Page 15 of Wicked Prince of Carnage
“Stay away from him,” he growled at Winter. “He hasn’t done anything.”
“Everyone has donesomething.” Winter prowled forward and crouched in front of him. His clawed fingers wrapped around Nareth’s throat hard enough to draw blood but not to restrict his airway. “And the way you’re acting now makes me thinkyou’vedone something very”—he tightened his grip slightly—“verybad.”
Nareth grabbed his arm, digging his fingers in. He pulled and pushed at Winter to no avail. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Winter scoffed and rose, dragging the human along with him. He shoved him against the shelf so hard that the jars tumbled to the floor in a chorus of shattering glass before flinging him sideways. Once the bastard collapsed on the scuffed-up floor, the prince pounced. His knuckles cracked against Nareth’s jaw, his chin, his nose. Bones crunched under the impact despite Winter pulling his punches so he wouldn’t kill the fragile, breakable human.
Being a bodyguard at a brothel would’ve only given Nareth so many skills. He’d need to know how to throw a punch totoss a drunkard out on the street, but he wasn’t trained to stand against a wolf. Especially not one as skilled as Winter, and it showed.
Nareth shielded his face as best he could, his hands taking some of the blows. He struggled to stand, to fight back against the prince’s barrage, but when it proved impossible, he attempted to crawl away. Winter straightened, allowing him to make it a few feet away, before kicking him in the ribs. Nareth went down with a loud, pained wheeze and curled into a ball.
Dropping to his knees, Winter rolled him onto his back. A pained cry fell from Nareth’s mouth. One eye was already swelling shut, and blood trickled from the corner of his lips. The way he clutched at his ribs, Winter was certain he’d broken a few.
“If you want that boy in there to live, you will stop.” Winter licked the blood off his knuckles. “Now, about Sterling’s secret life…”
Nareth brought a shaking, bruised hand up to cover his swollen face. “Secret life?”
“Don’t play coy,” he warned.
“Sterling doesn’t have a secret life. She works here and takes care of her brother. That’s all.” He dragged in a ragged breath.
“Then explain this.” Winter pulled the red cape from his tunic and let it unfold. “It was hidden in her bedroom.”
“Red Riding Hood?” A deep crease formed between his brows. “No. No, she’s—”
“Shh.” Winter paused at the genuine confusion on Nareth’s face, but he didn’t put it past the human to be a skilled liar. “I don’t like dishonesty.” When Nareth opened his mouth to speak, Winter put a finger against his own lips to silence him. “You’re going to pass along a message to the huntress. The boy is coming with me. If she wants to see him alive again, she’ll turn herself over to me at my manor before tomorrow’s sunset.”
“No, please! He’s just a child. He hasn’t done anything!”
“What did I tell you before?” Winter arched a brow. “Everyone has done something. And if he hasn’t, he would eventually. Besides…” Winter grabbed a rope that ran along an overhead beam and wrapped it around Nareth’s wrists behind his back, tethering him to the post. “I only said I was taking him. If you pass my message on and Sterling cares enough about the welp, my hand won’t be forced.”
Nareth released a pained groan as Winter finished the knot, securing him tightly to the post. “She isn’t Red Riding Hood,” he moaned. “Please, you have to listen. There’s been some sort of mistake.”
Winter released a mocking laugh. “If that were true, you wouldn’t have attacked me.”
“I was only trying to protect Cyan,” he pleaded.
“There, there,” the prince mocked. “Valiant effort.”
Nareth’s eyes rolled upward as he fell into a semi-conscious state. He returned to the back room to find Cyan exactly where he’d left him. Winter slid the table aside to remove the barrier between them. “At least you follow directions,” he said in a cajoling voice. “Keep that up, won’t you?”
Cyan merely trembled as the Prince of Carnage loomed over him.
“Well, come on then. I’m sure you heard the plan. I haven’t seen you since you were a wee thing in a basket with your sister.”
He shook his head fiercely. “I don’t want to go with you.”
Winter simply lifted the boy and tossed him over his shoulder. “Close your eyes and don’t scream. If you do, I can’t promise my pack won’t gnaw your toes off as a midnight snack.”
A silent chuckle rumbled through him as the boy stilled in his clutches. He wasn’t sure if Cyan had closed his eyes when he made his way back out of the meat shop, but he’d remained silent either way.
“What’s this?” Bael asked. “You’re not waiting for the girl?”
“There’s fun to be had first. I’ve given the human inside a message to relay to her when she shows up. Don’t touch him.” He shifted Cyan on his shoulder. “Send everyone else away so it doesn’t spook her, then stay to watch. The man inside claims not to know anything, but he could be lying.”
“Of course,” Bael agreed.
Winter smirked and started down the street, ignoring the open stares of the other villagers. “Oh, and if she does return, don’t stop her.”
