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He wasn’t pride leader by election, but by strength.
And he wasn’t Seth’s pride leader.
Seth tightened his legs on her thighs, held her wrists with one hand, a hard hand pressed between her shoulders, flattening her to the mat.
“Is this what you are, Dawn?” he yelled, furious himself now, livid that she had to beat herself to exhaustion to still the memories, to still the pain raging inside her. “Are you an animal? Is that what God gave Callan the strength to rescue you for? So you could hide? So you could deny what you are by pushing it back forever?”
God forgive him.
The scream that came from her throat must have echoed through the house.
“Listen to yourself,” he roared. “Feel yourself, Dawn. What are you? Are you the animal the Council wanted? They fucking won, didn’t they?” He wanted to shake her. He wanted to hold her and still the pain in both of them, and his tears fell because hers wouldn’t.
“Answer me, damn you.” He twisted his fingers in her hair and held her head still, her cheek pressed into the mat as he stared down at her.
He could hear the feet pounding on the stairs leading to the room, the door slamming into the wall as others rushed to them.
“Get out of here!” He lifted his head, rage scouring his voice as Callan, Jonas, Elizabeth and Dash stood in the entrance, watching in shock.
“Let her go!” Callan’s voice was more animal than man. “Let her go or I’ll kill you.”
Dawn’s scream had them all flinching. Elizabeth’s eyes welled with tears as she buried her face in Dash’s chest and they turned, pulling back.
“You turned your back on her,” Seth charged, holding Dawn as pure animal screams left her throat now. “You didn’t even watch those fucking images you showed me, you turned your fucking back on her then and you can do it now.”
Dawn bucked, fought, her muscles tightened to the breaking point as she screamed again.
“Let her fucking go!” Callan jumped to race to them before Jonas caught him. Jonas, then Dash, pushed their pride leader to the wall as he snarled and struggled against them.
“You son of a bitch, let her go!” Callan’s rage was a terrible sight, nearly as terrible as the sound of Dawn’s feral screams rising.
“You sons of bitches, let her go!”
He was the new Breed. He was young. Dawn knew his voice, knew he was strong and had been free before they brought him to the labs. She knew he fought for them, took the lashes for them and screamed out in rage each time they took her from the cage.
And this time, they brought him to the lab. They chained him to the wall and he fought the chains. Fought them until blood welled beneath the steel as it welled beneath the restraints that held her.
She was screaming. Held to the metal table, the soldiers laughing around her as one moved into position.
“You bastards! I’ll fucking kill you!” Feral, primal rage filled the room as she felt that first touch. And the animal, it rose inside her. Her screams tore from her throat, her prayers…If she prayed, they hurt her worse, she knew they hurt her worse, just for praying. But the animal, the animal wouldn’t listen…
“Oh God…Oh God…Save me! Save me!”
They froze. Seth’s gaze jerked back to Dawn as he heard the wail, a child’s cry filled with such agony, such brutal, soul-searing pain that it sliced into him with a wound he knew would never heal.
“Save me!” she screamed again. Jerking. Crying. Sobs ripping from her throat. “Oh God! Save me!”
The strength went out of her. Seth moved to her side carefully, trying to pull her into his arms.
She shuddered and fought, curling into herself, a fetal position of agony as her arms wrapped around her stomach and the woman’s cries tore free.
This wasn’t the animal. This was the woman, the child, the fury and pain that couldn’t be contained tearing through her as the memories rushed inside her.
Seth couldn’t bear it. He jerked her to him, curled himself around her and bent his head over hers. To cry with her. He couldn’t hold back his own tears.
God help him, she was his. His heart and soul and everything he had known or loved in his entire life. She was steel and satin, lace and courage. And she was so much a part of him that when she latched on to him, he could only hold her tighter.
“He wouldn’t save me!” she screamed out, agony resonating through her voice. “He didn’t save me. Oh God. Oh God, why didn’t you save me!”
