by Celia Kyle
Activities.
Grayson almost snorted.
A nice way to phrase what he’d done.
He drew her to a nearby chair, lowering himself onto the seat before easing his mate onto his lap. He needed to hold her for what came next.
“Grayson doesn’t want to keep you in the dark, so here.” Alex rose to his feet and passed over a handful of papers.
The Prime practically threw them at his mate and he fought to contain the building growl. Just because his leader didn’t like having Honor involved didn’t mean he could be a callous ass.
Honor furrowed her brow and accepted them, turning and straightening them until they could both look at their contents. The top sheet was a simple note encased in a plastic bag. Red marred the page’s surface, staining the paper.
Two words, large with block-shaped capital letters.
SHE’S MINE
His mate shivered and Grayson’s gut clenched as it had the first time he read those eight letters. Rage filled him, but so did a hint of fear.
SHE’S MINE
His lion felt the same way, possessive and domineering when it came to Honor. The difference was, he had every right to be.
With shaking hands, Honor tugged on the seal of the bag, breaking it and allowing the stained page to grasp for air. A deep inhale and he knew what she’d find.
Angus.
“The blood, it’s…” She breathed deep again.
“It’s not one of Ridgeville’s,” Alex said. “Look at the pictures.”
She pressed the bag closed and sat it on an end table before focusing on the pictures. The images were seared into his mind, burned there forever, and now his mate was exposed to them as well.
“Oh my god.” With trembling fingers, she traced the lines of the body.
Small, black and white, pink nose, fluffy tail and two floppy ears.
Eviscerated. Toyed with and then disemboweled.
“Is it…?”
That’d been his first question as well. The scent on the page hadn’t told him enough to tell if the deceased rabbit was natural or…
It was the “or” that was beyond comprehension.
Carly, abnormally quiet, shook her head. “No, it wasn’t one of ours. I’d know the scent…” The woman shuddered and then the rabbit shifter was cuddled in her lion mate’s lap. “It doesn’t make the act any easier to accept, but it’s a natural rabbit.”
Honor shuddered, fingers tracing the small form of the young rabbit, stroking the flat picture as if it were smooth fur. “Angus. Why?” She turned stricken eyes on her mate, orbs filling with tears. “Why?”
“There’s no telling, lovely.” He kept his voice low, unwilling to frighten her. If he allowed himself free rein, he’d roar and rage. The male who’d already tortured her was now trying to claim the woman who belonged to him. “He could be simply trying to give you,” he gulped, “a snack or he hoped it was one of your friends in the warren.”
“It could have been…” It could have been a rabbit from the Ridgeville Warren. It could have been Carly and Neal’s kit or one of Honor’s old high school friends or… anyone.
“We’ve warned Ian.” Alex broke into the trembling silence. “He’s speaking with his warren and we’re also passing news around town.”
Honor trembled in his arms and he stroked her back, doing his best to soothe her. “He killed it. But why?”
“Because you’re not available, and he’s frustrated.” The familiar voice echoed off the walls, filling the room with the booming bass. “The man’s got blue balls of rage right now.”
Everyone turned to focus on the newcomer and Grayson felt a little of his worry and tension ease. The men gathered in the pride house were strong, capable, and deadly as hell. But they were also mated. If push came to shove and it became a matter of saving their mate or Honor, he had no doubt which way they’d go. He didn’t blame them for their instincts, Grayson would do the same, but it helped to have a trusted unmated male around. It also helped that said male was a badass.
“Stone,” he called to his friend, drawing his attention.
Grayson raised his hand for the male’s handshake, gripping his friend’s outstretched palm. He tried to convey his appreciation with that simple touch and based on the tilt of the male’s head, he’d been successful.
“Grayson.” The gorilla shifter tugged one of Honor’s curls. “Little bit.”
His mate mock snarled. “I’ll show you little, overgrown ape.”
“Not that I don’t want you here, but what are you doing here, man?” Grayson raised his eyebrows in question.
