Page 27 of Forsaken Devotion: Part 2
I sucked in a breath, panting. My jaw was going to be bruised by the end of this.
“And for you stepping on my land.” Drake paused, a laugh in his voice. “I want your pain.”
Lucian smirked.
“You’re so predictable,” he hummed.
Silence from Drake. My heart leapt. His silence made me more nervous than him spitting his venomous words.
“Get on your knees, Wilder.” Lucian met my eyes, and I could have sworn he was telling me it was okay. My lip trembled.
Keeping hold of my gaze, he dropped.
As soon as he did, the weight of the boot lifted, but before I could move, Drake grabbed the back of my neck and forced me upright. His fingertips dug into my throat. My knees wobbled from how long I’d been held down.
“Watch,” he murmured in my ear. He let out a high-pitched whistle. “I want you to see what you caused. This is your fault, sweets.” I blinked to clear the tears sheening my eyes, and they trailed down my cheeks. “He’s lucky I don’t have him killed for his mate stepping on my private land.”
He confirmed what I’d been worried about. Thishadbeen private fucking land. Nausea turned my stomach.
Alpha land ownership fell into two levels. One was land an Alpha could own, like Crescent Hotel. It was on Lucian’s land, but it was still public; nothing could happen on those properties that could out shifters. If this were Drake’s private land, it equated to him coming to the area surrounding Lucian’s house, Wilder Clinic, and the Community Center. No shifter of a different pack was accepted unless permission was granted. The main land was untouchable.
I hadn’t known!
“I’m sorry,” I blurted my apology, “I didn’t know.”
“It’s okay, Princess,” Lucian soothed. The calmness in his voice and on his face struck my body. I’d royally fucked up.
Alex was the one to tell me Sheriff Stools came here. Hadheset me up?
Branches and leaves crunched under footsteps, and a woman stepped out of the woods, a long bag hoisted over her shoulders. She glared at me, full-on aggression in her gaze. She dropped the bag, whatever was inside clanged noisily, and she crouched to unzip it. Only two of the wolves pacing behind Lucian shifted, while the last wolf stayed behind them, not taking his eyes off Lucian.
I met Lucian’s eyes; mine were so wide it hurt. I kept looking for a way out. Drake’s grip stung, and it only tightened. One of the bearded men rolled a bat in his hand, tossed it to the other male, a redhead sporting a mustache. While I’d been studying them both, memorizing their features, the bearded one grabbed another bat that had dents and jagged edges.
No, they weren’t about to?—
The bearded male swung the bat against Lucian’s spine. The only sound was the harsh thud of the bat against flesh. Lucian jerked under the force of the bat.
I screamed, jolting forward pointlessly.
“What are you doing? Let him go.”
Gideon Drake chuckled. The sound curdled my blood. He wouldn’t.
“Just go, Lucian, please. I’ll be fine,” I begged.
He straightened, rolling his shoulders, and met my eyes again.
“Close your eyes, Princess.”
Another loudthwackrang through the clearing from the bat connecting with his arm. Lucian stiffened with a grunt. His jaw bunched, the muscle jumping.
I whined, hating seeing him suffer. My heart pounded so hard it was making me nauseous. Even while they hurt him, he didn’t wantmeto hurt. My lip trembled. I wouldn’t look away. This was my fault.
“Settle in for the show.” Drake let go of my neck to grab my arms and twist them until my back was arched.
The males took turns swinging the bat at Lucian. They connected with dull thumps that wracked his entire frame. They both swung at different points on his back, and Lucian fell into the dirt. I cried out, pulling to get to him, but my joints screamed with agony. Tears flooded my eyes.
They beat him with such violence. Numbness spread through my toes, working its way up. Lucian coughed and spat blood. The bearded male crouched.
