Page 13 of Filthy Royal

She pressed her palm against the crystal, right in the center of his larger hand.

A wave of triumph roared through her. Possession and need followed in quick succession.

Hers?His? She wasn’t sure, but the force of it left her dizzy.

And, for the first time in a long while, she felt truly seen, her purpose revealed.

Then security reached him.

Burly forms launched themselves at the male from both sides. They ripped his hands from the crystal. One guard spun him around, fist cocked to strike.

Faster than she would have thought possible, her Alpha dodged the punch, grabbed another guard’s taser, stunned the first, then swung that guard into the rest, sending them all spilling to the ground.

He sent the next wave of security flying too.

A spurt of satisfaction bubbled up through her. A righteous sense of victory she hadn’t felt in forever.

Bullies were getting their due.

But her delight was short-lived.

More security arrived. Tasers flared. They dragged away the others involved in the brawl. They’d eventually bring him down too.

The Consortium had unlimited resources, weapons, and power.

There was no way this Alpha—as impressive a fighter as he was—could win this battle.

A mass of security encircled him from three sides. With her crystal display blocking his only other exit route, the Alpha had nowhere to go.

They shoved aside the orange-skinned male who’d tried to help.

As if she were his anchor, the mesmerizing Alpha’s gaze locked with hers once more.

Then, he disappeared under a sea of bodies.

Limbs flew as fists struck and boots found their target.

Scarlett flinched, pain lancing through her as if it was her body under siege.

She staggered under the force of it, both palms landing on the crystal—and noticed the wall in front of her was no longer flickering with the colors of the rainbow, but only a violent black. In the next heartbeat, the area where her hands rested grew hot and warped in on itself. Almost melting.

She lurched backward, but the ribbons of black emanating from her palms remained, a shadow of darkness that rippled through the air.

That had never happened before.

Startled, she fisted her hands and tucked them behind her back.

Just as security pulled the Alpha to his feet, his arms shackled behind him, his face bloodied, veins popping in his neck as he thrashed and bucked.

But he was in better shape than most of the guards.

The Consortium would not be pleased. Terror lanced through her.

She didn’t even know the male, but every cell inside her shrieked in protest at the thought of his death.

She pressed closer to the crystal.

The shackles at his wrists broke. The guards holding him flew back.

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