Chapter 14 : Leverage

*Gemma* It was a lesson all shifters knew whether their country was at peace or not: never cross a possessive male. Even more important: never cross a possessive Alpha. I saw terror clear the bleariness in Darian's eyes as quick as a blink. "Gemma—" I yelped when Connor grabbed a fistful of my hair and dragged me away from Darian and throwing me to the ground. This time, my elbows slammed into the marble. Pain jarred through my nerves. "Gemma!" Raisa cried out. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her crawl toward me. Her hand was an inch away from me when Connor kicked her in the chest, and she collapsed backward. I screamed, my throat rasped raw, overwhelmed by fresh horror. "No—" Connor crouched down, blocking my view of Raisa, his face inches from mine. He reeked of blood, sweat, meat on his hot breath when he growled, "I saw that smile, little wolf. Have you met him before? Do you know who he is?" I shook my head. "No." "'No' what?" "Don't tell him anything," Darian panted behind me. The Beast's gaze flicked up. "Why are you defending her, I wonder," he said flatly. It wasn't a question because we all knew that he was. "A wayward Eastern bitch isn't worth your time when I am about to tear you apart. Oh." Connor grinned savagely again, breathing a laugh. His stench made me want to vomit. "I pride myself on my ideas, Gemma and Darian. I have a lot of them. And I just had one. Cillian! You mentioned something the day you brought her here." "Yes," the Beta said with equal vile enjoyment as his Alpha. "The two guards I picked them up from. They said she froze in the middle of the square and said two words. 'That male.'" "So you do know each other." Connor grabbed my hair again, spinning me around to face Darian, who had sunk to his knees. "Oh, my," he tsked, releasing me with a shove to my head. "Look at this. What a pathetic scene. Do you actually care for her or are you just a heroic noble? Either way, here is my idea: I won't tear you apart. But I can easily do it to her." There was a three-part chorus of "No!" "Do you hear that, Cillian?" laughed Connor, the Beta echoing it. "Not only does she herself want to remain in one piece, but two strangers want that for her too!" He kneed my back. "Why are you so valuable to them? Raisa! Tell me why I shouldn't pry her teeth out one by one." "No one deserves that," Raisa said, voice hard but steady. "You also traded her for a great price. Why would you let that go to waste?" "The deal is sealed. She is mine, so I can do whatever I want with her, and her family would not care. They would never know, would they?" I flinched when he started to stroke my hair. Darian stiffened imperceptibly. Connor knelt to whisper into my ear, "You have been wondering that, haven't you? You're wondering why you—rather, who you are impersonating. I'd be happy to tell you, but only if our guest here cooperates. "I'll start off easy," he said louder, jerking to his feet. "Darian. Tell me why you don't want me to pull out her fingernails one by one. What is she worth to you?" Darian's jaw worked as he deliberated what to say. I didn't want him to incriminate himself. I really didn't know who he was—I shamed myself for wanting to know—but I didn't want him hurt. Moon Goddess smite me for my selfishness, I didn't want to get hurt either. And I did want to know what deal he made with Haveloek in exchange for Lynn. I just crouched where I was, shivering with terror, searching Darian's face and wondering why the hell his heart was wrapped in my ribbon. "Go on," Connor goaded. "Don't be shy. You were awfully chatty earlier. Let's not forget that smile. It was, and correct me if I assume, the kind of smile that only lovers share." I forgot how to breathe. Darian's chest stopped heaving. Lovers? Connor moved faster than Darian could react. He grabbed his face in his hand again, giving him a harsh shake. I held back my unbidden whimper. "She is mine," he snarled. Darian flinched. "She's f*cking mine, so keep your damn eyes off her, or I will claw them out." To my horrified incredulity, Darian smiled manically and rasped, "Your obsession with body parts seems very unhealthy, Connor." Instead of exploding, Connor only snorted. "We all have our addictions. Do you have one?" "You also seem like you are distracted easily. Let's leave the girls alone and talk somewhere more intimate, like you like." I had no idea how he was suddenly so calm. "I like that suggestion," Raisa said, abruptly at my side, slipping her arm around my back and under my arms, carefully hoisting me to my feet. "Raisa, no," I breathed, but I stopped myself when I felt something cold and sharp scrape against my lower back. Its edge threatened to slice my skin as Raisa tucked her knife into the waistband of my underwear. No one, not even Cillian or Sharen, seemed to notice. Connor didn't look away from Darian. "I do not consider you stupid, Raisa. Didn't you hear what I just said? That Easterner is my leverage to finding out if this ugly bastard is the lost king I have been hunting for the last decade." "You should take a break, my lord," Raisa reasoned, voice shifting into a velvety croon. "You must be exhausted, and clearly this traitor can't think straight. Don't you want you both to be at your full strength? Weak minds make for weak interrogations. You told me that yourself." Connor didn't respond, but he seemed to actually be chewing on Raisa's suggestion. She continued, "You also told me the best way to break a male is to f*ck the female he cares for." I tried to whirl on Raisa in disbelief, but she held fast, keeping me facing forward. "Are you crazy?" I hissed. "Certainly not crazy," Connor purred, releasing Darian with a shove. "Raisa, dear, see, I told you that you weren't stupid. What great ideas you have." His burning gold eyes flicked to me. The black pupils widened in piqued interest. "That can serve multiple purposes. Yes, we can all rest, even bathe this filth off. Yes, it would demoralize any