Page 8 of Beg the Night

Blondie—Carter—tensed and turned away from me like he hadn’t just been antagonizing me. “Nothing, Sinner. Just welcoming the new girl to hell.”

The massive and terrifyingly attractive man—Sinner, I supposed, which wasn’t disturbingat all—nodded.

His jaw clenched, the muscle there ticking. “Do I need to remind you of our rules here?” Sinner asked.

Carter immediately dropped his eyes to the ground. “No. You don’t.”

“Good.” The bigger man smacked his lips. “Because I was starting to think you’d forgotten the whole reason we’re here, and that’s to get the fuck out of this place. And in order to get the fuck out of this place, we need female mystics—like her.”

Blood rushed to my cheeks from the sudden burst of attention. Why did that sound oddly flattering?

“I know, she just?—”

“Leave her the fuck alone,” Sinner interrupted. His tone was flat, bored, if anything, and he still hadn’t given me a second of his attention, so I figured it had more to do with his obvious hatred of Carter and less to do with the need to protect me. “The next blood moon isn’t for four weeks. Can we all fucking behave until then?”

His voice was still even, but the power of it boomed off the cavern wall. Carter and his friends murmured an array of submissive responses, which lit a satisfying fire in my chest.

Men loved to act tough, but in reality, everyone was someone’s little bitch.

Everyone but Sinner, apparently.

“And you,” he said.

It took me a second to realize he was talking to me. When I did, all I could do was blink up at him.

“Keep to your fucking self. Don’t talk to him,” he pointed to a retreating Carter, “and definitely don’t fucking talk to me. Showers and bathrooms are that way. We’re fed once a day if the Ministry cares enough to bother. You’re on your own. We’ve been here for a hell of a long time, so don’t assume that your presence is going to change anything for us. Got it?”

I swallowed, trying to stop my eyes from bulging out of my head.

“I’m sorry,” he gritted out. “Are you fucking mute?”

Ah, shit.I cleared my throat and willed my vocal cords to work. “Yes, no, sorry. I mean, yes, I understand.”

His lip curled up, his expression making it clear he thought I was the biggest idiot here. Honestly, I didn’t blame him.

“Can I ask you one question?”

His eyes darkened. “One. And it’ll be the only time you get to talk to me, so make it quick.”

“What are we doing here? Why does the Ministry keep mystics locked up like this?”

His chest rose and fell. His eyes flickered away for a moment, and when they made their way back, they seemed almost sad. “We’re here to mate on the blood moon. That’s it. You have one month until then, and if you’re lucky, the Ministry will decide you’re useless and kill you when it’s done. But…”

“But what?”

That massive jaw clenched again. “But you’re a woman. Clearly, you’re outnumbered here. I don’t predict you’ll be that lucky.”

My stomach plummeted.Great. This day was really looking up, wasn’t it?

Without another word, he turned and walked back into the crowd of gawking men. They followed his lead, thank god, acting as if they weren’t going to watch my every move.

In the dim light, I found a semi-empty corner to the left and made my way to it. The numbness in my legs was wearing off, making each step painful. I prayed to whoever would listen that I wouldn’t fall on my ass. Not in front of these people.

The Ministry was my enemy, yes, but here? In an underground cave full of men who’d been brought here with the sole purpose of mating?

It looked as though my list of enemies had just grown exponentially.

Sinner, as scary as he was, was right about one thing. The lucky ones would be killed before they had to endure torture like that.

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