Page 175 of Her Rabid Beasts

There’s a knowing smirk on his face as he stares defiantly at the three males who have now fallen still.

I’m so stricken by the sight before me that I don’t even see the danger behind me.

“I knew I’d get you eventually, bitch.”

Orange and black striped fur hurtles from beneath me as my body is seized and I’m swept right off my claws. I shriek in terror as damp heat encloses around both wings and sharp canines dig painfully into the tender flesh beneath my plumage. My stomach lurches as that sharp-toothed maw drags me down to the ground. Claws scrape along the tree trunk as a human voice shouts from below.

“What the hell, Clawson?”

Even without them saying it, I would know the malefic, vile scent of the mate that rejected Minnie anywhere.

I thrash and a growl resonates from Titus’ throat, vibrating through my body as he clamps down hard enough to burn and squeeze around vital organs. I have no choice but to submit.

“Leave him be,” someone else commands.

Fuck. Do the Clawsons have some of the guards on their payroll, too?

My entire body is at the mercy of Titus Clawson while he holds me like a fox with a chicken, my neck dangling precariously as we land on the ground. But Titus does nothing more than hold me as everyone watches the goings on at the gate from a distance. I’m forced to remain limp and stare at the unfolding tableau.

My father jerks his head to the right, where two sleek black Mercedes are pulling up next to him. The windows roll down.

“Oh shit,” the guard next to Titus mutters. “Is theentirecouncil here?”

If I didn’t recognise them from theAnimalia Todaynews app, I’d recognise them from my own trial.

The Queen of Wolf Court, a round-faced woman in many-layered skirts, is frowning as she speaks to my father, asking him a question. Behind her sits the Queen of the Avians, a long-limbed, graceful woman called Irma Goldwing and in the other car I can make out the dark features of the King of the Feline Court, Ablo Obon.

“Lyle!”I project as hard as I can, despite the pain and panic.“You need to stop!”

But of course, Lyle does not register my voice. He registers nothing except his mark.

Instead, hecharges.

I swallow a scream as I watch my mate rampage into the electric shield. Sparks fly, flesh sizzles, and my massive lion is thrown backwards through the air, crashing onto the concrete with a sick thud. But he’s climbing back to his feet in an instant, new, angry burnt flesh bubbling across his face as he snarls angrily, seemingly unaffected by the pain.

A breeze whistles past, encasing my heart in its chill as my father talks rather calmly to the cars with the council members.

He gestures to his own three vehicles.

And one by one, doors open, and males pile out.

My father has come with his whole contingent and then some. In addition to large males who are clearly Clawson tigers, five serpent generals in their skull-painted masks and black combat gear all climb out of the SUVs. They bear semi-automatic weapons emblazoned with a silver ‘V’.

These are serpent-made rifles.

Titus growls in approval and recognition, the sound filling my head with deathly promise.

My blood runs cold.

The five generals stand on the other side of the shield, armed and ready to shoot at my three mates, who are fully ready and completely open to their bullets.

Chapter 74

Xander

Apparently, I’m the only sane fucking person in this entire God-forsaken place.

This time, my dragon allows me to be conscious when he takes over by force. It takes everything I have to shove him back down, and he only does it on the condition that I follow my…orders.

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