Page 110 of Never Tamed
He’s bigger. Stronger. Smarter. But I’m fighting for them. For my mother’s laugh, my father’s devotion, for my sister’s tiny hand gripping mine. For every night I hummed to her in the dark to help get her to sleep.
Andras slams me into the ground, his paw pinning me by the chest. Claws dig deep, puncturing skin and muscle, and press down until my ribs creak. I thrash, snapping my jaws, but his weight crushes the fight out of me.
My lungs burn, and my vision begins to tunnel.
He lowers his muzzle. His breath is hot and reeks of blood.
Then, his face ripples. The muscles in his shoulders and arms constrict and shrink. The fur sheds away to only pale skin and human limbs. And soon, Andras as a man is perched over me. Still a beast, even in this form. Just a different kind.
His weight has lightened, but only slightly. I’m still pinned and badly hurt. I buck and twist as violently as I can, but all itdoes is hurt my broken bones and open wounds. I snap for him but he’s holding me just out of reach for my jaws to catch any flesh.
Fuck. I can’t fight him off.
“You’re as pitiful as your father,” he spits. “Your whole bloodline was a stain on our kind. Too weak to be called wolves. They were better suited as rugs.”
I snarl.
“Well,” Andras starts, a smirk curling the corner of his mouth as his face hovers over mine. “Maybe not all. I did enjoy fucking your sister.”
The world stops.
Gracie girl?
He…fucked…my sister?
My raging emotions force the shift to rocket through me, and before I know it, I’m a human once again. Still pinned like a mouse caught by a lion. Fingers raking the earth, I throw myself left and right, desperate to break free and tear him apart.
“You’re lying,” I bark once I have my voice again. It’s impossible. “My sister’s dead. Dead. You killed her.”
“Ah, well, that’s where you’re wrong,” Andras drawls, his southern accent more prominent. He leans closer, and his long, greasy black hair hangs around me, boxing me in. “Your little Gracie grew up under my care. Became my mate.”
“You’re lying!” I’m shaking all over.
“It’s a shame Torin didn’t get a taste of her, too. He truly missed out. I trained her well.”
His words spin in my mind. They drag their talons across my skull as they try to take shape and grab hold. Torin? My sister?
It isn’t true. He’s lying. Gracie was just a baby. He killed her. I saw the blood. I saw—
And then he hums.
A soft, low sound. Wrong coming from his mouth, wrong in every possible way. A lullaby.
My lullaby.
The one I used to hum when she didn’t want to sleep. I was the only one who could soothe her; the song had been ours. Our little gift we shared.
He shouldn’t know it. There’s no way he would know…
But Andras continues to hum it to me in a low and mocking tone, as his hands turn wolfish and his claws sink deeper into my chest.
Pain stabs, blood bubbles up, but I’m lost in a torrent of my memories. They drown me. My mother’s hands rocking the cradle. My sister’s weak cry. Her small fist clutching my finger, her trust, her need. The endless nights spent humming, making sure she slept and gained her strength.
Blood. Screams. Chaos.
My wolf whines.
“Gracie… Gracie…” I whisper. “No…”
