Page 60 of Tail Me No Lies
Nox was in the middle of an illuminated space. Blinking against the hard light, he was unable to make out what lay in the darkness beyond the circle. He heard murmurs, the rustle of cloth, and footsteps on the dirt floor. Two people. No. Three.
A figure emerged, broad with tall, twisting horns. Geral. He held a thin, bendy cane in one hand.
“Why am I not surprised?” Nox asked in a flat tone. He kept his feet together, to appear as if the rope still held. He peered into the shadows, trying to discern how many fuckers he had to murder tonight.
Something with a tail slinked at the edges of the shadows, dodging the light. Little Hunter. Nox wished the curious wuap wasn’t there. Nothing good was about to happen.
“Mr. Scourge, I hope you won’t judge me too harshly on my hospitality, but this was the best accommodation I could manage,” Geral said in a pompous tone. Did this male ever listen to himself?
“That’s not my name.” He wasn’t that male. Not any longer. He wasn’t sure if he was even Nox any longer. His mother had given him the name and now it felt too restrictive, too burdened with associations he wanted to forget. If he and Ruth—whenhe and Ruth made it out of here, they’d pick a new name. Together.
Geral stopped just out of arm’s reach from Nox. “You thought you were so clever, breaking into my home and vandalizing my property.”
Little Hunter emerged from the shadows and dashed to his side. She hissed, causing Geral to rear back. Her tail fanned and shook in warning, his fierce protector.
“You sound like you do not appreciate my redecorating,” Nox said. Weeks had passed since Nox broke into Geral’s home. He had not been particularly creative but smashing furniture had scratched his itch for payback.
Geral lashed out, striking Nox with the cane. The implement slashed him across the cheek.
“I did you a favor.” Nox took a moment to let the sting fade. He bared his teeth, the taste of blood in his mouth. “Your security was laughably easy. A kit could have bypassed it.”
“You smashed a window and stole my jewelry! What did you do with it? Sell it?”
A dry laugh forced its way out of him. “I threw them in the river.”
Little Hunter leaped on Geral, sinking claws into his legs. He howled and tore the wuap away.
“Get that thing out of here,” he ordered.
A bumbling male shuffled forward, crouched to catch the wuap. She ran between his legs and into the shadows. There was a victorious shout and then a wail of pain. Nox could not have been more proud.
“If you hurt Little Hunter, I will have your balls,” Nox warned. “I’d feed them to her, but she has standards.”
The cane hit Nox again, this time striking his ear. It felt like his ears had been torn, the pain blinding him.
“Do not act as if you are extraordinary.” Geral crouched down to look Nox in the eye. “You are nothing but a petty, common criminal, good only for smashing things.”
Nox lunged forward, snapping his teeth. Geral jerked back, falling on his ass.
Satisfaction rumbled in Nox’s chest. Petty was an accurate description.
“Is there a point to all this talk, or do you have something planned? This abduction is surprisingly dull,” Nox said, then gave a dramatic yawn.
Geral’s face darkened as he scrambled to his feet. He pointed to someone outside the ring of light. “Remove the gag.”
“Nox!” His mate’s voice came from a darkened corner of the barn.
Nox’s ears went back. “What is this?”
“A little game,” Geral said. “She is not hurt. Yet.”
A single lantern flared to life. Ruth stood on her toes, her arms bound and stretched above her head. Soot marred her face and clothing. Most alarming was the rope around her neck which ran up to a rafter. If she stopped standing on her toes, she would be strangled.
The ferocity of the bloodlust rose, making it difficult for him to speak. “If you hurt her—”
Geral laughed.Laughed. That was the moment Nox knew that the male would not leave the barn alive.
Fury, red and viciously cold, descended over Nox.
