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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. Was it my female? Was she here? It was this itch underneath my skin, claws gouging me from the inside out.
I strained even more until I froze at the sight of the lights flaring just behind the glass wall. I felt 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.
I’d learned enough about the Assembly while in the States and within Adryan’s territory to know what these sick fucks were into. Torturing species of the Otherworld, murdering, raping, and whatever other heinous, crafty things they could come up with to create demonstrations, exhibits for these fucking humans who had enough money to pay to watch.
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. Human males, big ones who could handle or take down one of my kind.
I grinned in anticipation of them trying.
The door was pushed open, and I was already snarling as one, then two big fucking males walked in. The first grinned, the second keeping a cold expression. They stood shoulder to shoulder in front of the door, eyeing me up.
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 then they stepped aside in unison, and my heart stopped, my wolf stilled, and 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 fact that she was being dragged into the room, her slight body clearly unconscious, her long black hair hanging 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 snarled with more aggression as they laid her out on the table, strapped her legs and arms down, then 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’d 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. But here were these soon-to-be corpses, touching what I held most dear.
I looked at the two males who’d come in first, promising retribution, a slow, painful death. One had the intelligence to take a step back, fear crossing his face. The other, a cocky motherfucker, just smirked.
“Welcome, esteemed cardholders,” a voice from an overhead speaker announced, 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 a fucker 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 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.
“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.”
There was a round of laughter from men, some of them nudging the others with their shoulders, winking, the grins becoming salacious.
There was a deep chuckle from the overhead speaker before the male voice said, “Now, now. It’s not one of those kinds of sessions, although if you’d like to see one of our more adult-catered exhibits, please see one of the attendants on your way out to reserve your seat.”
Larkin opened her eyes—her bright blue eyes. I remembered those eyes all too well, ones I saw every time I closed my own. But that hazy expression changed as she realized where she was, a frantic look covering her face.
She knew where she was. She knew what was about to happen… because it’s happened tae her before.
She started pulling at her bonds, but despite being an Otherworld species—her kind, a water nymph—she was far too delicate, her strength that of a human.
