Semua Bab The Tyrant alpha: Bab 371 - Bab 380

“No.” I do not allow my voice to betray me, not by the slightest quaver, but I have no control yet over the bond. She can feel my fear as easily as I feel her pain.Her lips spear down, and her brow knits.I can’t bear it. My mouth is on hers before I form the thought, and she is sweet, sweeter than I remember, than it’s possible to be. She tastes like soaring. Like home and freshness and everything I ever wanted.She pushes me away, hard, panting.I trip back, raising my palms. We freeze.A bewildered look of loss flashes across her face, and it’s all I can do to stop myself from scooping her back into my arms, but I stay right where I am.“You’re still angry.” I don’t want to tell her what she feels, but now I can feel it, too, sharp and spiky where it flows through the bond between us.She sniffs. “You said I ruined myself, that I played free with my honor. You told me to get. Like I was an animal.”I want to hang my head, but she doesn’t need me weak. I hold her gaze and say, “I d

I have no reason to have such absolute faith in him. My wolf suddenly has a lot more of a say in our thoughts, though, and while she has zero faith in the man, she has absolute confidence in the wolf.Good mate. Red fur. Red-furred pups.She is the most excited about pups. I’m a little less enthusiastic. I’m going to need to get a job in the kitchens. I can’t wear a pup on the ledges, not when scaffolding is falling into the river. That means I won’t see Clay all day, even at a distance. I never wanted to do kitchen work—it’s hot and hectic and tempers flare. I can do it if I must, though. My mother, aunts, and sisters do.I don’t want to raise a pup around the Claws. They do what they want, and pretty much the worst thing an unmated Ditch female can do is catch the eye of one. If her father doesn’t act quickly enough, or if he doesn’t bother protecting her, there are rumors and tears and, in the worst cases, a visit from the gray witch.It’s good that her finicky flowers are coming a

Time ticks by, and slowly, the room gets brighter. I give the nest a wide berth. My wolf and I are in accord—it’s tainted.Eventually, my shoulders and fists can’t take it anymore. My legs collapse under me, and I end up cross-legged in the middle of the floor. Where is Clay? What are they doing to him? Maybe they didn’t catch him. Maybe he caught wind of what they were doing and he ran. The thought comforts at the same time as it cuts.I try to still my mind and focus on the bond. It’s hard to sort it out from my screaming panic, but if I picture the bond flowing from me to him and think really hard, I can trace it.I feel his rage and terror, but as I turn my attention inward, those feelings become muted, and a new note emerges. It’s almost impossible to describe. It’s not a sensation, more of an impression, and if I had to name it, like a pup finding animals in the clouds, I’d call it a wolf ripping through another wolf’s throat. The feeling doesn’t frighten me, though. It calms my

“Time’s up, Ditch,” an unfamiliar male voice says. “Don’t worry, female. Your mate doesn’t have to do much—only knock out Killian Kelly in the first round come Saturday night. Shouldn’t be hard. Nobody’s done it, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. And he’s got an incentive, doesn’t he?” The male laughs again. “Your heat will hold out till Saturday, right?”His laughter still plays in my head long after Clay is forced to leave, and I finish my meal and curl up on the floor again, shivering.And sweating.7WRENLEETime creeps along. My cell grows brighter and darker, but it’s never fully lit, because of the dirty window, and never completely dark, because they’ve left the slot open and the fluorescent light from the hallway filters in.For a long time, I don’t have to pee since I’m sweating so much, but eventually, I can’t hold it in anymore. I pull myself together enough to call for help, but no one comes. In the end, I wee in the far corner and cover it with a rag from the desecr

“Shit, uh, yeah.” The males hurry to grab their cards, their jackets, their water bottles. Clay sets me gently on my feet and moves so that he’s blocking me from the others.“Leave the water,” Amir barks. He isn’t gathering his things. He’s going from footlocker to footlocker, throwing them open and digging out any blankets or sheets. He’s trying to help. My eyes prickle.“I’ll need you to guard the door,” Clay says to Amir.Amir grunts. “I’ll put these here.” He places the stack of linens he’s gathered on the bunk farthest from the door. “She might not want them. They smell like us.”I don’t want them anywhere near me, but my wolf and I understand the gesture, and we’re grateful.“I owe you,” Clay says as Amir takes his leave.“I’m counting,” Amir says, but his lips curve. It’s the saddest smile I’ve ever seen.Then he’s gone, and we’re alone, and my legs give out. I sink to the floor, and with the last of my energy, I stick my bottom in the air. I can’t push up on my hands. I can on