“Queenie called for me.” Stone gestured toward the other side of the room.
A lone figure remained on the love seat, ice cream carton in one hand, spoon in the other. She licked the curved utensil, tongue tracing the edge. If he weren’t mated, mostly, he’d think impure thoughts about the woman. Maybe he’d get Honor to make love to a spoon later.
“Why’s everyone staring at me?” Maya shoved her spoon into the carton.
“Queenie?” Alex voiced the question.
The Prima tugged on her shirt and leaned forward. “I still think my tits are good enough to keep the Booblandia crown, right? Queen of Booblandia? Otherwise I have to fall back on Queen of Vaginaville and Ruler of All Things Pink Bits Related. The second one’s kind of a mouthful, huh?”
Stone’s arrival and the Prima’s joke shattered the lingering tension in the room. Now they all sat to rehash Angus’s activities, and the information Stone had from the different captured London pride members. Finally the gorilla focused on him.
No, focused on them.
The longer Stone stared, Grayson realized the male truly stared at Honor. Grayson’s lion urged him to tear the male apart for daring to look at their mate, but he held the beast back. He trusted Stone with his life, there was no way the male would dare poach.
“Now, I need to hear from you.”
“Stone, I gave you what you needed,” Grayson interjected. He tensed, ready to shove his mate to safety before he rose to challenge the male.
“You told me what you think I need. I need to hear Honor’s story. Not bits and pieces. Not portions that have been filtered through your mind, Grayson. I need it from her.” Stone was adamant and Grayson wondered how hard it’d be to slaughter a gorilla.
He tightened his hold on Honor, baring his teeth at the threat to his mate. Mental or physical, he couldn’t let anything happen to her. “You don’t need to hear it.”
Stone curled his lip, exposing a fang, and Grayson did the same. He wasn’t about to be intimidated by some fucking monkey.
“Grayson,” she whispered, stroking his forearm, and he realized golden fur coated his skin. “It’s okay. I can’t”—she looked around the room and then focused on him once again—“not with everyone here, but if he really needs to know, then I can tell him.”
“I don’t like it,” he grumbled and glared at Stone.
“Neither do I, but if it’ll help…”
If it would help, she’d do what she could. He loved, and hated, that about her.
Honor focused on Maddy across the room. “Maddy? You can pull us together? In my head?”
Grayson didn’t like that Honor reached for another, but at least it was a woman. The lioness crawled from Ricker’s lap and padded forward and grasped his mate’s hand.
“Just him, or big boy behind you, too?” Maddy tipped her head toward him.
“Can you do all three of us?” The tension in Honor increased by the second, with every beat of her heart.
Ricker growled, which had him growling, because he’d be damned if anyone was going to growl around his mate and then another, louder, longer growl that belonged to a scary as hell lion overrode them both. No, it was a particular lioness.
Fuck, it was a lot of growling.
“Quit your pissing contest and get ’er done,” the Prima snapped.
Suddenly Honor wrapped her claw-tipped fi
ngers around his wrist while she clutched Maddy with the other. Maddy’s free hand snatched Stone’s.
The moment the four connected, he felt weightless, as if he floated through space and time.
And then… Then he was thrown into hell.
*
Honor fought to remember that she loved Grayson, that she was almost certain he loved her in return, because this would stretch and attach the bond they had. He knew the beginning. She wondered how he’d feel about the end.
Maddy’s familiar presence swept into her, comforting and disconcerting at once. It blanketed her in welcome and warmth, her caring unmistakable in the ghostly touch. Soon after her, Grayson and Stone joined the lioness. Stone’s appearance scented of rainforests and a sweetness that didn’t seem to match the gruff gorilla as she knew him. Grayson’s dry grasslands scent mixed with his heady musk stroked her, his ethereal hand running down her arm. They were with her now, three individuals crowding her mind.
“Show them.” Maddy’s soft, lyrical voice echoed in her head. “Show them.”
