Page 12 of Hell Kissed
A quick glance behind me shows that I’m alone once again. And once more, I’m wondering if I imagined the entire encounter with the two strange men.
Fuck. Is it possible Kyvain found a way to drug me earlier?
It’s the only option that remotely makes sense.
“The Dark Moon is for everyone, Kyvain,” I reply, more than a little annoyed. “I’m going to shift whether you try to kick me out or not.” I lift my chin toward the rising moon.
It’s almost fully above us, and my skin practically tingles with the magic of my first shift. My wolf writhes under my skin, ready to break through for the first time and fully reveal herself.
Revenge isn’t far from her mind. The desire to rip a hole in Kyvain and teach him a lesson rides me hard enough that I have to swallow and roll my neck to hold her back.
Warmth seeps over my stinging cheek and the pain morphs to a prickling that tells me I’ll have yet another bruise. Luckily, as soon as I shift, I’ll begin healing faster.
There’s blood on my palm from a cut on my cheekbone, and I can only conclude it was put there by the signet ring Kyvain wears on his left hand. Their family crest is embossed in the surface of the gold. If he had punched me, I’d be wearing the symbol like a brand.
I grit my teeth as Kyvain’s alpha authority sinks into me like poison.
“You crossed a line this morning, Rhys.” Kyvain’s chest practically brushes against mine as he menacingly invades my personal space. Fear trickles through the normal part of me, but it only gets so far, unable to penetrate the anger radiating from my wolf. “You shouldn’t have opened that pretty little mouth of yours, but you’ll be opening it on command for me real soon.”
Kyvain exchanges a crude smile with Calvin, the twist of his lips a leer that’s far too dangerous for his pretty face. As much as I hate him, I have to admit that he comes from a good set of genes. Unfortunately, he’s far too ugly on the inside to be considered good-looking.
A biting smile tenses my lips as I lean in good and close to make sure he understands my quiet, rasping words.
“I guess no one’s told you,” I whisper innocently. “You have to have a dick in order for someone to suck it.” I pull back and flip him off before shouldering my way past the two of them.
The unyielding nerve of this asshole is astounding.
But fuck, does it feel good to give in to the wolf side of me.
Long fingers wrap around my bicep with bruising force before I’ve even made it a full step. Kyvain jerks me into the hard line of his body.
My stomach dips and rolls, riding a rollercoaster of its own making. Being this close to him is vomit inducing.
A growl rumbles through the darkness, but Kyvain and his crony don’t seem to notice. Or maybe they don’t hear it the way I do.
This is taking ‘imaginary friends’ a little too far. Just don’t look at them.
They’re not there. They’re not there. There’s no such thing as exploding men on fire…
Right?
I swallow, pissed off that I have no way to extract myself from Kyvain’s grip. He’s bigger and stronger than I am. My knee is about to meet his groin when his next words chill me to the fucking bone.
“It makes the news I get to deliver to you so much sweeter because you think your life is still your own,” Kyvain rumbles darkly. “You belong to the pack, Rice.” My shitty nickname flows off his tongue. He does it on purpose, but this time there’s a promise hidden behind the way he says it.
An ownership.
Dread settles over my heart like a lead blanket. “Your mother is making arrangements right this minute with my father, bartering your life for a better one for herself. You won’t get a mate. We all know it. You fucking know it. You’ll be no better than a pack whore. And I get you to myself first.”
He’s lying. He is.
But still, doubt creeps in.
A million emotions fly through me, but I settle on anger. My wolf wants to snap her teeth and rip Kyvain’s face off just to rid him of the smug satisfaction gleaming in his blue eyes. He thinks he’s cornered me, but I’m no wilting flower.
My gaze shoots into his with the intensity of a high-powered laser.
“I’ll never be your whore,” I promise him right back and try to tear myself from his grasp.
