Page 37 of Rhaz's Redemption
My sire slapped me across the cheek and I bit back a growl. Then he punched me in the gut causing me to keel over and gasp for air.
When I looked up at him again he looked disappointed, as if hitting me wasn’t enough. Whatever it was he wanted to beat out of me, it didn’t seem to be fading with his blows.
There was a puddle on the ground near my hand. I caught his reflection in it. He looked down and saw himself too. His eyes darkened and he stomped on the puddle to get rid of the image.
“It’s not me you want to hit, is it?” I don’t know how I knew this, but there was something about the emptiness in his gaze that told me, his rage, although directed at me, wasn’t about me at all.
“You know not of what you speak, boy,” my sire replied. He looked at me one more time before he turned and walked away looking wholly unfulfilled.
Now I stood in another clearing. Dameron waved a hand and one of his hunters shoved me forward. I heard a small gasp that sounded like Beatrice and my eyes searched the surrounding area. I hoped it wasn’t her. She should be hiding somewhere safe, not out here so close to the male who was the most capable of hurting her the most.
A growl drew my attention back to the line of people before me. Tarak had bared his teeth and took a step forward before Orsu pulled him back. “We must hold the line. We’ll get Rhaz back soon.”
I was overwhelmed with emotion that they’d fight for me, but worried for them too. This was a bold move even for Dameron. If he had brought Gil, then maybe his males could win against ours, but because he didn’t, I couldn’t see how he couldwin this fight. My sire had something planned. I didn’t know what it was, but I knew I’d hate it nonetheless.
“Disgusting,” Dameron spat. “Each and every one of you are disgusting.” His eyes scanned the line of shifters before him and the corner of his mouth curled back in a snarl.
“Why have you come?” Tarak asked. “What do you want?”
“What do I want?” The older Savrix spoke his question in a tone that suggested he expected Tarak already knew the answer. “I want the truth. No more of these little games. No more lies.”
“What truth?” Tarak asked. “We’ve always told you the truth.”
“Have you? Then why is it that every time my hunters captures someone from your dekes they have a new female with them? Over and over again, you swear there are no more females, and yet, a new one seems to emerge with each full moon.”
Tarak clenched his teeth and a muscle in his jaw tightened. We had been lying to the other dekes letting them believe there were very few human females among us.
“You’ve met all of our new females,” Tarak continued. “Now I ask that you leave and let us tend to our wounded.”
Tarak’s gaze shifted to me and an expression of pity crossed his face. I didn’t want his pity. I wanted to be free from these bindings. I wanted to stand alongside my brother shifters.
Dameron leveled my Savrix with a glare. “I don’t believe you.” He crossed his arms over his chest as if he were growing impatient with this conversation and continued, “This is what we’re going to do. I will give you Rhaz if you bring out every female from that mountain. I want to see exactly how many of them you’ve been hiding.”
“NO!” Tarak growled. “You’ve met them all, now leave!”
Dameron pursed his lips in irritation and asked, “is that your final answer?”
“Yes,” Tarak answered through gritted teeth. There was no way he would parade his mate and child out in front of this male who couldn’t be trusted.
Dameron pulled on the rope that was tied around my neck and I stumbled forward. Then he wrapped one arm around my shoulders to keep me in place and with his other hand, lifted a bone knife to my neck.
“I will give you to the count of ten to change your answer before I slit Rhaz’s throat.”
Tarak stepped forward in shock, “you would kill your own son?”
“This is no son of mine,” Dameron replied and pressed the blade against me until I felt a trickle of blood roll down my skin.
“One,” he began, and no one moved.
“Two,” Tarak clenched his jaw and looked back toward the mountain, toward his family.
“Three,” Dameron tightened his hold on me as I attempted to squirm out of his grasp. I would not allow them to yield to Dameron.
“Four.”
“Don’t do it!” I pleaded, both to my sire and to Tarak. “Do. Not. Yield!”
“Five.”
