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The Slayer let his hand fall away. “You have nothing to fear, Orion. Stand.”
“I’m not falling for your lies.” Orion clenched his eyes shut. “You’ve targeted me for some reason. I’m not going to trust you, especially when you keep bringing me back here.”
Orion’s trembling was so intense that he should have lost consciousness by now. Too bad he hadn’t so he wouldn’t have to face the creature.
“I see Jaden is still spreading misinformation about me.” The Slayer spoke with a deep, alluring voice, like warm honey rolling off his tongue. “Is he still calling me Slayer?”
Orion refused to answer him.
“My name is a Coatl, and I’m not the monster Death makes me out to be. I was wrongly imprisoned here, and I’ve been in this hellhole since I was breathed to life.”
Orion wanted to argue that the forest was amazing, but he guessed he would see it as hell if he’d spent that long here. Even so, he still wasn’t going to fall for the man’s deception.
“Stand, Orion.” Coatl touched Orion’s arm. Orion yanked back as if he’d been burned. “Do not lie there like a dog. Rise.”
Against his better judgment, Orion pushed to his feet, wincing at the pain in his hands and knees.
Coatl touched Orion again, on his forehead, and Orion stumbled back in an attempt to break contact. His skin crawled at the thought of Coatl, Slayer, whatever his true name was, being so close.
“I was merely healing your wounds.”
Orion looked around, though he realized that his pain was really gone. “Where are Duncan and Izel?”
Orion desperately needed them. He didn’t want to face this creature on his own because, whether he liked it or not, he really was the weakest of the three. He didn’t stand a chance against something this powerful on his own.
Hell, none of them probably stood a chance, but Orion was ready to cry for his mates. The only thing stopping his tears was the fact that he refused to cry in front of this monster. Coatl would more than likely enjoy Orion’s anguish.
“They are not needed here since you are in no danger.”
“You sucked them here twice.”
“To observe,” Coatl replied. “I was curious about you three, but realized it was you who fascinated me the most.”
Orion threw his head back, ready to yell for Jaden, but found he couldn’t utter a single word.
“There is no need to call for anyone,” Coatl said. “As I told you, you are in no danger here. All I wish is for us to talk. I haven’t had any companionship since my imprisonment.”
“Get a pet. They make excellent companions, though I wouldn’t wish any animal to be stuck here with you.” Orion was stunned he could talk. He tried to call for Jaden again, but Coatl snarled, once again taking away Orion’s voice.
“If you try one more time, I’ll permanently remove your ability to speak.”
Orion took a few steps back, though he seriously doubted he could outrun Coatl since they were on the guy’s home turf. Orion was an amazing runner, but Coatl looked too athletic for him to get away from.
“I am extending my hand in friendship, yet you bite it like a feral dog,” Coatl snarled, terrifying Orion even more than he already was. “My patience is not infinite, human.”
“One, you keep referring to dogs like they’re mongrels. You need to stop that because dogs are noble animals.” Orion could talk again but took Coatl’s warning seriously. As badly was he wanted to try to call for Jaden once more, he wasn’t a total idiot. “Two, you just showed me your true colors. You’re faking kindness when you really breathe pain.”
Maybe Orion was an idiot. He’d lost his ever-loving mind mouthing off to someone who could crush him into dust. Coatl probably didn’t have to lift a finger to bring Orion unfathomable pain.
Or end him.
“You are right. I shouldn’t have lost my temper.” Coatl rested his hand against his sculpted chest, giving Orion a slight bow. “I have been here by myself for so long that my manners are lacking.”
That made Orion think of his mom telling Duncan that her son had been taught manners. Now he really wanted to cry because he’d probably never see her again. And what was the last thing he’d done? Lied to her. How he wished he could take back that lie and just come clean to her.
He more than likely would never see his mates again either, and that hurt so badly that he wanted to curl up on the ground and bawl his eyes out. Until that very moment, Orion hadn’t realized how much he loved them. Now he would never get the chance to tell Duncan and Izel, because Coatl wasn’t going to let Orion go. He was now the creature’s prisoner.
Great, you get to share a lush prison cell with this thing. That’s if he lets you live. He’ll bury you by the stream, sit on your grave, and laugh about his kill.
