Page 108 of Her Feral Beasts

But their eyes flick down to the bundle I hold.

Something makes me look at Xander. And I know that his eyes are glowing because his obsidian shackles have been taken off.

“Regina.” Savage takes a step toward me.

“You.” But I’m pointing at Xander. I step around Savage to the dragon with the blank expression. My voice does not sound like my own when I drop the bundle at his feet and take a step backwards. “Incinerate it.” It is a command, raw and true.

There is only a millisecond before he responds against his will. He raises his hand and the bundle lights up in a blaze of hot red and orange.

I close my eyes, but the flames light up my lids in red and heats my bare limbs. Dragon fire will be hot enough to turn the entire thing to ash. There will be no body left. No bones to identify. No evidence to use against me.

My cheeks become wet before the tears turn to steam.

For a life lost, for my mates, for the impossible situation I face.

When I open my eyes, I know that Savage has stepped up to my back. With my shields down, I can sense him completely. His power is wild like white water rapids and as volatile and uncontrolled as the deep jungle. There is violence inside of him, and aggression, but it’s laced with something else that lures me in.

There are also questions heavy as lead in the air, but I will not have them.

I whirl around. Savage’s eyes widen in surprise, but his nostrils flare in awareness of my desire. I know that no truer words have ever been voiced when I snarl, “Ineedyou.”

Savage doesn’t smile. Doesn’t laugh. No, he grabs the back of my neck and pulls me into him with a purely feral growl, crushing his lips against mine.

Clawing at his bare chest, he lifts me up by the ass, and I wrap my legs around him in an utterly desperate way. I moan as our lips collide, our mouths part at the same time, and hungrily, we devour each other. We fight for dominance with a vicious push and pull. I bury my fingers in his hair and yank. He’s all teeth and tongue and growl and the pure animalism of it is overwhelming.

He breaks it off. “Fuck!” he roars like he’s furious and lifts me off, forcing me to step onto the floor. He grabs my hand and yanks me toward the bedroom where he lets go and grabs his own hair like he wants to tear it out.

I know he means the blood covenant he made not to mate with me.

“Just use your fingers,” I say angrily, reaching for him. How dare he step away from me? “Or whatever, I don’t care.”

“No, Regina.”His voice is a guttural, wolf-deep and I watch in shock as he aggressively pulls open his bed-side table and brings out a switchblade, sets his hand on the table and presses the knife under my father’s mark.

“Oh my God, no!” I cry, rushing over to him.

Strong hands grip my waist and roughly push me aside and Scythe steps around me. I stumble back in shock.

“Let me, brother,” the shark rasps.

I gape at the two of them, looking over at Xander as if he’s going to help. But the dragon just apathetically looks on.

“Do something!” I urge him as Scythe calmly takes the blade from Savage.

Xander’s head snaps towards me, and he growls. “Don’t fucking talk to me,snake.” He stalks over to his bed, lies down with his hands behind his head and closes his eyes.

Ignoring him, I step forward to try and stop the two brothers, but just as I put my hand on Scythe’s shoulder, he angles the knife on Savage’s finger and pushes down with his other hand to snap the bone.

Savage grunts. Blood sprays across the table. I cry out, but Savage just whirls around and grabs me.

“Argh! Wait!”

Blood spurts from this wound.

“No waiting,” he growls, stepping me backward.

“Wait.”

“No.”

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