Page 65 of Mated To The King's Gamma
Yet we were safe. That is all that matters as I set Tyson down to help Clarice board up the windows. He rushes off to play with Oliver, who is sitting with Peter.
* * *
I pull the funnel out of his throat slowly, and Tanner chokes, gurgles, and sputters on the wolfsbane. His tongue sizzles in his mouth, his blood-drenched the floor, his hand trapped in the vice is almost completely split down the middle, and Kyson twisted it, hearing the last crunch as the vice-grip completely closed, splitting his hand in half.
His screams make me buzz with excitement, grabbing the old lead sprinkler. It is a Medi-evil torture device used to shower victims with molten lead. However, we improvised. Instead, I filled it with sulfuric acid. It is essentially a giant ladle with an iron handle. The sphere at the bottom is filled with acid. I shake the lead sprinkler, showering Tanner with acid.
His screams are hoarse and horrific as I sprinkle it over his legs. “What have you got planned with the hunters? Where is Ester, Tanner?” The king asks him. I pull the lead sprinkler away, his flesh continuing to be eaten away. Kyson then reaches for the baking soda to neutralize it. His screams turn to wailing as he runs out of breath from choking on wolfsbane and the harsh screams leaving him.
“I hope they kill all of you!” Tanner rasps. Kyson clicks his tongue and moves to his feet. Grabbing the top of his foot and his ankle, he yanks and twists, turning his foot, so it is the wrong way. The bones break, and Tanner screams. Kyson lets his foot go, moving to the next.
“What are they planning, Tanner? This will end when you tell me what I need to know,” Kyson growls.
Tanner laughs, the sound sadistic as he cackles his head off like this is some sort of joke.
“Has the storm stopped?” he asks before he chokes on his own blood. I slap him and Kyson quickly removes the silver strap holding his head in place before turning his face so he doesn’t choke before we get the information we need. He spits the blood out and smiles wickedly as he dazedly looks up at the ceiling.
“Pain, such a fickle thing. You won’t break me, My King!” he sneers at the last part before he laughs. Kyson growls menacingly, grabbing his other foot, about to break it.
“Oh, how she screams, yet no sound comes out. That is when you know you broke them,” he taunts, and I look at Kyson, my heart racing in my chest as the words spill from his lips.
“Plop,” he chuckles. “Just plopped right out at her feet.” Tanner laughs sadistically. The moment he says that, I know exactly who he is talking about. Claire, he wanted Kyson to kill him, to put him out of his misery.
“Although, it even made me sick when she stuffed your nephew back in her. Like I knew she was unhinged, but she lost the plot. Completely lost it.. You should have seen the look on Claire’s face. Killing her mate. Now that was priceless. Fucker didn’t stand a chance. She woke up as I drove that dagger through his chest. But her baby? She was dead the moment he fell at her feet. Almost as if her soul left her as she stared down at him.” The blood drains from Kyson’s face as his breathing grows heavier, and fur sprouts across his arms as he tries to remain in control. I want nothing more than to kill the bastard, but we need information.
This piece of shit deserves more than we will give him, but I have to keep Kyson’s head in the game. “He’s baiting you, Kyson! He wants you to kill him!” I snap, gripping his wrist as his fingers go to wrap around his throat. Kyson is on autopilot, not realizing his fingers encircle Tanner’s throat.
Tanner laughs and giggles. “That bitch just couldn’t keep her mouth shut! Had to run to your sister when she caught Ester and me packing our deliveries to send to the council. She ran, she did,” he laughs.
“Who ran?” I demand, and my grip on his wrist tightens when I feel his hand start shaking, hovering above his throat.
“Marrissa! She moved into the castle and found Ester, didn’t she? I started plotting to out her, but then she had to go a step too far by following us. Bitch ran straight to Claire. Just couldn’t mind her own damn business! Had to get involved.”
“Claire, always the goody two shoes. Did everything by the book. She should have taken it straight to you. Instead, she confided in the council and asked to have a meeting with us the next morning. She had called the council, and Crux gave us a little heads up. So we took care of it!” Tanner laughs.
Kyson’s other hand moves to grab him as a feral snarl leaves him, but I’m expecting it, so I grip his hand before it comes down on his head, and he growls at me.
“Keep your fucking head or get out!” I snap at him.
“The Hunters. What is their plan?” I demand before I start turning the handle on the rack. Stretching his limbs. Tanner screams as his body stretches.
“Plop,” Tanner laughs just as Liam wanders down the steps, whistling.
“Storm has blown over. Wow! Look at you growing like the weed you are!” Tanner laughs at his words.
“I always did like you, Liam,” Tanner chuckles. Liam tilts his head to the side, and I twist the handle beside me. His body is forced to stretch, and his skin tears under pressure. His screams ring out loudly.
But still, he refuses to answer, and Kyson shoves Liam and me to the side, plunging his hand through his diaphragm. He fishes through his innards, and Tanner gasped through the pain.
“Wait!” he rasps with his lips turning gray, and Kyson does.
“Where are they?” Kyson roars in his face as his eyes widened in horror, mouth open in a silent scream. Tanner smiles, his eyes fluttering, rolling in his head, and I know he is about to pass out or bleed out, whichever comes first. Despite laying on his deathbed, he smiles, and my heart thumps erratically in my chest at his following words.
“They’re already here,” Tanner breathes.
28
It’s as if everything was planned, and I knew I was right; I knew this had to be the hunter’s plan. One minute Clarice and I had just managed to settle the kids and feed them. The next, an explosion goes off, making us freeze as we stare at the double door leading to the corridor.
