Page 59 of Kraken the Seal

I didn't know I could become angrier. I was so infuriated, but when I reached out to toss Norris away from my mate, he pressed a gun to her head.

“If you do anything I don't like, she dies,” he shouted.

I pulled all my limbs in close to my body, hugging them tightly together.

“Good,” Norris said, looking smug. “Return to your human form, and I’ll release her.”

Nina tried to shake her head, but Norris tightened his grip on her hair. I tried to shift back, but I couldn't make my beast retreat. It wasn't only rage still coursing through us, it was also fear.

He saw my human side as the reason our mate was in danger, and he wasn't going to trust me again until Nina was back in our tentacles.

“You don't trust me?” Norris asked. He didn't realize that my beast and I were fighting for control, and that's why I hadn't shifted yet. “I understand.”

He lowered the gun and tugged at the gag until it fell away. “Tell him that I haven’t hurt you.”

Nina glared at Norris and said something I couldn't hear. I watched the rage cross his face before he smoothed out his features.

He said something back that made Nina's expression go from anger to fear. She nodded her head and turned to face me.

I watched her take a deep breath, several of my limbs wiggling with the desperate need to touch her.

“No mercy!” she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Norris acted without hesitation, letting go of her hair to slap her hard across the face. The blow sent her to her knees. I completely lost control of my beast. We raged across the parking lot, crushing cars under our massive weight.

Norris pulled Nina up. He had her in a chokehold, and even though she struggled, she couldn’t get free. When Norris dug the barrel of the gun into her temple, she went still.

“Stop or I'll kill her,” Norris shouted, dragging her back so his men could form a line between us. All the men were holding guns on me, ranging from small handguns like the men on the boat had, to large rifles. At my current size, none of them could hurt me. Most wouldn't even penetrate my thick hide.

The only thing that made me hesitate was the weapon Norris held against my mate's head. I went still, several of my tentacles wrapped around a small car, ready to pick it up and toss it.

“That's better,” Norris said. “As I said, this all ends when you shift to your human form. You can have this female back and leave. Doesn't that sound good?”

“Dad, you have to stop.”

All of us looked over to see Archer standing on the hood of one of the cars the men had driven.

“Archer, join the firing line,” Norris ordered, never taking his eyes off me.

“No,” Archer said, jumping down and striding to his father. Norris wasn’t prepared for him to grab Nina and pull her away. My mate stumbled, but Archer didn't let her fall. He tucked her behind his bigger body and faced off with his father.

“I'm not standing by any longer," Archer said, backing up and shielding Nina. I was going to move on them, but several of the men turned to face Archer. The weapons they carried would rip through him and my mate.

One side of the road was a retaining wall that led up to a row of houses. The other side was a sheer two-story drop into the ocean.

“What do you mean, standing by?” Norris asked, looking genuinely confused. “You've been at the heart of everything, helping me lead our colony. When I'm gone, you'll take my place. I've been training you for that your entire life.”

“Training me to do what, Dad?” Archer asked. “Let people be abused by their families?”

“Is this about Abby?” Norris asked with a derisive huff. “I know her father knocks her around a little, but she's stubborn. Sometimes you have to be strict with women like that, or they get out of hand. He doesn't do permanent damage.”

“You knew?” Archer said, sounding broken. “You knew Frank was abusing her, and you did nothing?”

“I encouraged it,” Norris said. “Right after her mother died, she went a little crazy. She was demanding all these things that weren't for the good of the colony. I told Frank he needed to get her under control.”

Archer shook his head, his expression was devastated. “She's my mate, Dad. My mate!”

“We can talk about that later,” Norris said, advancing on them. “Give me back Nina and take your place with the other men.”