Page 281 of Cruelly Bitten
And then it all ended.
“Portable neutralizers,” Cane mused, his voice an echo in my head. One that made me growl deep inside.
Because it reminded me of something.
A past I couldn’t quite recall.
Yet my body seemed to remember it in vivid detail because my muscles locked as though prepared to fight.
“Well, not quite. This one is designed specifically for you. But these…” He trailed off as another high-pitched noise rang through my head. “These are for everyone else. Combined, I imagine, they’re quite painful. I’d apologize, but you won’t remember it anyway.”
Can’t… breathe…Ismerelda rasped into my mind.
Because of the neutralizer?I asked her.
Let… go!she shouted in response, making my heart stop.
Are you…? Are you asking me to rebuild the barricade?I asked her. Because that didn’t feel right at all. In fact, it felt downright wrong.Ismerelda?—
Michael,she interjected, her mind linking to mine in a way it hadn’t before, her reality blending instantly with mine and making me realize that she wasn’t in pain from me at all.
She was in pain fromMichael.
He had his palm wrapped around her throat.
I roared internally and externally, furious at both him and my brother.
The intense sound increased in volume, causing my roar to end on a gasp, the pain unlike anything I’d ever experienced.
Fuck. No wonder I’d lost my memories… He’s frying my godsdamn brain!
“This is for the best, brother,” Cane informed me, a hint of sincerity in his tone. “I thought perhaps the microphone on your shirt was a fluke. But when my surveillance caught Ismerelda placing that piece in her ear, I knew it was purposeful. You’re not ready to reign by my side yet.”
The disappointment in his voice was almost real.Almost.
“There were other signs as well, of course—your attachment to yourErositabeing the primary indicator. I could see it in the way you went from fucking her without remorse to basically making love to her. Couple that with the fact that you won’t let anyone touch her, and, well, it’s clear your link to her is a problem.”
My teeth ground together, the blaring alarm in my skull making it impossible for me to speak. But if I could say something, I’d tell him thatheappeared to be the one who was obsessed with myErosita. Almost like he couldn’t stand the concept of me having someone else in my life.
Obviously, it went deeper than that.
He feared my connection to her because it threatened his plans.
“At least I know how to proceed,” he went on. “Your rehabilitation was nearly perfect. But Ismerelda ruined everything. She has to die, brother. It’s the only way to fix you.”
He knelt, his palm stroking my head as one would a pet.
“This will hurt, but you won’t remember any of it when you wake next time. And I’ll ensure you never learn the truth, too. That’s my gift to you, brother,” he murmured, his phrasing making it sound like he actually believed he was doing something kind for me.
A shot of unadulterated terror fired through my bond with Ismerelda, the shock of it reminding me of when she’d nearly been raped.
I instantly tuned in to her mind, needing to know what was happening, and felt a similar jolt scorch my veins.
Only mine wasn’tterror. It wasrage.
Michael had pinned her to the ground, his hands hiking up her dress.
And he was fuckingexposed.
