Regale, Rhea - Wild Hunts [Blood Moon Legacy 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Rhea Regale

  “I find no humor in that, Slade. None. If something happens to her, there’s gonna be major bloodshed to be had.”

  Slade glanced at Coal, who remained silent through the raw conversation. He certainly heard what was being said and wisely opted to stay out of it.

  The deep snow hampered their speed. They reached the rise a short time later. Micah sniffed the air before heading toward a narrow crevice in the rock. He retreated, turned, and sniffed the snow. Slade and Coal followed his lead, trying to detect any unusual scents.

  Slade came up short when he tracked Kasa’s very familiar essence. A moment later, he stumbled on her paw prints in the snow.

  “We’ll follow Kasa’s prints into the cave, then her directions to find where she’s at,” Slade said. Micah didn’t wait for him to finish. He leaped toward the cave, hot on Kasa’s trail, Slade at his flank. Coal came up the rear, passing their location on to Slade’s pack.

  Now their plan was set in motion. The packs would begin to converge on the cave. The hunt was on, Dark Moon in sight, and revenge finally tasted sweeter than ever.

  * * * *

  Icy liquid jolted her from blackness. Kasa gasped, rapidly blinking away water as it poured down her head and streamed over her naked body. She tried to wipe it off, only to find her hands shackled above her head. Her toes barely brushed the ground. She dangled like one of the men from the first room she came to, helpless to do anything other than suffer. Fur no longer covered her, leaving her exposed. Her head throbbed. She couldn’t focus her eyes on anything for long periods of time without feeling like she’d vomit.

  And she did. The pain exploded, ripping through her skull and wrenching at her stomach until she stopped vomiting. Gasping for breath, spitting out the remnants of her stomach, she tried again to focus on the room.

  A large, burly man approached her, wooden bucket in hand. He smiled, yellow-toothed and cruel, then splashed her again. Goose bumps sprung up over her arms and legs, and she shivered as the icy water coated her skin. The drafty cavern added to the chill that consumed her. She moaned, leaning her aching head against her arm.

  “Kasa, stay with it. Don’t pass out again,” Jordan urged.

  She blinked several times, willing her eyes to focus on the room. Shapes began to create a picture of where she was, jogging her memory. With the burly man out of sight, she found her brother where she last saw him, stretched over a wall ahead of her. A single torch burned, providing little light compared to those lining the tunnel. She squinted, keeping focused without triggering another vomiting attack.

  “What have they done to you?” she asked. Her brother was helplessly splayed, agony twisting his handsome face, blood covering a good portion of this body.

  It chilled her more than the icy water leaving her flesh to freeze.

  “Don’t worry about me. Worry about yourself.”

  “I can’t. You’re my brother. I’ll always worry about you.”

  Jordan bared his teeth. His eyes squeezed shut and a long, low groan escaped him. Spittle sieved through his teeth, glistening over his chin. Panic swelled in her chest. She rattled the shackles binding her, restraining her from reaching her brother.

  “Jordan! What’s going on? Jordan!”

  As his face twisted further, Kasa’s eyes lowered to his stomach. Four narrow rods slowly pressed through his skin. Blood streamed down his abs. The piercing rods stopped a few inches out of him.

  “My God, Jordan. They didn’t…They’re not…Are they coming through your back?” Her eyes stung at the sight of her brother’s suffering. Tears that escaped her blended in with the water dripping down from her hair. “Oh, Jordan! I’ll get you out of here. I will!”

  “Damn it Kasa. You’ll get yourself out of here. You understand me?” His eyes opened to slits, but even through the narrow windows, she caught the fiery amber glow. “Do you?”

  She swallowed a whimper. She would never leave him here. Not to suffer such degradation and pain. He would never let her stay on his behalf, leaving her no option but to lie to him.

  “I do.”

  “Well…good.”

  Kasa looked over at the burly man. He had his hand on a lever of sorts, that sadistic smile plastered to his ugly face. As he pushed the lever up, Jordan hissed. Her attention shot back to him. The rods retreated back into his body, leaving open wounds to bleed freely.

  “Where are your mates? Why didn’t they keep you from coming here?”