Honor didn’t want to. She didn’t. She didn’t want to go there again, not ever. Never, never. Panic assaulted her, spearing her heart in a great heave. He wouldn’t want her. Not after he saw, after he witnessed…
A mantle of calm glided over her, Maddy soothing the terror before it overwhelmed her. “You know that’s not true.”
She did. She did know.
Breathing deep, begging her heart to calm, she led the trio deeper into her mind. She sought the writhing ball of hate and pain that lingered in the shadows. She’d gathered every torturous moment, tied them into a twisting, turning bundle, and kicked it as far from the present as she could.
Honor reached for it and slid her fingers beneath the golden glowing rope. She winced with the first bolt of pain, but brushed it aside. She had a goal to achieve. She allowed her fingers to shift to claws and yanked, severing it with a single jerk.
The past shook off its bindings, exploding in a shower of darkness that nearly suffocated her with the black, oily cloud. She wanted to hold her breath, wanted to keep it from sinking into her. It needed to stay apart from this; her home, the happiness she’d found in Grayson’s arms.
Maddy wouldn’t allow that to happen. “You need to purge it, Honor. Show them.”
Honor floated past the first pangs of her heat and the rush to her dorm room. It wasn’t what they sought. They wanted Angus. They wanted the hell she’d endured.
She gave it to them…
The banging on the dorm room door continued. She wasn’t sure how long. Long enough for someone to pick the locks or steal a key. Alex assured her the only one who had a key was the dean of the school. He was one to be trusted, someone to go to if she needed immediate help. He was a tiger and didn’t have ties to any pride or pack. No other shifters could lay claim to his loyalty.
His number was in her phone. Should she call him?
The drug still infected her blood, making even the smallest movement difficult. She forced her head to turn, demanded her eyes open. It’d been ten minutes.
Another snick of a lock, metal grinding on metal, reminded her what’d woken her. Right, the door.
“Hurry the fuck up.” The voice belonged to Angus. He wasn’t giving up. “Honor!”
The cat was slow to waking as well, but it purred, excited the male was so intent on getting to her. She mentally kicked the animal, sending it sliding over the ground. The cat skated over the floor and rolled to its feet, wobbling, but still standing. It hissed at her and the human side of Honor hissed back.
Why didn’t it understand? Why did it fight for the other male?
Another snick. Another lock undone.
She rolled her head again, staring at the one piece of metal that kept her from Angus. Two locks left, two locks ensuring her safety.
Another one flipped open.
One lock.
“Damn it, fuck this.”
The door bowed, a heavy thud accompanying the bend of the metal. Then another. One more and the door finally burst inward. Four locks could secure her against a shifter male, but one obviously wasn’t enough.
A half-shifted Angus stood over her drugged body, his eyes glowing amber, his face distorted by the cat, and his body stretching his clothing to its limits. He panted, his mouth open, and then a smile split his features.
He breathed deep, the light in his eyes shining brighter, and he released a low purr. “You have entered your heat, haven’t you? And on the night of the Gaian Moon. You’ll be hot for it, won’t you?” His grin was evil, excited, and a bit crazed. “Oh, baby, tonight is going to be fun. I’ve wanted my cock in you since you stepped into the territory.”
Honor tried to shake her head, tried to form a single word, but the cat denied her.
No. No. No. The litany repeated over and over again.
Her lion didn’t care.
Tears formed in her eyes, clouding her vision, blurring his image.
But she did see him crouch, she did feel him sift his fingers through her hair, and she winced with the pain of fisting the strands as he wrenched her head back. “Dad said I couldn’t force you, I’m not allowed to demand your submission like all the other pride bitches. But,” his grin widened, “I can take what’s offered.”
Angus pulled so hard, his grip forcing her to expose her throat. He brought her to his mouth and he licked a path along her neck, his stench transferring to her skin. “And you’re gonna lift your tail for me, aren’t you, little slut?” He laughed—bastard son of the Prime—he laughed and pushed to his feet. “Gimme that rope.”
