Page 16 of Beast

And I need to play this smart.

I need to pick my battles to win the war.

For now, I will wait.

So I reach for the second half of the sandwich and take a bite.

CHAPTER 7

BEAST

The dungeonof the clubhouse is not a pleasurable place to visit. Lit only by lanterns, the windy corridors are bone-cold and festering with rats squeaking and scurrying through the unforgiving chambers looking for food. Cobblestone walls drip with water, and the strong stench of blood and piss leftover from the years when this dungeon was used to torture prisoners—long before the Knights of St. Boniface took over the castle—still permeates the air.

Gaston is chained to the wall in one of the cells. Blood drips from his broken nose and the deep split in his lip.

“You asshole,” he seethes as I enter the cell. He spits blood onto damp floor. “Let me out of these chains.”

I pace in front of him, considering what I am going to do to him. “In due course.”

His eyes track me. “You’re upset about the girl.”

I stop in front of him. “You were about to rape her.”

“So the fuck what?”

I grab his face, barely containing my disgust. “Only assholes rape.”

Gaston snarls, baring his blood-coated teeth. “It was harmless fun.”

“I don’t think Belle or her uncle feel the same way.”

He rips his chin from my grasp and glares up at me. “What do you care about an old man and some slut?”

I punch the brick wall beside his ear and he jumps. Pain explodes like a mushroom cloud in my knuckles but eases quickly.

“I warned you to stay away from them. But you waited until I was distracted so you could go back and finish what you started. Tell me I’m wrong.”

“He owes the club money.”

“And that entitles you to beat up the old man and rape the girl?”

“At the very least,” he snarls. “They’re nobodies. I’m a Knight, we rule this town, these people. She should be grateful I’m willing to put my cock in her.”

I barely hold back from driving my fist into his face, and the only reason is because he’s my brother. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“Don’t play all high and mighty with me. You saw her bent over that table. You saw how that luscious ass was begging to be pounded. Tell me it didn’t make you hard.”

“Rape isn’t my thing.”

“No, but fucking a sweet piece of ass is.” He makes a point of looking at each one of the scars on my face and smirks. “Sorry, itusedto be your thing. All that sweet pussy you used to indulge in. All the club whores who used to climb on your cock and bounce on your balls. It must be driving you crazy not to touch. A man can only go without for so long.”

Ignoring his taunt, I bring my face in close to his. “She is off limits.”

He scoffs. “No one is off limits to—” His eyes flare and he starts to laugh. He starts to laugh real hard. “Oh that is beautiful. You like this girl. She means something to you. Awwww, my brother, the born again virgin has got himself a little crush.”

I grab his chin and squeeze. “What are you up to, Gaston? Who were those assholes with you tonight?”

He smirks. “Associates.”

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