  “They tried, but I put the guards to sleep with a few pills I had lying around the cabin. No way in hell I’d let them risk their necks without my presence. Besides, you are my brother. I would never abandon you.”

  “You’re a foolish creature, you know that?”

  Kasa offered him a sad smile and received a small one in return. “One of my endearing characteristics, I’m certain.”

  “Maddening, sweetheart. A maddening characteristic.”

  A loud clank echoed in the room. Jordan released a sharp breath. The burly man crossed the room to him, checked the shackles, then left. Kasa forced the nauseating dizziness aside and tugged on the chains over her head. The hook in the ceiling held strong, not budging. The jostling caused her body to turn. She tried to stop the slow spin with the tips of her toes only to turn herself further away from her brother.

  “Oh, stop spinning,” she grumbled. When she looked up from the ground, she saw the lever that must control the chain holding her. She strained to look over her shoulder at Jordan. “What are the chances I can reach that with my foot?”

  “Slim. The chain has you too high up and its drop is too far from the wall. You’ll only hurt your shoulders by swinging.”

  “Have you tried it?”

  “Unfortunately, I wasn’t as privileged as you to be spared this position. Never had the opportunity to hang around the place.”

  “At least you still have a bitter sense of humor. That’s a good sign,” Kasa teased. Anything to lighten up the doomsday air that filled this place. Anything to turn Jordan’s attention away from the terrible torture he just endured. “You’re not speaking out loud. They didn’t do anything to your throat, did they?”

  “Aside from this collar lined with silver spikes that seem to embed themselves into my throat at will, nothing. Can’t move or speak much without feeling the razors bite.”

  “When I get out of these shackles, I’m gonna take that collar and snap it around that bitch’s neck. See how she likes it.”

  “I don’t think you’ll need to worry about my reaction.”

  Kasa jerked her body, the momentum slowly turning her back to the door and to her brother. A woman entered the room, stroking the handle of a whip. She smiled, cold and conniving. Kasa glowered at her, baring her teeth as they elongated into fangs. Only, they didn’t lengthen. The woman chuckled, her dark eyes glinting with evil glee. Dark hair cascaded down her back and over her shoulders, covering what her indecent black dress did not. Kasa’s wolf growled, poised for attack within her spirit.

  When she tried to transform, her wolf hit an invincible barrier, restraining her from changing.

  The woman smirked. “You’ve been given a drug that represses the wolf. No one here can transform until I’ve broken them completely and they’ve been recreated into obedient weres.” She stepped up to Kasa and tapped the leather tip of her whip against Kasa’s bare nipple. “Unfortunately, I won’t have the pleasure of seeing you break, other than the bones I intend to pulverize before killing you in front of your brother.”

  The woman snapped the whip, smacking her across the ribs. She winced, sucking in a sharp breath. Pain speared up and down her body, tears stung her eyes, but she held her ground. No way was this woman going to make her cower.

  “You’re not going to go down easily, making this all the more fun. I have a great deal of little devices that’ll make you cry. I have large devices that’ll make you wish you were dead. But…” she pulled out a large, silver knife from behind her, “I think this might be fa
r more interesting. There’s a lot one can do with a knife.”

  “Fuck off,” Kasa snapped. The woman’s smile grew, the menacing glint in her eyes intensifying.

  “Kasa, watch your mouth. Eva’s the ringleader here, and she thrives on the pain of others. Do whatever you can to keep yourself safe,” Jordan said.

  “Now, now,” the woman cooed.

  The whip snapped again, this time lashing Kasa across the face. Red blinded her momentarily, the pain so great it numbed her. She blinked away the haze and stars and swallowed down bile that crept up the back of her throat. Warm liquid trickled down her cheek, the acrid scent of blood consuming her. She glanced down at her breast when a drop splattered against her flesh.

  The whip jabbed her under the chin. A needle-like point poked into her flesh, forcing her head up. The woman tilted her head, her eyes narrow.

  “I would expect better behavior from a revered white. After all, you’ve acquired a great following.” Eva jerked the whip upward, piercing the soft skin beneath Kasa’s mouth. She absorbed the new pain, refusing to lower her gaze from the evil were in front of her. Fresh blood trickled between her breasts, tickling her skin. Hell, as the water dried, it left her entire body itching.

