Blood dripped down her back.
This is their fault. They left me alone with him. How can they say they love me when they locked me in a cage, vulnerable and…
She had promised herself to never be helpless again.
She focused on her breathing, trying to strengthen the inhales from the shallow, sleepy breaths the blue powder caused.
She stared at her arm, which was bent at a weird angle near her face from how she had fallen.
Fire. Flames. I need you.She begged her body to act, todefend, but it remained docile and limp.
Pluck. Pluck.
She squinted at her arm.He thinks you are weak. He thinks he can do whatever he wants to you.
Even your mates think they are smarter than you, that they know better than you. Why? They think they need to protect you, even when you tell them not to. Why? They think it is better to hide you and your powers away than to end the people who would do you harm. Why?
“What pretty, pretty feathers.”Pluck. Pluck.
She tried to flex her fingers and bunch them into fists.Move, she commanded.
Part of her wanted her mates to return to her and find her bleeding and scarred because of their choices for her.
Part of her wanted them to return to her and find her covered in Lemmuns’s blood like a feminine rage vigilante.
She wanted them to fear her. Not pity her. Not protect her.
She wanted them overflowing with guilt and regret and to fall to their knees and beg forgiveness for putting her in the position of reliving her worst nightmare.
Pluck. Pluck.
It’s time to move, she told her body.You are not a pet, puppet, or an object for men like this to use.
She was a phoenix. Possibly the last of her kind. Representing immortality and rebirth, and having favor from the god of the sun. She was one of the most dangerous paranormal shifters, known for limitless destruction.
You have power, she reminded her body.Now. Move.
Her finger twitched. Just a little.Yes.
“Hmm, I should take just as much from the other wing. To make it look even.”
Pluck. Pluck.
Her lips vibrated as she tried to scream, but still no sound came out.
Move.Yes.More.
Her finger extended and curled.Yes.
More blood trickled down her back.
She managed to flex her jaw enough to bite at her lips.
Pluck. Pluck.
She would not relive her horrible past and lose her new chance at a future.
He will not break me. I will kill him first.
