Page 4 of Hunted
“No,” Yukio said flatly.“You’re about to melt the floor again.”
“I said—”
“You’re not fine,” Martina interrupted, stepping closer.“Don’t even say it.Your aura is unstable, and you’re too pissed off to be training right now.You should know better,alpha.”
I turned to face her, one brow raised, and a pulse of alpha power aimed her way for her blatant insubordination.She didn’t flinch.
Good.I’d hardly respect her if she cowered.But still.Everyone standing up to me all the time was gettingverytiresome.
“You want to take a swing at me?”she asked.“Maybe take some of that anger out on a single unlucky sparring partner, rather than the whole damned house?”
I bared my teeth.She was really pushing it.It was almost like shewantedto be put in her place.And oh, how we’d enjoy that.My inner dragon purred with the thought of fighting and fucking the chupacabra shifter right here on the singed workout mats.
“Go ahead,” Martina said.“Hit me.At least if you accidentally kill me with your loss of control maybe that will snap you out of it before you bring the whole house down and endanger everyone else.”
That stopped me.Just long enough for the flames at the edge of my vision to flicker and die.For my human brain to take over from the lizard.My entire purpose as an alpha was to protect my court.And yet I was a danger to them.
And it wasn’t just them.All of my plans, all of my goals.The revenge I had worked so hard for all my life—it was more than a personal vendetta, though that was enough.I had to bring the emperor and the syndicate down so they’d stop using, abusing, and murdering anyone who didn’t fall in line.It wasn’t just my court depending on me—my omega, betas, and gammas.The fate of every outcast, unprotected, unaligned paranorm in the city also depended on my success.
I collapsed onto the bench, arms shaking, breath ragged.Magic still crackled under my skin like a warning.I could feel it pulsing in my wrists, at the base of my spine, in the space just behind my eyes.The dragon wanted out.My beast side was tired of playing games and being denied, tired ofallowinginjustice.
Yukio crouched in front of me and pressed a cold hand to my knee.“I’m going to bring your body temperature down a little,” he said softly.His gentle tone of voice told me just how concerned he really was.“Don’t fight me like a stubborn ass.”
I didn’t have the heart to muster a flippant reply.I nodded once, feeling like an utter failure.
A wave of frost shuddered through the room, creeping along the stone floor and curling up the walls, putting out a few minor smolders in the process.The magic curled gently through my aura and across my overheated skin, just shy of too cold.The pressure behind my eyes eased, slightly.The headache backed off a notch as the internal fires receded.For now.
“Better?”he asked.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I said, flipping the long tail of my hair back over my shoulder.“But I always enjoy the touch of your ice magic on my skin, Yuki darling.”I winked.
Martina snorted.She dropped onto the bench beside me and handed me a chilled water bottle.I took it, twisted the cap off with fingers that were perfectly steady and didn’t shake or fumble at all,thank you very much, and drank.
Sanka circled the room, using his sorcery skills to reinforce the wards on the training room.He was a beta.Normally he’d be the one over here fussing and driving me mad with hisconcern.But this time, he kept his distance.He knew me well enough to know that there was a limit to my tolerance for coddling.
The silence that followed was heavy.They all just sat with me—not pressing, not judging, just...holding space.
And I hated—absolutelyloathed—that I needed that.“I should be stronger than this,” I said quietly.
“Youarestrong, Alpha,” Yukio said dryly.“Stupidly strong.Do you know any other alpha who could operate in this state nearly half as well as you have?”He raised a dark brow, giving me a wry look.“But evenyouhave limits, Princess.”
I closed my eyes.
Footsteps padded softly down the hall.A light knock.
“Go away,” I snapped immediately.The door creaked open anyway.
No one fucking listened to me anymore.What happened to my authority?The awe over the glory of my stunning presence?Was I going to have to eat one of them to remind them who and what I was?
Cicely stepped inside, barefoot and silent, golden curls tumbled and wild as always.He didn’t speak.He never needed to.He just knew what I was feeling, thanks to his fae gifts.His aura brushed mine—cool, curious, and grounding.Ruya’s beta had come to tend to her unhinged alpha, like a good little pet.
He looked at me, then down at the scorched floor, then back up again with one eyebrow raised.
“I’mfine,” I said.Again.Was everyone deaf?
He made a face that conveyed a high level of doubt.Either that or he had gas pains.I sighed.The idea of roasting and eating someone was growing more appealing by the second.
Martina, probably sensing that death was looming, stood.“I’ll go do security rounds,” she said to Yukio.“Give her space.”
