Page 70 of Her Rabid Beasts

“Order traitor,” someone mutters from the table behind us.

It’s in moments like these I realise that not only do I have zero control over Savage, but that he’s a volatile wolf in human clothing. For an infinitesimal unit of time, Savage and I stare at each other. Alarmed blue eyes into burning hazel ones. I see the exact moment his wolf takes over.

And then everything turns into mad, bloody chaos.

Savage whips around and lunges for a stocky eagle with blonde hair called Dante. They both go tumbling back with the chair Dante’s sitting on as Savage rains blows to Dante’s head.

“Stop!” Lyle commands. I dart him a look and see that he has his hands out, but his telekinesis isnot workingon Savage.

Fuck. One on one, my mating group has roughly the same strength.

“Xander!” I shout.

But the dragon just closes his eyes and shrugs. “Not my circus, not my monkey.”

I could punch him in his perfect dragon face.

“Should we do something?” one wolf animus asks in a shrill, frightened voice as Savage pummels his fists into Dante’s face and shoulders.

“No.” Yeti’s reply is harsh. “When he gets like this, it’s best to let him finish, otherwise no one’s safe.”

There’s so much blood and the sound of bone crunching.

“He’s going to kill him!” Minnie cries.

Dante is fully limp as Lyle strides up and hauls Savage off him by the neck of his black tank top. Savage aims a punch at Lyle that catches him square on the left side of his jaw. Lyle’s head flips to the other side. Everyone in the room gasps.

But that movement seems to trigger something in the lion. Quicker than I thought was possible, Lyle punches Savage back.

My wolf’s head snaps back with a faintoof.

I’m simultaneously aroused and horrified.

But Savage is laughing and gestures to Lyle to come at him. “Again!”

The entire room becomes charged with an electric force as Lyle and Savage stare at each other, their violent animuses clearly in control and challenging each other’s dominance.

Lyle looks like he’s about to punch Savage again?—

“Lyle.” The word is out of my mouth before I can stop it. It’s sort of husky. It’s sort of a warning.

Lyle’s head snaps towards me and I’m taken aback by his eyes and the lion he never lets come to the surface. I’m stricken by the sight of him and the sheer force of his will behind it. Hisirisestremble, as if Lyle is actively battling his animus and his animus is sayingno.

But in a flash, it’s gone, and Lyle is in control and prodding at Savage. “Calm down,” he snaps. He turns around and gestures to a couple of lions. “Rush Dante to the medical centre.”

Savage growls as we all watch Dante levitate upwards, his face nothing more than a bloody mess. I see white bone peeking through. My stomach clenches and I hope he’s not dead, but the medical centre is close by, so I think he’ll make it.

“Guess who’s spending the weekend in solitary,” Lyle grits out. “That was not necessary, Sav.”

Sav? Since when are they on friendly nickname terms?

“He insultedmyregina,” Savage snarls, “Aurelia can’t help being fated to us. Fuck you, Lyle.”

“Get in fucking line.”

Okay, so maybe not on friendly terms.

“Go quietly, Savage,” I say, worried he’ll say more in this angry haze of his.

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