Page 20 of Filthy Beginnings

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

He wasn’t warning 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 full of all the latest amenities, all consortium-owned personnel lived in sterile, gray-tiled housing just outside the sight lines of the glittering golden stadium 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. She did not like the cruel glint in his stare, or the way his antennas and wings twitched when 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, as a young girl, she’d had a tiny crush on him. 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 imagined a future with him—and she certainly didn’t, now that she knew the truth about him.

Plus, she’d never had a reaction to him like she had to the horned, red-skinned Alpha with the broad forehead and mouthwatering skin designs.

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 before Scarlett 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. It was 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.

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

Hand pressed to the red mark left behind on her skin, she 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.”

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

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

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

“But—”

“Go!”

Nars shuffled out.

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