Page 96 of Bite The Terror That Feeds

I stared at the deck beneath us, counting the cracks between the planks.

“Look at me.”

My eyes immediately responded to the command just from the power in his voice.

“Your father should have killed him.”

“To kill one of our own is prohibited. For any reason.”

“Then what happened to him?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“Violence is not our way. Nor is imprisonment.”

His expression was hard the way it was when our steels clashed against each other. His jawline was tight. His eyes were furious. But he swallowed it all back and let it go. “We have very different ideologies.”

“I don’t think he deserves death anyway.”

“But he deserves equal pain and humiliation.”

“Perhaps. But it doesn’t matter anymore.”

He watched me. “I would accept your defeat if you were at peace, but you aren’t at peace.”

“I’m not sure if you ever really get over something like that. Maybe I’ll never find peace.”

“You will. I’ve seen it.”

“Your brothers who lost their loves have both moved on?”

“I think one of them has. You know what they say, the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else…” He gave me a wink.

It pulled a small laugh out of me. “I’m definitely over him. That was the easy part.”

He continued to watch me, a small smile on his lips. “Ready to go back to bed? It’s almost dawn.”

“How long have we been out here?”

“Couple hours.”

“Wow, I didn’t realize how much time had passed.”

He watched me, his smile gone. “Me neither.”

18

COBRA

“I know who she is.”

Viper had barely walked into the room when I got to the point. “I’m listening.”

“Clara.”

“How did you figure that out?”

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