Page 43 of Come for Me
A sinister grin sprawls across my face. “Oh, darling, when it comes to my claim on you, you have no idea.”
I tell the guards to hold her, one of the few times I’ll ever allow someone else to touch her. When I walk over to the mutt, a smile spreads across my face as my wolf relishes how easily he was reduced to his current state.
While appearing calm and still an ever-prideful bastard of an alpha, the stench of fear is eminent; the putrid smell concentrates around the chained mutt. Blood is caked across his body. My smile morphs into a sneer at the pathetic form quaking in the presence of my aura.
My belligerent nature examines his beaten form. The damage is extensive yet not enough to atone for his defiance of my authority as king and right to Alaina as her Goddess-given mate.
The mutt’s scheme to take Alaina before I could claim her verges on treason and will be punished as such. It was selfish of him to risk having a weak king for his own self gain. Without her, my strength would diminish. But he doesn’t care.
I grab Caleb’s face, cracking his jaw as I whip his head to Alaina so she can stare at her consequences. “You did this to him, Alaina.”
Truth is, prior to this incident, I didn’twantto kill him, either. Jack was there for me before and after my father passed. But I’ve been known to follow through with my intentions, so much so that my word is law among the kingdom. I intend to make good on every declaration. Otherwise, I’ll lose the incentive for people to follow my orders.
“No.” Alaina shakes her head in disbelief.
“Yes,” I mock. “Or do you not recall the mercy I showed him earlier?”
My voice booms throughout the dungeon walls. I’ve never felt so crazed before. It wasn’t until she showed up that he tried to mark what’s mine again. He must’ve forgotten once he saw her. I almost can’t blame the boy for his transgression. My mateisirresistible.
I right-hook him across the jaw, eliciting another crack. As he recovers from the blow, I walk behind him, circling my prey. I jam my fingers into the open claw marks on his chest, and thewound my men have left oozes blood. Screams echo throughout the dungeon when I dig and twist.
Alaina tries to look away.
I pick him up by his throat and drag him so he’s face-to-face with her. “Take your punishment, darling. Watch your precious mutt as I kill him.”
She struggles against the guards with tears as I squeeze his throat.
“Stop, please! He didn’t know!”
Lies.
I was clear about what I would do if he was near her again. No one touches my mate. I continue crushing the mutt’s throat.
“I saw you with her. Your fiancée.”
That stops me, and I drag my gaze to her.
“After you ordered me out of the room, you snuck off to be with your little vampire mate.” The words spit from her mouth like venom. “I saw everything.” Her nostrils flare.
My mate was hurt, and she left.My mate wasn’t just hurt.She’s jealous.
“I told Caleb you didn’t want me anymore, that you had her.”
How could my mate ever think I didn’t want her?
My anger subsides. The thought amuses me, my wolf enjoying that she might care for me.
“Were you jealous, little mate?”
She growls at me, darting away from my gaze. The sight of her blushing has my wolf howling.
“I know I don’t have to ask if you are.”
My guards bite their lips to hide their amusement at my mate’s sass, and I note their transgressions. They will pay for that crack during their training. They’re supposed to be void of emotion, ready to kill without thought, and to not question my methods. My interrogations have specific guidelines. Ourefficacy is the fear we instill in others, and cracking smiles is not part of it.
“Let him go.”
“No,” I say.
