revulsion showed on his face but he
didn't try to stop it. There was no reason to be polite. These
creatures were as ugly inside as they looked on the outside.
Cruel, perverse creatures that should never exist outside of
a horror movie, they were a crime against nature. It didn't
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Amber Kell
reassure him when he saw the bullwhip in the monster's
hand.
Since they tried to kill Anthony to get to Silver and
were plotting to kill the other alpha wolves, he doubted
they were going to tell him it had all been a mistake and set
him free.
"Where's Dare?" He focused on the mutant's face
instead of the whip in his clawed hand.
"Dare?"
"The other man I was with?" It was too late now to
cover up. He was frantic to find out what happened to his
mate. What if they killed him? What if his beautiful mate
was gone and he didn't ever get the chance to make up to
him for all those nights he'd left with another wolf?
"You mean the non-wolf? He's down the hall
keeping company with my friends. What is he?"
Steven was shocked, though he tried not to show it.
It was obvious to most shifters when they encountered one
of the big cats. Maybe the mutation had more
disadvantages than advantages. But then, he wondered, if
he'd never met a weretiger, would he know the smell?
The bullwhip slashed across his back. His attention
snapped back to his captor.
"Have your attention now?" the creature growled.
"It doesn't matter what he is, we're going to kill him
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Amber Kell
anyway."
It took all of Steven's willpower to stop the scream
building in his throat. The whipping hurt, but the threat to
his mate was more painful than a thousand whippings.
Unable to prevent it, a snarl broke free.
"Oooh. Don't like that do you. I didn't know the two
of you were so close." Contempt dripped from the mutant
as he stared at Steven with dislike. "A pair of fags. It will
be my pleasure to kill you both for your unnatural ways.
Which weak alpha do you show your belly to? Soon, we
will be the only alphas and you will all be converted or
dead."
Looking at the disgusting mutation, he was almost
certain he'd take option two. It was preferable to be dead
than to turn into the creature before him; merciless, cruel,
and a freak of nature.
Steven kept silent, watching the mutant beast and
waiting for a chance to attack. Shaking the chains only
drew laughter from the thing before him. "Who are you?
What do you want?"
His captor laughed; a low, unpleasant sound.
"That's easy enough. I'm the last thing you'll ever see and I
want your death." The mutant looked at him thoughtfully.
"I'm not going to waste time converting a fag. I don't want
you in my pack. It's best to kill you now before you become
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Amber Kell
strong enough to be a real problem."
Steven snarled. If he got out of here he was going to
make it a priority to kill this asshole.
The deep chuckles of his tormentor stabbed at him
sharper than spikes. "What? You thought I was going to
spill all my plans like some sort of super villain in an old
spy movie. No, there's nothing I want from you, little wolf.
You're not anyone of power. Your job is to die for my
cause. Now, tell me who your alpha is so I know where to
send the body and I'll kill you quicker."
Steven saw his death in the creature's eyes. There
was no way he was getting out of here alive. The only thing
he regretted was never telling Dare how much he loved
him. As sappy as he found the pack alpha, at least Anthony
knew he was adored. Guilt rode him. A better werekin
would never have let his mate be captured.
Another bite of the whip jolted his body.
"You… are… the… most… inattentive… wolf…
I… have… ever… met." The bite of the whip followed
each word until Steven hung there, limp and gasping for
breath. He could feel blood soaking through his shirt. As a
shifter, the marks would heal before he bled to death, but
he might hope
Learning to Kill: Stories