Page 20 of Filthy Royal

“Did you hear what I said, prize, or do I need to get the strap?” Egan was more of a businessman than a fighter, but that had never stopped him from doling out a beating.

Scarlett forced herself to focus. “I am listening, Alpha Lord.”

“You’d better be.” He nodded to security to check the closet. “Fighters like Damien Skolov care for glory and gold, and the younger they are, the dumber, and the more they have to prove. They want their prizes—but only while the shine holds and their blood is fired by competition. Once that ends, they’re on to the next trophy. Don’t be stupid enough to think you’re anything more to him than a few wet holes and another short-lived victory.”

“Yes, Alpha-Lord.” Pretending, always pretending. When what she really wanted to do was to leap forward and claw out Egan’s eyes.

He wasn’t warning her out of concern, but to protect the Consortium’s interests.

At Egan’s order, one guard marched to her window and peered out, though her view was the dome wall and a hundred-foot drop to the ground below.

While visitors to the dome stayed in top-of-the-line guest quarters offering the latest amenities, all Consortium-owned personnel lived in sterile, gray-tiled housing just outside the sight lines of the golden coliseum and tourist streets.

Her room was a small space that housed a narrow bed, a thin blanket and pillow, and a closet large enough to contain the sheer scraps of fabric chosen for her to wear by the Consortium.

The only other item in her room were the restraints.

“Next time you perform, pay special attention to N’gal Verish and Kadon Stormhart, not some gutter-trash Skolov whose family is not even a part of the Brotherhood. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, Alpha Lord.”

She’d seen N’gal Verish at several fights while training to be a prize and didn’t like the cruel glint in his stare, or the way his antennae and wings twitched whenever she was near. Nor his reputation as a sore loser in the ring.

As for Kadon Stormhart, he was not the Alpha for her either.

Admittedly, she’d had a teeny crush on him as a youngling. He’d fought in lesser training tournaments alongside her brother and, since one of her tasks as a prize-in-training was to greet the fighters as they entered the ring, she’d seen him often. Golden-haired and square-jawed with a body honed by battle, thick black horns and silver skin, she’d sighed right alongside her friends as he fought. But she’d never once imagined a future with Kadon—and now that she knew the truth about him, that certainly hadn’t changed.

Plus, she’d never reacted to him like she had to Damien Skolov.

Security finished their checks. “All clear.”

“I want two guards outside this door tonight.” Egan’s gaze flickered to her. “And tie her to the bed. I will tolerate no more complications on her account.”

A cry of alarm escaped Scarlett before she could muffle it. “I’ve done nothing wrong.”

The restraints were usually only used for punishment.

“Silence.” Egan nodded to Nars. “Do it.” He paused. “But don’t make the binds too tight. Skin paint will only cover so much.”

“I-I can get on the bed myself.” Panic slid through her, unbidden colors flashing across her skin, including the same violent pink as earlier and a sudden jagged burst of black, accompanied by a rush of heat in her closed palms.

She had never liked Nars or the others touching her, but since seeing the red-skinned Alpha, it felt like a desecration.

Nars ignored her, grabbing her upper arm and yanking her toward the bed. Hard.

However, in the next heartbeat, he groaned, his grip dropping away as he doubled over.

Hand pressed to the red mark left behind on her skin, Scarlett slid out of reach.

Egan backed up as well.

“What’s wrong with you, guard?” Egan’s hand clamped over his scent muffler like a shield. “Are you sick? Contagious? I just said I can’t afford for anything to go wrong.”

Scarlett hoped he was really, really sick and that Egan caught it too.

“No, I…” Nars’s eyes sank shut, drool dripping off one tusk.

“Get out of here.” Egan waved toward the door. “Go to the med center. Don’t come back until you’re cleared.”

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