Page 426 of Blood and Ruin: The Complete Series

But the guys were there when he was dying, they would have… I glance over at them, and the blank looks they all wear. Most of them shuffling or glancing elsewhere.

It takes me a minute, but I finally catch it, the guilt. It cloaks the air around them, becoming stifling.

I pull away from Kai, glancing around at them all. “What did you do?”

Jax pastes a smirk on his face, and saunters over. “Don’t know what you’re talking about. How about we go do something…fun?” He wiggles his brows as his smirk grows wicked.

I narrow my eyes on the idiot. “How about…no. Tell me what you did?”

My question is met with silence. Rion and Luka avoid looking at me completely. Kai just stands there, looking pissed as hell, all aimed at Rielle. Jax tries to distract me by trailing his hungry dark eyes down my body. While Axel smirks between us like he’s ready to join him.

But I am not in the mood for their games especially when King is missing. I know they’re keeping something from me. But before I get the chance to pull them on it, Soren appears.

He frowns looking between us all. “Why wasn’t I invited to this little party?”

Rielle glares as she takes a step closer to him. “Where’s King?”

Soren glances over at the guys. “They still don’t know?”

I freeze and Jax steps back wincing at the look on my face, before glaring over at Soren.

“Don’t know what?” I try to get it out of Jax but he’s avoiding my eyes now, more interested in the fucking wall.

Soren sighs at Jax, shaking his head before looking to me. “Your mates decided it was best to pass their own punishment of sorts.”

Passing their… I glare around at them. “What does that mean?”

Rielle clenches her fists by her side. I feel a slight shift of energy in the room as she snarls at Soren. “And you allowed this?”

Soren chokes on a laugh, not one bit deterred by her temper. “I’m not about to piss off five of the most powerful supernatural beings for protecting their mate.”

Jax nods. “And that’s why we like you the most.”

“As you should.” Soren nods agreeing with his little assessment.

I share a look with Rielle before glancing around at each of my mates. “What are you talking about,protectingme? King was dead… or dying.”

At least he was the last time I saw him. “Where is he?” If I have to kill him myself here and now to be done with this, I will.

The guys frown, wincing at the look I give them but it’s Luka who relents.

“In the basement.”

I blink as if his words are hard to comprehend. “In the…Why?”

The guys grow quiet.

“Someone better fucking answer me or—”

Soren sighs, loudly, gaining everyone’s attention. “They’ve been torturing King…slowlyeach day. Bringing him to the brink of death before getting a healer in to heal him just enough to do it all again. They’ve also got the room spelled so time is immeasurable making his torture feel endless.”

My brain shuts off for a minute. When it finally clicks, I have so many mixed emotions bubbling up inside me that I don’t know where to start.

Until I decide violence is an option.

I cut each of my mates a hard look. “So instead of just being done with this once and for all, you what? Decide to go all alpha and create your own punishment?”

They all look at me likeI’mthe crazy one here. Jax’s eyes bug off his head just before they narrow, a glint of rage in them. “He fuckingtorturedyou for most of your life. He stole years from you and us. It’s about time he got to feel that pain… butinfinitely.”

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