There was an entire wall made of glass directly across from me, but it was too dark to see what was on the other side. I knew I was being watched, not just because I noticed a security camera mounted in the corner at the top of the ceiling, but because I felt eyes on me that were coming from the other side of that glass partition.
And as I grew stronger with each passing moment, I tested my bonds. But there was little give, the metal digging into the skin of my wrists and ankles, tearing the flesh. These too were mystically enforced in order to keep a Lycan bound.
I bared my teeth and snarled as I pulled as hard as I could, trying to rip the chains out of the walls.
I felt this tightening of my skin, the hairs on my arms standing on end. Something big was coming, happening, the precipice of an epiphany. I strained even more until I froze at the sight of the lights flaring just behind the glass wall. I heard a feral sound leave me at the sight of all the sets of eyes locked on me.
There were sixteen chairs broken up into rows of four, each one slightly more elevated than the row before. They were humans, that much I could tell, and I snarled.
Aged males wearing pressed suits. Women doused in jewelry. Some had wide eyes, others showing excited expressions. And then there were the ones who grinned in malicious eagerness.
Some of the viewers leaned forward in their chairs, their grins widening, and I realized why when I heard the heavy sound of multiple feet coming my way. Thump-thump, thump-thump, their steps were sure and heavy.
The door was pushed open, and I was already snarling as one, then two big fucking males walked in. The first, I recognized instantly. Tore. I snarled at him even more.
I pulled at my cuffs again and growled, letting my wolf rise, allowing them to see how feral I was, how I had nothing else to lose in going after them.
Everything that I was, that meant the most to me, had been taken away, ripped from my heart and soul. And it was all because of them.
The next male who stepped through, I also recognized. I’d heard him called “D.” He grinned as his gaze latched on to me, but it was what he held that had my entire body freezing.
For the first time in far too fucking long, the meaning of my life was in front of me once more.
And then that happiness, that elation, vanished as I took in the state of her. Her slight body was limp, the scent of drugs surrounding her nauseating in the air. Her long black hair was tangled and knotted and hung around her face, so I couldn’t see her features well. But I didn’t have to see her face to know she was mine.
Larkin.
I growled with more aggression as she was laid out on the stainless steel table, as they strapped her legs and arms down, and then finally they pushed her hair out of her face.
Oh gods. I’ll kill them all ten times over.
She had a bruise on her cheek that snaked up to her ear. I felt even more primal that they dared touch my tiny nymph mate, her species so fragile and gentle, kind and naturally sweet. She’d never hurt anyone, never say a word that would harm another.
I looked at Tore, who was speaking with a third male who’d entered, then snapped my focus to D. He watched me with that sadistic smile on his face, and when he lifted his hand and pulled at a chain that hung around his neck, my breath left me viciously.
He wore Larkin’s necklace, the one that I’d worn for decades, the one that had been taken from me when they captured me.
He chuckled low as he brought the anchor to his mouth and ran his lips over it.
“I’m going tae kill ye slowly,” I said in a low, even voice to D. “I’m going tae rip yer heart out and present it tae my mate as a gift.”
D had the intelligence to lose the fucking grin, tuck the necklace back into his shirt, and move a step back.
“Welcome, esteemed cardholders,” Tore said in a raised voice, and the humans watching through the glass perked up.
The soft female moan that came from Larkin had me snapping my head in her direction and straining against my bonds.
Get tae her. Gods, please let me get tae her. Tae hold her. Tae tell her everything is okay now, and I’ll never let anyone take her from me again.
“Ah, my sweet lass,” I wheezed out, my chest too tight, my heart breaking over and over again as I watched her wake up and fight through the clear confusion. “I’m here, darlin’.” I bared my teeth as the one called D stepped forward. “Ye’d do best tae stay away from her.”
He paused and cocked his head. “Don’t think you’re much of a threat, Lycan.” He grinned and reached out, grabbing a lock of her hair and rubbing it between his fingers.
My eyes flashed as I stared at him. “Ye signed yer death warrant before now, but now that ye’re touching my female…” I felt a surge of power move through me. “Now, I’m going tae make sure I kill ye nice and slow. I’m going tae fooking enjoy tearing yer throat out and offering it tae my mate as a second prize.”
There was a round of cheering from the humans on the other side of the glass, the scent of their disgusting eagerness seeping through the cracks and filling the small medical room.
Tore clapped his hands and said in a booming voice, “We have a special attraction for our VIP cardholders. We are so honored to be able to invite you to witness the connection a mated pair have, and when one hurts, the other does too. A mating like no other.”