  She balled her fists above the tight shackles, tensing her muscles. She wanted to kick the bitch away, kick her so hard she impaled herself on one of the torture devices lining the walls. However, if Eva didn’t go down on the first try, she would be in deep shit.

  I’m already in deep shit.

  The door opened and the ugly man reentered the room. Eva glanced back at him and motioned for his approach. Kasa’s lips twitched in a snarl, nostrils flared at the pungent odor surrounding the man.

  “Her feet,” Eva ordered, lowering her whip from beneath Kasa’s chin. The man grabbed her by the calves and lifted her shackled feet level with Eva’s stomach. The bitch tucked the whip into a belt loop on her dress and rolled the knife in her hand. “So many nerve endings in your fingers and toes.”

  “Jordan, I can handle this. I can. Don’t panic. Please don’t panic,” Kasa begged, her eyes trained on the glinting tip of the knife. Silver, no doubt in its purest form. “I know Micah and Slade are close by. They’ll find us before anything happens. I swear it. They’ll be here soon.”

  “You should’ve never come here. God, woman, I can’t bear to watch her torture you.”

  “Then don’t. Close your eyes. I’m stronger than she is. I can take this.”

  Another lie. She wasn’t sure she could last through any significant torture, but she wouldn’t subject her brother to enduring the sound of her agony. He suffered enough because of her, of what she was. All of this murder and mayhem over the color of a wolf’s coat.

  How sickening. How sad.

  Eva pressed the sharp tip of the knife to the bottom side of her big toe. “To cut each one off would sever the effect of watching you suffer. I’ve had plenty of time to develop ways of bringing out the highest degree of pain in even the strongest of weres.”

  The blade bit into Kasa’s flesh. Fire swept up her leg, her stomach, her chest, twisting each muscle, organ, nerve. Kasa held her breath, trying to calm her rapid heartbeat and keep the stinging tears from her eyes. Eva slowly pulled the blade through the tender flesh of her big toe, opening the underside but not severing the appendage.

  “Damage the nerves and it takes a were much longer to heal. Especially when the wounds inflicted are made by silver. Cut off the toe completely, and they heal with little repercussion. Sometimes, they even regenerate. No fun in that.”

  Kasa endured another deliberate cut along the underside of her second toe. Her body jerked. The chains rattled. Sparks of color touched the perimeter of her vision. The pain equaled that of acid running through her veins, eating away at her body from the inside out. The ugly man tightened his grip on her legs, holding her bound feet out for Eva. His eyes lingered on Kasa’s breasts and the small thatch of curls at the apex of her thighs. His tongue swept over his lips again and again.

  Behind Eva, Jordan watched the spectacle. Sorrow, regret, shame flared in his eyes. Kasa saw him struggle against the tight restraints. His teeth gritted, his forehead creased. His chest puffed out, but when it flattened against the wall, he moaned. A few seconds later, Kasa saw blood dripping onto the ground between his legs.

  The third toe became victim to the razor-sharp blade, igniting a new wave of nauseating agony that rushed up to her chest. She swallowed the bile, swallowed the pain, forcing herself not to dwell on what was happening, but rather what would happen once her mates arrived.

  They couldn’t be far away. They just couldn’t.

  “When the toes are open, I like to toy with the sole of the foot. So many pressure points in a foot. So much pain to be had,” Eva said, cutting open her fourth toe. Kasa’s fists stiffened. The iron shackles rubbed her wrists raw from her movements. Small trickles of blood began to roll down her forearms. “You can thank your cousins and their mates for the torture you’ll endure before I kill you tonight. Had they left my sisters alone, my hunger for revenge wouldn’t have escalated to such a degree.”

  “Your sisters tried to kill my cousins, you sick, demented dog,” Kasa growled. Her voice strained against the burn overwhelming her body and her spirit. Her wolf mewled, pacing relentlessly along her mind. “You would’ve never stopped until we were all dead anyhow.”

  “True.” Eva paused in thought. The tip of the knife rested against her pinkie toe. A small pool of blood had formed from her open wounds at Eva’s feet.

