Chapter 8
“Look at it this way, you’ve already been marked and burned, so really, how much worse could it get?” Sienna’s face scrunches like she just registered how absurd that sentiment sounds. “I just mean—”
I laugh and step into the gown she’s holding open. “I know what you mean, but I’m not holding my breath. Something tells me Thane has an endless list of ways he intends to punish me.”
“Please don’t hate me for saying this, but is this really the worst thing? I mean, a nice room, good food, clean clothes. Sounds a lot better than the life you had been living out in the woods.”
I turn around and lift up my hair so she can zip the strapless dress. “Are you saying that you’d be okay with giving up your freedom and dignity for a hot meal and warm bed?”
She lets out a long sigh and turns me back around. “No, I suppose not.”
“Good. You had me worried there for a sec,” I tease, slipping into the heels she has set out.
“So, what are you going to do?” she asks, bending down to fluff out the dress.
“I’m going to pee on him.”
When Kieran brings me to the room we were in the other night, Thane is nowhere to be found. A few pairs of eyes fixate on me as we make our way through the room full of vampire and werewolf leaders, but most don’t even acknowledge my presence this time, and I’m thankful for it.
Once again, Kieran ties the chain leash to Thane’s chair, and I take my position on the steps next to it. Sienna dressed me in a wine-colored, strapless gown that billows at the waist with thick fabric, giving me a little extra cushion against the hard floor.
“Was someone a bad girl?” The blonde woman from before creeps up beside me, her white eyes locked on the bandage still wrapped around my forearm.
I don’t respond, and it looks like she’s about to say something else, but the double doors at the far end of the room burst open, drawing both of our attention.
Thane’s Alpha demeanor is all-consuming as he strides down the aisle the leaders have subconsciously made for him.
It’s as if all of the air has evaporated from the room, and I’m left to hold my breath, waiting for it to come back.
After what he did to me the last time I saw him, I can’t help that there’s a weight of fear crushing my chest as he draws near.
If he’s willing to hold my arm over a fire and burn me just for not speaking, then what else is he capable of?
After the plans I have for this evening, I’m sure I’ll find out.
“There’s been quite a bit of tension brewing,” Thane begins, eyeing the crowd of leaders from his position in front of his chair. “So I thought it best we handle that order of business tonight.”
The vampires and werewolves seem to perk up at that idea, glancing around with their lips pulled back and fangs extended.
Low growls and threatening hisses ripple throughout the room as if they’re already taunting one another, and judging by the way they had interacted with each other the other night, this should get interesting.
“Each species will choose six leaders to fight. There will be no killing. I want clean fights. This is about getting out your pent-up aggression so that we can continue these meetings without any more brawls breaking out. Is that understood?”
“Yes, Alpha,” they all seem to say in unison.
“Good. You’ll have two minutes to choose your leaders, and then we will begin. There will be six rounds, and the matchups will be chosen at random. The fight will end when one can no longer carry on.” Thane takes his seat and nods. “Time starts now.”
The leaders separate and immediately begin selecting their fighters while both groups toss hostile glances at one another, sizing each other up.
“How about we make this interesting, Grey?” I hesitantly turn around to find Thane leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. “Let’s make a bet.”
“What kind of bet?” I ask, not sure I even want to know the answer.
“Pick a side: vampires or werewolves. If they win, you get a reward.”
“And if they lose?”
“Then I get a reward,” he says with a sinister look that makes me shudder.
“Not interested,” I dismiss, turning back around.
“It’s not optional,” he warns, pulling the chain leash so that I’m forced to face him again.
“Fine,” I huff. “I choose vampires.”
“Are you sure about that?” He arches a brow, but I won’t let him get in my head. Werewolves may appear more terrifying, and if it weren’t one-on-one, I’d probably choose them, but the vamp speed is too much of an advantage to ignore.
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“Alright,” he accepts, leaning back in his chair. “I look forward to collecting my reward later.”
I snort a laugh, dismissing his remark with amusement, knowing it’ll piss him off. “What happens if there’s a tie?
“Then each side will choose one fighter to represent their species in a sudden-death round.”
“Like actual death?” I question, swallowing hard at the thought.
