Page 88 of The Butcher

Driving the sickle back into his abdomen, I angle it this time, moving it up and under the ribs until I feel his liver. More blood oozes out of him, painting my arm and the floor a deep shade of crimson and this time, I keep the blade inside.

I lift my head, my eyes scanning the alpha once again but I know where he’s headed, so he’s not the one I’m really interested in.

Instead, I swing my gaze to Nicolas, my smile growing when I see the look of nausea on his face, then continue to stare as I keep the sickle buried and drag down his mate’s body.

Blood splatters against the floor, the splash of the thick red liquid as it connects with the wood loud in the near silent room. There’s a curtain of it now, a waterfall flowing from the long, deep wound, dripping steadily until Adam takes a deep breath and his heart tries pushing more through his body.

A louder spurt followed by a little more than a trickle.

Another splash as I extend the opening all the way down to his knot, then a heavy, wet thump echoes as his entrails begin to fall out.

That’s when Nicolas screams.

“You want to talk now?” The sickle slides out of Adam like a hot knife through butter, more of his guts splashing at my feet. “When there’s no hope left for someone you claimed to love?”

He nods wildly, tears streaming down his face, while he mumbles as loud as he can around the pus covered cloth.

It’s too late, and he should know it. They didn’t have a chance, anyway, but most of Adam’s insides are on the outside, and the blood loss alone gives him no more than a minute or two. If I were in his position, if someone had actually bested me and put one of my mates at risk, I never would have let it get this far. Hell, no one would be able to best me unless they shot me first, and even then it’s questionable, so there’s no way my pack would ever be in this type of situation.

Oh well.

Nicolas is going to have to live with the guilt, right up until I kill him, too.

“Okay, sure, let’s chat.” I bend down and grab a handful of intestines then use the rusty blade to cut about a four inch section free. I drop the sickle, and the guts, then walk toward the beta who has peed all over the bearing wall. “Talk fast.”

I yank the gag from between his lips, the dry skin on the bottom tearing as I do, but it doesn’t slow him down. “We’re… We were looking for…” Nicolas swallows hard, and I can hear the way his tongue sticks. “Hall sent us to find an omega.”

My heart skips a beat at that, maybe more than one, but I keep my expression calm as I step even closer. “Why?”

“He, he said”—his eyes move to Adam—“Oh, god, he’s going to die.”

“Probably.” Definitely. But I need more information than that. “Why is he looking for an omega in Obsidian Falls?”

“He said… Hall said it made sense.”

“What made sense?”

Nicolas barely fights his sobs but manages to get the words out. “That an omega would hide here. He said there aren’t any omegas here.”

A chill races down my spine, Indigo flashing in my mind once again.

If this Hall is looking for an omega, it must be Arrow. Indy was left for dead, no one would be looking for her, but Arrow was at the ranch, and I’m sure Alan Harden wasn’t the only one who knew that. And if someone comes looking for him, if they send more people after Arrow, they’ll find Indy, too.

Not fucking happening.

The beta keeps talking, his sobs now uncontrollable, and I can’t understand one fucking word he’s saying, but it doesn’t matter anymore. I got what I needed, and I need to wrap this up so I can figure out the next step.

“P-p-please, let us?—“

“Did he mark you?” I snap as I stand directly in front of Nicky boy. “Your alpha, did he mark you?”

The beta nods.

Perfect. “And you want to leave here with him?”

Another nod.

“Then let's make that happen.”

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