Page 56 of Stripe for the Picking
The weapon felt familiar and deadly in his grip as he approached the building's perimeter. Shattered windows gaped like empty eye sockets, blue snow dusting the fractured glass. He chose the largest opening, hoisting himself through with liquid grace, his boots finding silent purchase on the cement floor.
Muffled voices echoed from deeper in the structure, and Rylan's tiger stirred—muscles coiling and predatory instincts sharpening to razor focus. He stalked through the abandoned corridors, each step calculated to avoid the scattered rubble and twisted metal that littered his path.
Arvox's voice became louder and clearer as Rylan got closer to their position. The Prime Minister's fake politeness couldn't mask the venom underneath—the tone of a man who enjoyed wielding power over the helpless.
Rylan pressed himself against the corner wall, stealing a glance around the edge. His vision turned red with raw fury at the sight before him.
Wren sat bound in a metal chair in the center of what had once been a warehouse floor, her dark hair falling across her face as she struggled against the zip ties. Two armed operatives flanked her like vultures, their weapons trained on her head with casual indifference. Arvox paced in a lazy circle around her, his movements predatory and smug.
Three on one. Real fucking fair odds.
Protective rage blazed through Rylan's chest, his tiger clawing for release. The sight of his mate—his beautiful, fierce mate—reduced to a bargaining chip ignited something primal and savage in his core.
He raised the pistol, sighting down the barrel with the precision that had made him Nova Aurora's youngest Commander. The first operative dropped with a wet thud, his weapon clattering across the concrete. The second barely had time to register his partner's fall before Rylan's second shot punched through his chest.
But Arvox moved with wolf shifter speed, diving behind a concrete pillar before springing up with one of the discarded rifles. In a blur of motion, he pressed the barrel against Wren's temple, his finger hovering over the trigger.
"Ah ah ah." Arvox's voice dripped false cheerfulness. "One wrong move and it's lights out for your precious mate."
Wren's eyes found his across the warehouse floor, wide with alarm but burning with trust. The sight of the gun against her temple sent another surge of murderous fury through his veins, his tiger roaring for blood.
"How did you know she was my mate?" Rylan kept his voice steady and professional, even as his instincts screamed at him to tear Arvox's throat out.
"Please." Arvox's laugh was ugly and grating. "Anyone with a pulse and half a brain cell could see it. You two didn't exactly hide it these past few days—the way you look at each other and the protective hovering, not to mention that shiny new engagement ring on her finger."
Should have protected her better.
"Your little mate bond ruined everything," Arvox continued, his voice rising with petulant fury. "My plans were working perfectly until this bitch stepped foot on our planet seven days ago. A decade of meticulous planning, and she disrupted it all with her brilliant little mind."
How dare he call my mate such an offensive name.
"Your plans?" Rylan inched closer, his muscles coiled like springs. "You mean the cyber attacks? The sabotage at the Trials?"
"Oh, it's so much more than that. I was so close to taking control of Nexus, then all of Nova Aurora. You were the only thing standing in my way, but I had it handled. Years of manipulation, strategic failures designed to discredit you..." Arvox's grip tightened on the rifle. "Then she arrives and suddenly you're unstoppable. The perfect partnership, the completed mate bond—it was like watching my life's work crumble to ash."
Wren's voice cut through the tension, steady despite the gun pressed to her skull. "So basically you orchestrated everything. The recent cyber attacks by the hacker syndicate, a decade of sabotage at the Protocol Trials, Prince Zarik's attack on Rylan yesterday."
"Clever girl." Arvox's smile was poisonous. "Too clever for your own good."
Rylan felt his shift beginning, his bones starting to elongate beneath his skin. Using their mate bond, he pushed a single,desperate thought toward Wren:When I move, tuck your chin down and roll right.
Her almost imperceptible nod told him she understood.
"Here's what's going to happen," Arvox continued, oblivious to their silent communication. "You're going to tell the Council that all your evidence was fabricated. That you had a personal vendetta against me and convinced your little human pet to help frame me."
"Like hell I will."
"Oh, I think you will." Arvox's finger caressed the trigger. "Because the alternative is watching your mate's brains paint this warehouse floor."
Rylan's patience shattered like glass against stone. Arvox's words echoed through his skull, and something primal and savage erupted from his core. His tiger demanded blood, demanded justice, demanded the death of anyone who dared threaten his mate.
No more games.
In one fluid motion, his bones cracked and elongated, muscles expanding with violent speed. His shift was faster than he'd ever managed before as pure fury and protective instinct stripped away every vestige of human control. A five hundred pound black and gold death machine emerged—fangs bared and claws extended like curved daggers.
Wren tucked her chin down exactly as he'd instructed, her trust in him absolute even with a rifle pressed to her skull. His tiger form launched forward in a thunderous leap, targeting the legs of her chair with surgical precision.
The impact was devastating. Arvox staggered backward, his grip on the rifle faltering as Wren's chair crashed to the concrete floor. She rolled right, perfectly behind a concrete pillar, still bound but alive and out of the immediate line of fire.
