Page 96 of Baseball and Shifters

“You made me look like a creep in front of everyone. You turned your pack on me. Got me expelled.” His smile doesn’t reach his eyes anymore. “But the thing is, none of that matters. You were always mine. From day one.”

“You’re insane,” I whisper.

He laughs. “Am I? Or am I the only one who’s been honest with you from the start?”

He stands and starts pacing again, dragging a hand over his face.

“You want to know the real reason I was in all your classes? Why I always knew where to find you? It wasn’t just coincidence, sweetheart.” He kicks a broken chair out of his way. “Your daddy made sure of that. Paid me to keep tabs on you. Daily reports, every little thing. Who you talked to. Who you flirted with. Who… touched you.”

My stomach drops.

“You’re lying.”

“Am I?” He whirls to face me. “Go ahead, deny it. Doesn’t change anything. Ranger wanted to know everything. And I gave it to him. I was the reason he knew how close you were getting to that nerdy wolf boy.” He kneels in front of me now, reaching out to brush my hair from my face.

I shudder away from his touch and he tuts, disappointed.

“Then you went and mated that clueless tiger and big bad Derrick the dragon back to back,” Trent chuckles, clearly enjoying this. “Daddy dearest wanted to come get you then, but he was having a hard time getting around Derrick’s meddling dad. By the time we were able to distract them with that report against Lucas, you had gone and mated all of them. Just like he knew you would. Like a bitch in heat.”

My whole body goes still. A cold, sharp ache slices through my gut, and not from the ropes. I knew Trent had something to do with the situation with Lucas, but I never thought my father might be involved.

“You’re lying,” I say again, but it sounds weaker this time.

“Oh, foxy girl. IwishI was. You should’ve heard the things he said about you. About your mom.” His smile twitches. “He saidyou were going to end up just like her. A soft, foolish whore, ruled by your instincts.”

He leans forward, grabbing me by my hair and pulling me up till our faces are only inches away. I wince at the pain, tears sting my eyes but I refuse to let them fall.

“But don’t worry,” he says, his nasty breath fanning across my face. “I know how to break you of your bad habits.”

His other hand caresses my cheek before drifting lower, trailing along my jaw, then down my neck. The feel ofhishand on Bas’s mark revolts me. I jerk away, as much as the ropes will let me. Which isn’t much. He just laughs. A sick, smug sound that makes bile rise in my throat.

“You know, I always imagined this happening differently,” he murmurs, voice low and husky with a repulsive lust. “Maybe after a few drinks, some sweet talk. You’d finally see me for who I really am. But I’m not picky. Either way I’ll get what’s mine.”

His fingers dip inside the waistband of my sleep shorts.

I snap.

“You’re fucking disgusting,” I spit, rage breaking through the haze of fear. “And stupid if you believe Ranger St. James would ever marry his daughter off to the likes of you. Not that I’d even live past the bond breaking. My mom certainly didn’t. Did he tell you that?”

He freezes. For a second, something flashes in his eyes, something wounded, almost child-like. Then he backhands me, my vision going white as he tosses me back to the floor.

“You don’t speak to me like that,” he snarls, ripping the belt from his pants. “You will learn your place with me one way or another. If you want to do it the hard way, so be it.”

He raises the belt.

The sound of it snapping against itself, sends a bolt of panic through my chest. I thrash against the ropes, heart slamming like a war drum. My fox screams, clawing inside me, trying tofight her way to the surface, but the sedative still clings to my limbs like poison.

And then...

CRACK.

Not the belt. The door.

It explodes inward.

Trent doesn’t even have time to react before Ranger is inside, moving like a storm wrapped in a man’s skin. He grabs Trent by the throat slamming him back against the nearest wall.

“What the fuck did I tell you?” Ranger roars, his voice all gravel and rage.

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