  A loud commotion erupted outside the door. The glaze over Eva’s eyes vanished. “Go find out what the problem is. I told everyone to leave me alone this evening.”

  The obedient, ugly man dropped Kasa’s legs. The dead weight pulled at her shoulders, stretching her ligaments and opening her wrists against the cuffs. She sucked in breath after breath, trying to sooth her aching mind and body. Eva stepped back, lifting the bloodied tip of the knife to her mouth. Her tongue flicked out, licking Kasa’s blood from the blade. A slight shudder rippled through the woman’s body.

  “I’ll have buckets brought in to collect this precious essence as I drain you. I’ll take pleasure in bathing in it tomorrow.”

  “You sick fucking lunatic,” Kasa muttered.

  The door slammed against the wall. Three men barged into the room, dwarfing the already cramped space. Eva tipped the knife back and forth like a pendulum held upside down.

  “They’re storming the cave. Both entrances have been breached,” one man said. Kasa’s gaze shot over to Jordan.

  “I told you they’d come.”

  “Don’t celebrate until you’re out of here.”

  Kasa’s heart swelled with hope. Her men had arrived, and they would save her and Jordan.

  The hypnotic sway of the knife came to a sudden halt. Kasa noticed the muscles in Eva’s back tense.

  “What do you mean, they’ve breached both entrances?”

  “They’re pouring in from the east and west. Your men are engaged, but they’re not far from this cell. You must leave.”

  Eva snarled, a sound that resonated in Kasa’s marrow. She threw the knife in a fit of anger, the blade embedding deep into the rocky wall, then stormed out of the room. Kasa didn’t miss her yell, “I’ll take care of them myself! You stay here and watch them!”

  One man scurried back into the room and closed the door. He looked out through the iron bars slatted in the crude viewing hole. His claws grew, digging into the wood. Kasa curled and flexed her wounded foot, trying to stop the throbbing. Jordan stared at her, his lips taut, his cheeks pale. His eyes dimmed, shimmering with tears. Her heart tore open, sympathy pouring out.

  “I’m okay. Nothing a few days won’t heal. Then you’ll be chasing me through the woods, bailing my furry tail out of trouble again,” she assured with a smile. Jordan frowned, his eyes rolling toward the man at the door.

  “Little sister, I won’t be the one bailing you out
of anything. You’ve two utterly capable men who’ll be doing that from now on.” Jordan sighed, both audibly and telepathically. His gaze rolled back to her. “I’ve failed you. If not for them coming to us when they did, you’d be doomed.”

  “Quit your nonsense chatter. You’re suffering from blood loss.” God, could he be any more somber? The promise of freedom lay close at hand and her brother reflected on the “what could have happened” scenarios. “I’ll cook you up a nice, rare steak when we get out of here—”

  Clatter rose from outside the door. Whoosh. The man at the door groaned, stumbled backward, then crumbled to the ground. Kasa’s eyes widened when she saw the short silver spear protruding from his forehead. Blood seeped out around the weapon through the creases in his skin.

  The door opened enough to allow a small figure entrance. Kasa took a deep breath, inhaling this one’s scent. An oversized cloak covered head to toe, but there was no denying the unmistakable fragrance of another woman. She seemed to float over to the lever at Kasa’s back. The pulley system cranked, lowering Kasa to the ground. She spun on her good foot to get a better look at the stranger. Slowly, the chains slackened and her arms lowered in front of her.

  “Who are you? What are you doing?” Kasa demanded. The woman locked the lever. She made quick work of Kasa’s shackles, first her ankles, then her wrists. Without a word, she rushed over to Jordan, releasing him from his bindings in the same order. Kasa hurried to her brother’s aid, ignoring the searing pain that shot up her leg with each step. He tumbled away from the wall, exposing a horrific board dotted with half-inch long iron needles. Kasa swept her gaze over his back only to find the same pattern of bloodied punctures in his flesh.

  “I’m going to kill that wretched bitch!” Anger pummeled through her, showing no mercy to emotions in its path. The woman unlocked the collar, letting it fall to the ground. She turned him over on her lap even as Kasa fought to keep him close to her. “Let him go!”