Page 14 of Wicked Prince of Carnage
“Your sister asked you to help,” a man said from a back room as Winter slinked inside the shop. It smelled gamey with a metallic tang of blood alongside the stark scent of cleaner. “So let’s try to get this done.”
“All right,” a younger voice—Cyan—groaned.
The man sighed. “I understand how much you hate it, but Sterling needs you to do it. Finish your paper … whatever that is … while I help the new customer, then I’m putting you to work.”
Winter strolled further into the shop, his gaze sweeping across his surroundings. A glass case displayed fresh meat, and links of sausage hung in strands behind the counter. He picked a pig snout up from a shallow basket and casually rolled it in his hand. Did people actuallyeatthese?
“Sorry for the wait. How can I help—”
Winter slowly shifted his gaze to the man, watching him from the corners of his eyes. The brown-haired man was the bodyguard at one of the brothels Winter frequented, but he was here now… The color drained from the man’s face as he stood in the doorway, wringing his hands around a white cloth.Pathetic.But even the most pitiful human had their uses.
The man cleared his throat, seeming to remember he needed to dosomethingother than gawk, and took another step toward the counter. “How can I help you, Your Highness? Those pig snouts are on sale right now.”
Tossing the snout back into the basket, Winter leaned with his elbows against the glass. “I’m in the market for something a little moreexclusive.”
He shuffled backward. “I … I have some fresh tenderloins in the—”
“What’s your name?” Winter drawled, letting his canines sharpen.
“Nareth,” he whispered.
“Nareth.” Claws extended from Winter’s fingertips, and he dragged them along the glass. The human winced at the sharp sound. “Do you know Sterling?”
The answer was clear—he’d heard him mention her a moment ago and he was working in her shop. But he wanted to see if the man would lie. It would decide how far Winter would go in a few moments.
“Sterling?” Nareth inched sideways to position his body in front of the door. “She … works here.”
A half-truth. She didn’t just work there butownedthe shop. “Handles meat well, does she?” he asked, lazily flicking his gaze up and down the human. Without a doubt, he’d fucked the little traitor before, but not enough to satisfy her, it seemed. “What small amount there appears to be.”
A flicker of defiance raced through Nareth’s eyes, though Winter wasn’t sure if he’d quite understood the insult. “If you’re looking for something that’s not in the display, I can cut you something from the back.”
The prince stared at him, the edges of his mouth turning upward. “We both know I get the finest cuts of meat from my own butcher. Just like we both know why I’m really here.”
“Sterling isn’t in right now,” Nareth replied, his eyes narrowing. Wood creaked in the room behind Nareth—a chair perhaps, or a floorboard—and he winced.
“Oh, I know. I would’ve smelled her,” Winter said with certainty. “At the moment, I’m looking for someone else.”
“Me? I’ve been working here all day.”
“I’m well aware you weren’t at the hanging.” Winter removed his claws from the glass and pretended to examine their sharp tips. “Besides, I’m searching for someone much younger.”
Nareth’s throat bobbed before he opened his mouth as if he were going to deny something. Instead, he withdrew his hand from his apron pocket and flung salt in Winter’s face. “Cyan, run!”
Winter hissed as the salt hit his eyes. His wolf scratched at the surface of his body, eager to slaughter. But the wolf didn’t speak. Winter wasn’t finished with this human yet, and he still needed his voice.
There were questions he would ask as hebeat the shit out of him.
Winter barely dodged Nareth’s punch, and fury stormed in his veins. Eyes still burning, Winter lunged toward Nareth. His shoulder rammed into the man’s chest, knocking him backward into the second room. A long table covered in various meats toppled over and small wads of paper flew into the air. The younger boy shrieked while hunkering behind the fallen furniture.
Winter stood tall, barely containing his inner wolf, as he strode into the room. Nareth scrambled to get back on his feet but slipped in blood that seeped onto the floor from the meat. It didn’t matter if he was standing or not—Winter would always win.
He grabbed Nareth by the shirt and hauled him up. Fists flew at the prince, each easily blocked.
Winter hurled Nareth back into the main shop and rounded on the child. His wide eyes peeked over the table with tearsstreaming down his face. “Stay,” Winter ordered. “If you move in the slightest, I’ll kill you both.”
That wasn’t entirely true, of course. He needed the child to make Sterling suffer before she came to him. Later? Anything was possible. Children eventually turned into adults, and adults were capable of revenge. Once Winter murdered Sterling, it was entirely possible her brother would seek to avenge her at some point. Just like Sterling was avenging her grandmother.
With his warning in place, the prince rounded slowly on Nareth. The lowly human had landed across the shop, knocking into a shelf lined with dried spices. Nareth snatched one of the glass jars and chucked it at the prince.