There was movement to her left and then something dangled before her. Rough hands gripped her wrists, something scratchy tied them together, and then she was yanked to her feet.
Honor swayed, her knees buckling, and the only thing that kept her upright was Angus’s embrace. She would rather have fallen.
Her head flopped forward, thumping against his shoulder. “Aw, look at that, she can’t wait to get started.”
The lion liked the treatment, liked the way he dominated them.
Honor wanted to vomit.
Other scents surrounded her. Males of the London pride. Males she’d rejected at some point or another. She didn’t want anyone but Grayson.
But the cat purred, wondering if others would mount her. Would they be strong enough to tear her from the Prime’s son?
“Get her shit cleaned up. If someone comes looking for her, I don’t want them to see anything fucked up,” Angus growled at some of the males.
“What about the humans?” The voice was familiar. Timid.
Bianca. Bianca told Angus about her heat? She truly felt she would empty her stomach then, the idea of her friend betraying her making her sick.
“Tell them I’m her cousin. She’s having some sort of psychotic break.” He snickered. “We’re getting her meds adjusted or some shit. It doesn’t matter. She’ll be back tomorrow, well fucked and feeling better.”
Honor would slit her wrists the second he released her. The second he let his guard down, she’d steal his prize.
The cat roared in protest.
The lion could crawl into the back of her mind and die for all she cared.
Loathing, disgust, at Angus’s touch filled her. She’d burn her clothes, scrub her skin until it was bleeding and raw. Anything to get his stench off.
Her body tilted, world spinning, and she realized he cradled her in his arms as if she weighed nothing. His strong, sure steps echoed off the hallway’s walls and smooth tile. No other sounds surrounded them. No one came to her aid.
She counted ceiling tile after ceiling tile, keeping track while he carried her from the safety of her dorm and into a waiting van.
She didn’t know how long they drove. An hour? Hours? The drug messed with her head. She couldn’t move. And the van was so dark…
Finally the van jerked to a stop and rhythmic knocking echoed through the bare space. Da-di-di-da-di. Da-
di. Then the back door swung wide and light spilled onto her.
Angus gripped her tied wrists and dragged her from the vehicle, her feet hitting the firm ground with a heavy thump. They must have been driving a while since darkness was nearly upon them.
The grating of metal on metal reached her, the sound loud and echoing. The surface beneath her transformed from asphalt to smooth, polished concrete. A building, then.
The murmur of voices, male and female, rolled together to surround her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw members of the London pride standing around. Nude, talking, munching.
“Open the cage!” Angus’s voice rose above the rest and a hush followed the order.
Murmurs followed in their wake.
“… gonna fuck her.”
“Uppity bitch.”
“Tight cunt…”
How many would take her by morning?
“Not unless she asks for it,” Angus tossed over his shoulder. “Which shouldn’t take long.” He stopped and dropped her hands, releasing her to fall to the floor.
Her head collided with the concrete and she wondered if she’d split her skull open. She hoped she had. Would they rape and fuck a bleeding woman?
One of the males of the pride leaned down, his face filling her vision. Pockmarked, evil, greasy. This one wouldn’t care about her condition.
“How long, Angus?”
A hand shoved him away and she found herself staring up at Angus. “She went into heat this afternoon. She took some drugs, but they should wear off in an hour or two.” He grinned and she wondered how one person could be so evil.
The cat didn’t think he was evil. She purred, craving him. The male took control, demanded what he desired. He would fight for her.
Bile burned Honor’s throat.
“Save some energy for her. Once I’m done, I’m sure she’ll want more.” He reached for her, claw-tipped fingers tearing at her clothes, ripping, shredding, and peeling them from her body.
Funny how stripping in front of her pride was so natural while this forced disrobing made her want to cry.
It didn’t take long for her to go from fully clothed to nude.
Then she was shoved into a cage. Small, with thick metal bars to keep her prisoner. She couldn’t stand, couldn’t move. If she tried to shift, the animal would be forced back by the tight confines.