General Xerxes, her thoughts say they caught her yesterday morning.”

Fucking unacceptable. “You inform your men that no female caught is to be touched by their filthy paws without my express permission or their fate will be worse than the two you already have to clean up off the floor.”

“Yes, Sir. General, Sir.”

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