Poppy!
Was he still safe? Or had they caught him, too? It killed me that I didn’t know.
Pain forgotten, I wrenched my head back and forth, searching for his beautiful face. But he wasn’t there. Only Konrad, Sheba, and Knox. Alpha versus alphas.
Everything flooded back to me in an awful wave. My guts churned like tar.
This is bad. This is really fucking bad, Violet.
I spat out another mouthful of blood. “Where’s Poppy?”
“You’re in no position to make demands.” The strict voice came from the female alpha bear, Sheba, as she skulked into my view. She was sorely mistaken if she thought I was intimidated.
Anger surged up within me, stirring my dragon soul. “I don’t give a shit,” I rasped. “Where’s Poppy? And for your sake, he’d better be safe.”
Sheba smirked. “Or else what?”
“I will rip your fucking face off.”
Sheba paused. A momentary glimpse of fear darted across her face before she hardened her expression again.
“Poppy is safe,” Sheba said as her smirk returned. “And he is right where he belongs. With our clan alpha.”
As that knowledge sank in, so did the memory of Poppy curled up naked in the corner of a room. An ugly feeling stirred in my gut.
“Give him back to me,” I said in a low tone.
Sheba threw back her head, cackling. “You think you can ordermearound? Look at the state you’re in, dragon. Or should I call you demon?”
A second alpha bear—a smaller male with a resemblance to Konrad—loped beside Sheba. He shot me a withering look, then muttered to Sheba, “Are you certain those restraints are tight enough?”
His comment tipped me off. I didn’t react, but behind the post, I tested the rope again. It was robustly tight—for anyone except a dragon. Shifting my arms would be enough to shred it and break free. Shifting my whole body? An instant game over for these alpha bears.
But I needed more information.
Sheba curled her lip at the other bear, baring her fangs as she asked, “You’re doubting me, Knox?”
“No.” Knox peered at me again. “But I doubt this... creature has shown his full strength.”
It took all my willpower to stop my mouth from curling into a nasty grin. Out of all the alphas, Knox was apparently the smartest. He was right. They’d only witnessed a fraction of my true power. They’d only seen the whimpering, placid dragon who balked at the idea of violence. But a lot had changed since then. And I wasn’t willing to play nice anymore.
I glanced up to see Konrad watching the scene with a subtle smirk. Of course that fucker was amused. He had a front-row seat to his minions interrogating me.
“You should listen to Knox,” I taunted Sheba. “Unlike you and Konrad, he knows what he’s talking about.”
“Silence,” Sheba hissed.
I searched Konrad’s expression. Would he take my bait? But the great white bear didn’t move. That smug look was plastered to his face. Was his confidence based on our last encounter? If so, he was in for a bad time.
“Don’t make me say it again,” I warned, staring at the alpha bears. “Bring Poppy to me—alive and unharmed.”
Sheba shot a direct, furious look at Knox. The male bear stormed towards me, lifted a blunt paw, and struck me across the face. The force of it felt like a hammer blow. The inside of my skull rang, and fresh blood trickled down my lips. I spat it out.
“Are you done?” I growled.
Sheba chuckled, but Knox didn’t seem entertained. When he glanced at Konrad for reassurance, the clan leader gave him none. Instead, the massive bear’s beady eyes drilled into mine. He was enjoying this. He didn’t care about Poppy, or Sorrel, or Rorik, or any of the omegas. He was no alpha. He was a tyrant.
It snapped my remaining patience in half.
