Page 43 of Orange Tundra
He lunged.
The chain held. Chains caught. He thrashed.
He bared his fangs. Spit flew. His muscles twitched like he wanted to shift but couldn’t. The Shura hadn’t just cursed his body. It had trapped his beast. Twisting it. Maddening it.
"You reek of him," he hissed. "Roqs."
I froze. I could have sworn I donned the pungent musk spray given to me by Roan.
He strained against his bonds. "You took my mate!"
I reacted instinctively. "He wasn't your mate - " I couldn't control my beast's instinct to claim my mate. Better not mention to the poor silver beast that I felt Brynn was also my mate.
His snarl cracked something in me. That was the crux of the mattter, wasn't it? Everyone knew Roqs and Zirc were destined to be the perfect Silver Tribe's Alphas. Yet, Roqs was fated to mate with me, and not to him.
Roqs is MINE, my beast roared.
After a quick massage to my chest to calm my beast, I crouched, whispered, "I never wanted to hurt you and -him."
Zirc trembled.
"You did."
The door opened. Two guards watched me, suspicious.
"Get on with it, Scar. He needs to be feral tonight."
Zirc’s breath rattled, chest heaving like a caged animal.
I stood. The salve burned in my palm. I left it behind.
The storeroom reekedof ammonia and old blood. A caged area had been set up in the center, and inside, a manasty cowered on his knees. I recognized him—Vex, once a trusted guard who'd been caught passing information to a rival gang.
Kilo stood over him.
"He ratted," Kilo said. "Told the High Council about a raid last month. I want his screams to echo."
"Make him scream," Kilo said, tossing the baton. "Show me your loyalty."
Nialla watched from the corner, eyes gleaming with anticipation. Several other high-ranking gang members lined the walls, waiting to witness my test.
My hand closed around it like it wasn’t mine.
I stepped into the cage, the door clanging shut behind me.
Vex looked up, hope shattering as he saw me.
The captive whimpered. "Please..."
I struck.
Hard enough to echo. Not hard enough to kill.
Again. Again. Again.
He sobbed. Cursed. Begged.
He screamed.
