Page 46 of Roar Letter Word
“What the fuck do you want?" Addie screeched, shaking the rope against the pole. “Don’t come any closer!"
Saying that was just an invitation for them to do just that. Zorrtan chuckled, placing his hands behind his back, then bent forward.
Addie could smell his breath. It was rotten and putrid. She leaned back into the wall, trying to keep herself from gagging.
“You’re going to be a very good girl. I just know it,” Zorrtan said, whispering in a malevolent hush. “Women like you are all talk. But when it gets down to the dirty, you do as you are told. You will lie on your back and take it."
Addie wasn’t planning on doing what came next. It was in her nature to fight in the same way it was Mahes’s nature to be jealous of any man who came near her. It may not have been the best idea to insult the two shifters who had her life in their hands.
With her head against the wall, Addie sucked her tongue, scraping the walls of her cheeks to produce a sufficient amount of saliva. She then positioned it at the front of her lips, leaned her chin back slightly, then catapulted a great ball of spit onto Zorrtan’s awaiting hideous face.
It smacked against his cheek. The grin vanished in a snap, and he slowly stood to remove a handkerchief from his pocket. Addie screamed as he dabbed at it silently.
“I won’t do anything you ask of me! Get any closer, and I’ll bite your fucking nose off!"
Addie had been in the music industry long enough to know that it was cut-throat. She didn’t do much to participate in the savage part herself, but she knew when she was being taken advantage of. As a woman, she had to protect herself. She had to.
Iasia, the dead-eyed one, became suddenly animated. He pushed passed Zorrtan, who seemed to be the leader of the bunch, and raised his hand high in the air. Addie flinched and shut her eyes out of instinct when she felt the swish of the air, then zero impact.
She opened her eyes to see that Zorrtan had stopped the strike. He was holding his minion by the wrist, shaking his head. Addie was thankful at that moment for the rare showing of mercy.
Though, she soon learned that it wasn't mercy at all.
“You forget your own power, Iasia,” Zorrtan said, still shaking his head. “We have to keep this one in one piece before we get our prize. You will break the fragile human in half. So no punishment, got it?"
Iasia lowered his arm, nodding along to his master's instructions. Addie was even more terrified, her breathing picking up to a treacherous gallop.
Iasia retreated silently back to where he had been standing while Zorrtan remained still, his hands returning behind his back. He smirked, making himself look even uglier.
“As I said, dear Addie, you will comply. I know you aren’t one of us and don't feel the mating bond in the same way our king does, but you do feel something. I can sense it in your rage. It’s like painting a portrait of dedication."
He started to cackle, and Addie gave one final look to Bruce. He was still moping like his favorite sports team had lost the championship game. He was resigned to his own death.
“Over here, girl!” Zorrtan said, grimacing, then snapping his fingers in her face.
She looked up at him. She wanted to fulfill her promise and crunch his fingers between her teeth like carrots.
But she didn't. She couldn’t. She had to bide her time and figure out what their plan was. She could be demure when she had to be, usually for men who didn’t know that it was easily weaponized by a rather smart and resourceful woman.
She stared at him, making her face go soft. Zorrtan seemed satisfied, standing with that gruesome smile still plastered to his face.
“Good. You will stay here with your good friend Bruce until the time is right. You will regret coming to this planet, dear Addie. I promise you that."
With that final statement, Zorrtan turned, followed by his lackey, and left the dungeon. Addie’s head still pounded, and her fingers and hands had gone numb. But she wasn’t going to give up. No, that wasn’t part of her nature.
She closed her eyes and thought about Mahes. His mouth, his strength, and the way his gaze made her feel like magic. That would be the well she would travel to when she needed the inspiration to endure. It was the same as it was with her music.
Endure.
TWENTY-TWO
MAHES
Mahes walked into his estate with bated breath. He didn’t see any sign that Addie had been there. He realized as he moved through the dry, humid night that he was bordering on the edge of despair.
No, he wasn’t bordering on it. He had plunged deep into the depths of it and was spiraling.
He walked into his mansion and immediately found Ruzyll, who was making his way toward the kitchen. He grabbed hold of his shoulder a little too hard, causing his chief of staff to wince as he spun to face his king.
