Page 124 of Rot In Knotty Pieces

“Merle,” King whispers in awe.

We stare at him in challenge, expectation, in demand.

Bond us, Alpha.

King can’t resist the invitation any more than any of us could. He bites me.

And I have one more bond.

Rolly

It’s a wonder what sleep will do for the brain. And everything else. I’m standing in the massive backyard of this suburban house with a blindfold on, listening intently as Pix and Blaze try to get past me and steal the flag.

“Is that a pair of my underwear?”

Oh, well. Hmm.

I cock my head to the side and try and look confident. “It’s a flag now. I needed something they would fight themselves over to get.”

“Rolly!” Raven growls harshly. “I’m going to kick your ass.”

“I mean, you can try, but I’ve already put Pix and Blaze on theirs, and you look so fucking pretty on your knees, so there is added incentive.”

She scoffs.

“It’s true. He’s got a damn superpower. If you take away his sight, he becomes this freaking maniac,” Pix grumbles.

I grin proudly.

“Why? How?”

“Ah, well, the auspicious Doctor Severus Spine.” I pause for dramatic effect. “Did you like what I did just there? I did, in fact, sever his spine. Right above the shoulders. His head went one way…and his body went the other.”

There's silence and no laughter.

“His name was in fact Edwin Margol, and he didn’t like the way I looked at him. Since he wasn’t allowed to remove my eyes, he made sure I couldn’t see him when he tortured me. So, I made sure I didn’t need to see when I killed him.”

She exhales roughly. “You are lucky you are so damn hot. But I’m still going to beat you and get my underwear back.”

“Come at me, then, Beta.”

She growls and then goes silent. I listen intently for the brush of a limb, anything to give me an idea of where she is. I catch it just beside me, lash out, and send her flying. She crashes into Blaze, who is also trying to sneak past me.

I giggle.

“This is incredibly entertaining.” I hear Roseland murmur.

“I want a go at this,” Sage growls, and then he’s running, not trying for stealth but going for speed. I wait until exactly the right moment and lash out at him, slamming my fist into his stomach and winding him.

He crumbles, wheezing.

I stand up straight and bow slightly. “A good solid attempt, but you failed, sir.”

“I’m going to kill you,” Sage growls.

“Now, now. Be a good sport, you lost even Steven.”

“Don’t hit me, I’m going to take him back to the house and get his old man slippers out of retirement,” Roseland says in a voice that is far too happy.