Page 15 of Beg the Night

“Margaret?” I repeated. “Who’s out there?”

I instinctively crossed my arms over my chest, ready to grab my clothes and dart at the first sign of trouble.

Before I could, the curtain enclosing my shower was ripped open.

I inhaled sharply, ready to scream, but a large male hand wrapped around my throat and slammed me backward, knocking the air from my lungs.

When my senses returned, I found Sinner towering over me, a much-too-menacing look dripping across his features. He was under the hot stream of water now, the droplets ricocheting off his body and onto mine as he pinned me against the cave wall.

“Start talking, New Girl. Who the hell are you?”

“What?” I choked out. “What are you talking about?”Where the hell was Margaret?

“What tier are you? What magic do you have?”

“For the last time,” I grasped his hand, trying to pry his fingers from my throat, but it was no use, “I don’t have any magic. I’m earthly, not mystic. This is all a massive mistake.”

He tightened his grip on my throat until I could barely breathe. I squirmed beneath him. I knew what would come next. Someone like me would have no way to fight off a man as large as him.

“You’re hiding something,” he growled into my ear. “I could tell from the first second I saw you. You can disappear in the shadows all you want, but if you’re a mystic, you better tell us before the blood moon. You put all of us in danger by being here.”

A harsh laugh escaped me with what little air I had access to. “You really think I want to mate with one of you crazy freaking mystics? News flash, youbrute, I actually like my body to remain unviolated!”

Brow furrowed, he released me like I’d burned him. “I don’t like you. And I sure as hell don’t trust you.”

I gulped air, then immediately coughed at the burn in my lungs.

“My sister may think you’re special, but to me, you’re nothing. If you fuck this up for us, you won’t live to find a way out of here.”

Confusion rolled through me. What the hell was he talking about? “How could Ipossiblyfuck anything up? I was kidnapped and dragged here like a piece of meat!”

His jaw clenched, his dark eyes hardening. “And stop sleeping out in the open where every man here has access to you. You’re an even bigger idiot than I thought you were.”

With that, he was gone, storming out of the empty showers and leaving me gasping after him.

Margaret appeared a few seconds later, wringing her hands. “I’m so sorry! I tried to stop him, but he promised he wouldn’t?—”

I held my hand up to silence her. “Margaret, you’ve been kind to me so far, so I’m going to ask you this question once and I want you to tell me the truth.”

With an audible gulp, she nodded. “Okay.”

“Is that guy yourbrother?”

She sucked her plump bottom lip between her teeth, tears welling in her blue eyes.

My blood pressure shot up. “Are you kidding me? No wonder all the men ignore you! You’re the doe-eyed sister of theonlytier three here!”

“I didn’t want you to be afraid of me!” she pleaded. “Everyone avoids me because of who my brother is. It gets lonely down here! And when I saw you, anothergirl, I knew I’d have to keep it a secret if I wanted company. It’s not a big deal, is it? Please tell me it’s not a big deal!”

Annoyance flooded my veins.Un-freaking-believable.“You lied to me.”

“I didn’t lie! I simply omitted a small detail about my life.”

With a groan, I stepped back into the hot water. My mind still reeled, replaying each detail of what had just happened.

Sinner was Margaret’s brother, and he thought I was hiding mystic powers, just like the Ministry.

If the two were siblings, couldn’t he simply ask Margaret if I was a mystic? Did he really need to bombard me in the showers and demand the answers like that? My heart was still busy returning to a normal rate. Yeah, my instincts about remaining partially dressed had been spot-on.

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