male's will if another took his female. It is a perfect opportunity to consummate her entrance into my harem." Connor tilted his head, crooking a knuckle under my chin to examine my face. "You're pretty, I suppose. Just don't look at me while we do it. Blue eyes unnerve me." Like a wave taking a shell back into the sea, my fear gave way to anger. It simmered in my blood and was quickly coming to a boil. "Cillian!" Connor ordered loudly. "Douse the mutt and give him something for those ugly wounds and throw him in one of the cells. It's no rush. I plan to take my time with her." I contemplated snapping at his fingers stroking my cheek. But no, I had to bide my time. I knew why Raisa had given me her knife and offered me up to Connor. "We take care of each other here," she had told me. She didn't want revenge for her father, but killing Connor would still be satisfying. Be a wolf. Be an actor. I focused on my fear and made it a mask just like Raisa would and breathed, "Please don't." "'Don't' what?" scoffed Connor. "Get what I want? No one can stop me, she-wolf. No one has even tried." I kept my back straight to hold the knife where it was. "Come on," he barked abruptly, grabbing my upper arm and ripping me away from Raisa's support. He stalked toward the doors that his Epsilon pushed open. "I'd better not see a single new mark on him by the time I get back!" I stumbled to keep up with Connor's stride, tripping over my own feet. I tried to look over my shoulder as Darian started to snarl curses at the Alpha. "Leave her alone!" he roared. "She's innocent! I'll talk, just—" I flinched at the sound of the wet, thick punch someone landed on Darian, silencing him as he was knocked unconscious. The ribbon around my heart cinched painfully. "Just ignore him, Lady Brooks. By mid-afternoon, he should be dead." The last thing I saw as the double doors closed behind me was Raisa's terrified face and her lips mouthing the words, 'Do it.' Do it. Kill him. The Beast half-dragged me all the way to the overlook without a word. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of a single noise from me, even when he shoved me onto my back on the chaise. It was the dead hours before dawn. The sky was a deep blue with a gradient of rich orange, soft and picturesque, the sea still and undisturbed–an entirely different atmosphere than the one on the other side of the glass. I gritted my teeth to stop from yelping when the knife dug into my flesh, but that was quickly forgotten about when Connor loomed over me, the chaise wide enough to accommodate his knees on either side of my waist and his hands braced by my head. He trapped me in the cage of his body, and I felt suffocated in it. "Remember," Connor murmured, eyes raking me up and down as if I was already naked, "this is what you are here for. It's why you came. To protect your… cousin, was it?" I swallowed hard. How did he know? "Very selfless of you." Connor started to lower himself, his face coming closer until I went cross-eyed. "Close your eyes, she-wolf. Whatever I do to you, it will be a pleasant surprise." I doubted that. I was stricken still, mind flying faster than a train, torn between the fear of what he would do to me now that we were alone and angry determination to take control of the situation and end this once and for all. I closed my eyes, but once his lips brushed my chest, I opened them and stared at the dark ceiling. I curled my fingers and toes, but it was far from arousal. Could I do it? Could I try to kill Connor Herrick, the war ruler who decimated most of the West? I doubted a tiny knife could bring him down longer than a few seconds. If I even managed to leave a mark on him at all, all it would be was another scar lost amongst all the others. I choked a gasp when his hand grabbed the collar of my short nightgown and ripped it clean off. My bra clasped in the front; he unhooked it deftly and tossed it aside. He lowered himself further, pressing his pelvis to mine, his face now buried between my breasts as he skimmed lips, teeth, and tongue down my sternum. I was panting with breath, but it felt like I wasn't breathing at all, like my lungs couldn't drag in enough air. I was half-naked. I was half-naked and crushed beneath the most dangerous shifter in the world. Little Opal Springs me had agreed to this like a stupid, reckless pup, thinking it would be an adventure. Visiting beautiful places, living luxuriously, all with a handsome, doting male. Oh, how wrong I was to dream of that. Now I was being held against my will. Connor's mouth was trailing down my stomach. I could feel blood smearing across my skin as he did so, all the way to the waistband of my underwear. His fingers slipped underneath it, tugging, laughing to himself under his breath when I inhaled sharply and pressed my hips down, trying to pin myself to the chaise so he couldn't lift me up to slide the fabric off. If he did, not only would I be completely bare, but the knife would come loose. "Wait," I gasped, my palms bracing his chest, trying to put him at arm's length. "What?" Connor snarled. But he did stop to wait. Then I panicked because I couldn't tell him the real reason. "I—um—" "I said I would take my time, but I'm just too damn impatient." Connor yanked with all his considerable strength. My silk underwear stood no chance. "There we are. The only thing males value more than bloodshed." I wanted to spit in his face and jerk my knee between his legs. Disgust coiled in my core, ready to spring, and my hands fell to my sides. Connor's smile curved with satisfaction at my submissiveness. He slid off me to sit on his knees in front of the chaste, suddenly grabbing my hips and turning my whole body so that he could press his cheek to the inside of my thigh to get a closer view of my "value." The knife slipped out from under me and onto the floor with a dissonant clatter. Oh, no. Connor locked his gaze on mine. A moment ago they'd been hazy with lust. Now they were crystal-sharp with controlled fury. Do it.