Page 3 of Saved By The King's Gamma

“No, Kyson. Not while he is like this,” Damian says, but the king smiles.

“You want revenge? Then take it out on the butcher. Daley will know his name,” the king tells me. I furrow my brows, wanting to know what wild goose chase he is sending me on now.

“The butcher?” Damian asks, and the king nods and looks at Damian over his shoulder before he turns back to face me. My heart nearly stops at his next words.

“Yes. He’s Abbie’s rapist,” the king growls, letting me go. I blink at him, taking in his words, and my stomach plunges somewhere deep and cold within me. Rapist?

Someone raped my Abbie? Now thinking back to how odd Abbie was with touch and nudity when I would take her on a run. The scars on her hips and thighs, when it dawns on me. It suddenly makes sense, I thought at first maybe those scars were self-inflicted. Now I see them differently. My entire body trembles as my blood boils, my canines slip free of my gums and my claws extend and the noise that leaves me is more of a savage roar, as burning rage and disgust forces my shift.

I want him to take his words back. I need to unhear them. I don’t want the picture of her so vulnerable and helpless like that stuck in my head. Someone touched her, did unspeakable things to her, and they are still breathing? Some part of me tries to tell me I heard him wrong. However, the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach tells me I heard right, still I ask.

“He did what to my Abbie?” I snarl.

“I won’t repeat it. It wasn’t my place to say, but I was planning to tell you, anyway. Find Daley, and you will know where to find the butcher,” the king tells me and my eyes dart to Damian, who looks at me just as horrified by this information. I turn my gaze back to the king.

“I’m not bringing him in,” I warn him. My eyes flicker as a coldness settles over me, so strong I think it will freeze my heart at the horrors my girl has had to endure. The butcher will wish for death long before I grant it.

“He’s all yours,” the king tells me as I try to breathe around my burning fury. Turning on my heel, I leave, slamming the door behind me. Walking back to my quarters, I head for Liam’s room, knowing he is sleeping since he came off the night shift. My hangover is now long gone, and I am finding it hard to shift back. Shoving his door open, I rip his blanket off, and he groans, opening his eyes before noticing me shifted standing above him. Liam sits up.

“What is it?” he asks, rubbing his eyes.

“We’re going hunting,” I tell him, and he smirks instantly.

2

Two long and agonizing days have passed since Kade abandoned me in this wretched brothel, leaving me to rot in the depths of my despair. Each day, he comes to torment me, a cruel reminder of the power he holds over my life and the little I can do about it. So, when the door swings open once again, I am not entirely surprised to see a woman step inside. However, my surprise quickly turns to shock when I recognize her as the woman who used to park outside my cabin.

Her heels click menacingly on the creaking floorboards as she makes her way toward me. Today, she wears a short black dress that clings to her every curve, the outline of her thong visible through the tight fabric. I avert my gaze, not wanting to subject myself to such a vulgar display. I can’t help but wonder what purpose she serves here. Is she here to inject me with more of the vile substance that Kade has been using on me, so I can’t shift? Or perhaps she has come to inflict some new form of torture upon me. I refuse to shed tears for her because by the sly smile on her face, she has come to witness my torment. She does not deserve the satisfaction.

Inwardly, I long for Blaire’s return. I need reassurance that she is safe. I haven’t seen her since that dreadful night when I was forcibly brought to this despicable place, but I’ve heard whispers through the walls, and I can’t get the sound of her screaming out of my head after Kade beat her when he was done with her that night. The woman crouches down beside me, her grip on my chin forcing me to meet her cold gaze. A sneer twists her lips as she shoves my face away with an air of distaste.

“Kade is on his way,” she hisses, her voice dripping with malice. “And you better be on your best behavior for my husband.”

I swallow hard, the sting of her words resonating deep within me. She’s his wife? If she thinks I’ll fight for him, she is wrong, she can have him. I want no part in the life she shares with that man, and I feel foolish for ever believing in the possibility of happiness or the strength of mate bonds.

“It seems your precious friend, that bitch queen of yours, has been asking about you,” she continues, her voice laced with venom. “You so much as breathe a word that jeopardizes the life I have with Kade, and it won’t be him you need to fear. I’ll order every pack warrior to tear through you, treating you like the home-wrecking whore you are.”

A bitter laugh escapes my lips. Of course, Kade’s wife would be just as depraved as he is. “It must have been quite a blow when you learned he had a mate,” I retort, glaring defiantly at the woman.

Instantly, her hand strikes my cheek, the force of the blow causing me to grit my teeth in pain. And then she grabs hold of my hair, yanking my head back with a cruel force that makes me wince.

“Accidents happen, my dear,” she whispers menacingly. “This is my pack. Kade is my mate. You will learn your place.”

“My place isn’t here,” I spit, my voice filled with defiance. “Ivy will come for me.”

She laughs, a sound devoid of any mirth, before tightening her grip around my throat. “Why do you think Kade is coming? To see you?” she taunts, clicking her tongue.

“Your friend won’t be an issue after today. Kade is only keeping you around so he doesn’t become weak. You would do well to remember that you are nothing to him—just a warm hole to fuck,” she sneers, her words dripping with mockery.

“And what does that make you? His dishwasher?” I ask.

She yanks my hair again and I grit my teeth.

Just as pain threatens to consume me, the door swings open once more, and his scent wafts toward me before I even lay eyes on him. A mixture of revulsion and an inexplicable longing washes over me as the bond recognizes him instantly. I despise the way he can still influence me, even now, when I hate the man more than anyone in this world.

“There are my girls, having a chat I see,” Kade’s voice echoes through the room as he saunters in, dressed in a tailored suit. The woman releases her grip on me and rises to her feet, with a sickeningly sweet smile.

“Abbie dear, it seems you’ve met my wife Cassandra,” he says. He reaches out and brushes her hair off her shoulder before cupping her neck, his lips crashing against hers in a display of vulgar affection. I turn away, my heart aching at the pain that courses through my chest. Even after all he has done to me, I can’t deny the hold he still has over my emotions, as much as I hate it.

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