Page 49 of Guardians

“Oh, God,” the human moaned. “This tastes like ambrosia.” He quickly finished the entire bowl and handed it to Armando. “Is there any more?”

Arrogant, amoral, and greedy? Even if he wasn’t responsible for the Griffin Project, Elias would despise this man. “Why don’t the cats know they’re breeders?”

Babcock shrugged. “It was standard procedure to wipe the memories of the breeders, but about one in ten were immune to the process.”

“You will compile a list of all the feline breeders.”

Babcock shook his head. “I knew most of them by patient number. We never bothered with names.”

Elias growled. He couldn’t help it. The utter indifference with which Babcock spoke of the nightmare was further proof of his evilness. “I heard stories of what went on in the breeding pens. You will die slowly and in utter agony because that’s what you deserve.”

“The threats would be more effective if you waited until after I’ve provided you with a solution to your inability to reproduce.”

Fury spread through Elias like wildfire. He would not listen to another condescending word from this human. Pushing to his feet, he looked at Armando. “Take this creature to the common room. Strip him naked and string him up. Whip him carefully. I do not want him badly damaged, but I have never seen a being more in need of humbling.”

“It would be my pleasure, alpha.”

CHAPTER 8

Freshly showered and ready to face the day, Lexie emerged from the bedroom the following morning. Certain areas of her body were stiff and tender, but it helped her remember all the things she’d learned the night before. She needed to stop expecting the hybrids to think and behave like humans. They were an entirely different species, and their society was unlike anything found on Earth. The environment was harsh, and the hybrids were ruled by instincts humans didn’t understand. An inflexible power structure was needed to survive on Rydaria.

She’d also learned a lot about herself over the past few days. She’d adapted to the idea of sharing her life with three males with surprising ease. Because they were already a tightknit unit, it felt natural for her to be shared among them. Her introduction to their kinks also surprised her. Not only was she aroused by helplessness, but she could find pleasure in pain. And finally, the most unexpected discovery of all, she liked anal sex. A dreamy smile spread across her lips. Maybe it was more accurate to say that she was a lot more sexually adventurous than she ever imagined. She seemed to like anything her mates did to her.

“I hope we put that smile on your face,” Malik said as he handed her a steaming mug of Rydarian coffee.

“You did, but I shouldn’t admit it or you’ll have me in restraints every night.” She slipped onto one of the dining chairs and wrapped both hands around the mug. No one had lit a fire this morning so the room was chilly.

Malik chuckled. “Diego might put you in restraints, but Kane and I prefer your submission to be voluntary.”

She blushed, remembering the way she’d voluntarily offered her ass to Diego while Kane and Malik took turns in her mouth. “Anyway.” The prompting was more for her wandering mind than for him. “Where are Kane and Diego?”

“Diego is with the Shadows. Kane’s up at the lodge. Kane was hoping to return before you woke up, so I don’t think the meeting is going well.”

“Is there anything we can do?” She cringed as she remembered the reason for her punishment. “I guess I did more than enough last night.”

Malik shook his head, his gaze warm and filled with compassion. “It was not your place to confront Zion, but I think that’s exactly what he needs. No one dares to cross him. Very few even disagree with anything he says. He needs someone, preferable a feisty female, to point out his mistakes and argue with his opinions.”

“Is he interested in a mate?” He’d seemed nothing but hostile toward any female, at least any human female.

“It’s complicated. He was a captive longer than anyone else and he tried to claim one of the hybrid females, but she chose someone else. Needless to say, he’s hesitant to try again.”

She just nodded. She didn’t like Zion, so it was hard to root for him, especially when there were so few females to go around.

Luckily, Kane saved her from an awkward conversation. Gusts of wind and snow whipped through the cabin before he could wrestle the door closed. “This is stay at home and drink hot chocolate weather,” he muttered.

“You have hot chocolate?” she cried and both men laughed.

“We can’t help you there,” Kane admitted. “But it does sound damn good right about now.” Kane slipped out of his coat and hung it on a peg by the door, then joined them at the table.

Malik went to the kitchen and got another mug. After filling it with Rydarian coffee, Malik slid it across the table to Kane. “Was anything decided, or will the council need to reconvene?”

“No, everything was decided.” He sighed and paused for a long sip of coffee. “I understand the decisions, even agree with most of them.” He looked at Lexie before he finished, “But this is going to piss you off.”

“How badly?” She wasn’t sure she wanted to hear this.

He shrugged. “Because of the weather and the trauma of witnessing the wolf attack, Zion has extended his hospitality for one month. All their needs will be met, and they can move freely between the buildings in the two cabin clusters. If they need to leave the clusters for any reason, they must be escorted by one of the guards.”

“Guards?” she objected. “Zion posted guards around the females?”

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