Page 102 of Torn By Fate

My mouth opened, but no sound came out.

The scream that lived in my chest remained trapped behind my teeth, locked in place by a terror so absolute it had paralyzed my vocal cords.

I couldn’t move. I couldn’t… breathe.

I could lie here, helplessly pinned to the mattress by the weight of my own fear, as three sets of dark, intelligent eyes fixed on me with an attention that felt almost human.

Please stay away. Please don’t come near me.

One of them, the smallest, slowly stepped forward, approaching me with a subtle dominance. Its claws tapped against the hardwood floor—click, click, click—each sound a tiny detonation in the silence. The closer it got, I realized it was the female, Nyx.

Her ears were pricked forward, her body tense, and I could see her muscles moving beneath the short, glossy coat—rippling, powerful, designed for speed and destruction. She was beautiful in the most frightening way imaginable.

She made a sound again, and this time it was softer, almost questioning. Her head tilted to one side, and something in her expression shifted.

The aggression I had expected, bared teeth and raised hackles, didn’t happen. Instead, the dog approached the bed with a cautious, almost tentative curiosity, her tail low but not tucked, her body language more uncertain than threatening.

The other two males followed, moving in tandem, their movements synchronized with the precision of animals that had been trained to work as a unit. They fanned out around the bed, positioning themselves at strategic points… one at the foot, one at the side, and Nyx nearest to my head.

God, her jaw was massive, and I knew if she wanted, she could crush bone without effort.

The weight of their combined attention pressed down on me like a physical force, heavy and suffocating.

Nyx brought her face closer to mine, and my chin wobbled with a cry, absolute terror slithering through my veins. Her lips pulled back slightly to reveal white enormous teeth. A low sound vibrated in her chest, and it wasn’t quite a growl. It was more like a rumble.

A warning… or maybe a greeting.

I couldn’t tell the difference, and at that moment, the distinction didn’t matter.

I was going to die.

The thought arrived with a strange clarity… not hysterical, not panicked, but calm and certain. This was how Adrian had planned my death. For his Dobermans to eat me alive.

Did they know the taste of human flesh? Did they crave it?

Nyx placed her front paws on the mattress. The bed dipped under the weight, and it became clear to me that she was going to jump. She was going to launch herself onto the bed and—

She jumped.

I screamed.

The mattress compressed beneath the impact of sixty or so pounds of solid muscle, and I flinched so violently, my whole body convulsed.

She landed next to me. Not on me, not near my throat, not anywhere that would kill me—but beside me. Close enough that I could feel the heat radiating from her lithe body and smell the clean, animal scent of her sleek fur.

She lowered her head.

The movement was slow, deliberate, almost cautious. Her massive skull descended until her nose was level with my hand, which lay frozen at my side, fingers curled into the sheet.

She sniffed. Once. Twice. The wetness of her nose brushed against my knuckles, and I felt every individual hair on my body stand at attention, goosebumps peppering my skin.

I held my breath.

Her tongue came out. It was pink and warm and rough, and it dragged across the back of my hand in a single, slow stroke that left a trail of saliva on my skin.

Oh… my… God.

She licked me again. Then she pressed her head against my hand, not aggressively, but with a gentleness that bordered on pleading.