“But that’s good,” Melchom said, “because it means I get to use my favorite new toy.”
I understood too late. I didn’t move out of the way fast enough as Melchom drew his arm back and lashed the leather whip against my hands and the bars with an ear-splittingcrack.I roared and leapt back. Tears sprung in my eyes at the sharp, white-hot pain.
Melchom looked at the whip, pleased. “How fun. Now, let that be a warning, alpha. Keep acting up and you two will become well acquainted.”
I glared at him with unabashed hatred. Melchom only smiled in return, but I knew the feeling was mutual.
“What the fuck do you even want with me?” I asked. “You’re a dog keeper. Is this the King’s idea of a joke?”
“Oh, no. Not a joke.” Melchom ran his hand over the whip’s handle lovingly, like he was caressing a lover. “More like… an experiment.”
My brows furrowed. What the hell did that mean?
The distant howling dog grew briefly louder, enough to make both of us pause. Melchom grinned like a mad man.
“You’ll see soon enough,” he said.
Melchom left and I swore loudly. The pain in my hands was awful—red stripes throbbed across my fingers. But I couldn’t focus on it right now. I paced the cell, my mind shooting off in a million directions. First and foremost, I needed to know if Sebastian was okay. If he was safe, then I was confident we could handle anything else the King threw at us.
But what could I do? Even with my full weight and strength, the bars had only rattled in place. I doubted I could break them, and the floor, walls and ceiling were impenetrable when all I had were my bare hands.
I brought my knuckles up to my mouth, then paused. Why did I have the sudden urge to lick the wounds? I’d only been caged for ten minutes and I was already losing my fucking mind.
With no options, I sat down and tried to sleep instead. At least that way I’d have the energy to deal with whatever happened next.
But it was hard to drift off to sleep when all I could think about was Sebastian.
* * *
Once again,time was a meaningless blur. I had no idea how long it had been since my imprisonment when footsteps signalled someone’s arrival. I stirred and lifted my head to see Melchom, much to my disappointment. My face soured, my lip curling to reveal my teeth.
“Down, alpha,” Melchom said, obviously thinking it was hilarious. “Don’t worry. You’re being released from your prison now.”
I shot up in excitement. Had Sebastian talked to the King and solved everything?
My elation was short-lived. Judging by the hideous grin on Melchom’s face, nothing of the sort had happened. He looked like a cruel child about to gleefully dissect a bug. I stepped back from the bars, but I knew it was useless. He had the key and his whip, while I had nothing but my brute strength to protect myself.
Melchom snapped his fingers. My heart sank further. He wasn’t alone. A gaggle of knights joined him, the clang of their armor echoing in the narrow dungeon. Brute strength was no longer option unless I wanted to die fighting.
The thought lit a blaze of fury inside me.
No, I can’t die here. I need to get back to Sebastian.
Melchom unlocked the door. “Take him. Mind the cuffs until he’s there.”
I frowned, taking another instinctive step back.What is he talking about? What does he mean by ‘there’?
“Where is Sebastian?” I demanded as the knights marched into the cell. I grunted but didn’t fight back as they manhandled me.
“Oh, don’t worry, you’ll see him soon,” Melchom said.
Anxiety swamped my stomach. Those words would have been reassuring if they’d come from anyone else, but from Melchom’s mouth, they sounded like a threat.
I began to growl. “If you did anything to him, I’ll—”
Melchom snapped the whip in the air. The thunderouscrackwas enough to make me shut my mouth, though I hated the instinctive way I responded. I felt like a fucking coward, but pain was pain—it burrowed into your skull and poisoned it forever.
“I did nothing to harm your slutty prince,” Melchom said, making my blood boil. “He’s alive. But please, I implore you to keep threatening me.”