Thane simply answers with a shrug before calling time on the selection process.
Six leaders from each side step forward, and a guard holds out a bag that they each pick a number out of, deciding the order in which they will fight.
I can’t help but notice that Kole is one of the six vampires chosen.
I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, given that he’s Thane’s half-brother and all.
It’s probably in their blood to assert dominance every chance they get.
The two fighters who pulled the number one from the bag step to the middle of the room while the others create a circle around them, leaving enough space for Thane to watch from his Alpha throne. The woman shifts into her wolf form while the man flexes his fangs at her with a hiss.
The guard who passed out the numbers takes a spot next to them and raises his right hand. “Round one, begin!”
He quickly steps out of the way, and the two fighters begin to circle one another.
Looking at the sheer size of the wolf almost makes me regret my decision choosing the vampires.
She bares her teeth with a snarl as saliva drips from her mouth, but the vampire doesn’t even flinch.
In fact, he starts to dart from side to side in a crouch, almost as if he’s toying with her.
It's hard to pull my eyes from the two of them, but I have bigger plans for tonight that need my attention.
“I’m thirsty,” I say to Thane, tugging on the chain leash. “A little water would be nice.”
He nods to someone behind me, and they come sprinting up the steps, waiting for his order. A couple of minutes later, I’m delivered a dog bowl of water. I pick it up with both hands and begin drinking from the side.
“Put it on the ground.” I hear Thane’s order and turn to glare at him. “Like a dog,” he adds with a nod to the bowl.
If it were any other day, I would just refrain from drinking the water altogether, but if I’m going to pee on him, I need to hydrate.
I lower my face to the water and begin lapping it up with my tongue.
Of course, human tongues weren’t meant to drink water this way, so it’s going to take a while for me to finish it all.
With each flick of my tongue the fire in me grows hotter.
I use the time to imagine the look on his face once he realizes what I’ve done.
I know there will be a punishment for it, but I don’t care.
I refuse to sit back and let him make a slave out of me.
I welcomed death when he attacked me in the woods, and I’ll welcome it again if that’s what it comes to.
I’m so caught up in my revenge plot that I hardly notice when the first fight is called.
It’s not until I register the pairs of eyes on me and the fingers pointing that I stop drinking and focus my attention back to the middle of the room.
The vampire is laid out in a pool of his own blood.
It’s hard for me to see from here, but I’m sure his wounds are already beginning to heal.
The woman has shifted back to her human skin, and I watch as her arm begins to twist in unnatural ways, repairing itself.
Both fighters look like they’ve been through hell, but there’s a cocky smile plastered on the wolf’s face as she’s declared the winner.
Fuck.
“Regretting your choice already?” Thane snickers.
“Don’t get too excited,” I warn. “There’s a lot of fighting left to go.”
Round two goes longer than the first, and for a moment, it almost seems like it might end in a draw, but the wolf manages to stand back up and is announced as the round two winner.
I’d be a lot more anxious about the score if I thought it really mattered.
I doubt I’ll be getting any reward after what I plan on doing later, and a reward for Thane is a punishment for me.
He can pretty much do whatever he wants to me anyway, so this whole bet we’ve got going on is just a game to him. I doubt it holds any real weight.
The next pair of fighters make their way to the center, and I decide to use this as my opening. I jump to my feet, playing the part of the nervous human easily. The chain rattles on the ground as I move from side to side, attempting to get a better vantage point.
“Sit,” Thane orders, just as I thought he would.
I turn to him and motion my hand to where the fight is about to start. “I can’t see from down there.”
“Then sit here.” He pats his thigh, and I cross my arms, turning my back on him.
“No thanks!” I call out over my shoulder.
A second later, he’s got me pinned to his lap.
I squirm a little to sell my discomfort, and he seems to buy it.
Eventually, I huff out a frustrated sigh and turn my attention back to the middle of the room, trying to hide the smirk pulling at my mouth.
Thane may be a monstrous hybrid, but he’s just as predictable as any other human man with narcissistic tendencies.
His ego is so inflated that he doesn’t even realize I just manipulated him into doing exactly what I wanted.
“Hmm, what should I claim as my reward,” he breathes into my ear.