Page 25 of Wed Or Dead

Something far more precious.

The man had pulled back the beast. Stopped the slaughter. Of course, it had been too late by then. Her parents had been dead. Her brother barely breathing. And Kayla—she’d been terrified.

Lyle paced to his desk. Sat down heavily in the chair, then looked down at the claws that had burst from his fingertips.

A slip. He was having more and more of them lately. If he wasn’t careful, the hunters would all learn the truth about him.

He clenched his hands into fists and his claws cut right through his skin.

The beast wanted out.

And the man was just tired of fighting him. Lyle knew he was different. Too savage. Too twisted. He’d always known. But he’d tried to channel that bloodlust. To use it. He’d hunted his own kind. Tracked the deadliest paranormals.

But they weren’t enough.

Sometimes, innocent blood just tasted sweeter.

His teeth were lengthening. His bones starting to pop.

No, no, he couldn’t shift now. He had to hold on just a bit longer. He had a job to do. A pack to destroy.

The wolves in Vegas thought they were so smart. Banding together. Growing stronger. Wolves didn’t face the risk of insanity when they were in a pack.

The pack is strength.A stupid wolf mantra his parents had told him long ago, before they’d been killed by the government. The same government that had taken Lyle in and made him into the monster he was.

The pack is life.Did Gage recite that same bullshit?

Blood smeared on his jeans. He barely felt the pain in his palms. When his claws cut him, he almost liked the flow of blood.

Almost?

If he’d had a pack, maybe things would have been different for him. Maybe he would have controlled his beast.

Maybe not.

But the wolves in Vegas weren’t any more damn special than he was. If he had to face the fury of the beast alone—day in and day out—then they should have to face it, too. They should all know what it was like to feel sanity slipping away, moment by moment, until nothing remained.

Until there was only fury. Instinct. Death.

They shouldallknow.

He’d make sure they knew.

Because he was gonna rip that pack apart, even if he had to sacrifice every single hunter in his compound in order to do the job. After all, what were human lives worth? Humans were weak. Meaningless.

Only the strong survived in this world.

He was the strong. He was the alpha, and he’d prove that truth to everyone.

Chapter Five

“So how thehell do we get out of this cage?” Gage demanded, as he paced the small perimeter of their prison, and since he was pacing and they were chained, she pretty much had to pace, too.

Kayla hated the chain that bound them. And hated that she had to tell him, “We don’t get out.”

Those words stopped him. Gage glanced back at her. The faint lines on his face seemed deeper than before. “There’s always a way out.”

Such an optimistic shifter. She shook her head. “Not this time. The cell was designed for the maximum containment of a shifter. Even with your strength, you won’t be able to break the bars. And when you try…” Because she suspected he was already thinking about that very thing. “The silver will just burn you. It’s the purest form of silver I’ve ever seen.” Guaranteed to make a shifter scream.

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