Desire Untamed (Feral Warriors #1)(25)

Lyon's hands shot around to clamp her wrists and still her fury. His gaze bore into hers, harsh, yet pained. "He's your destiny, Kara. The Pairing never fails."

"You expect me to marry him?"

"You will. He's your mate. The only one who can keep you from dying during your Ascension, the only one with whom you might ever have a child. He'll be the love of your life."

"You're crazy." Her vision blurred as the tears began to slip down her cheeks. "I'm not doing this." They couldn't make her marry against her will. They couldn't.

And who would stop them? They weren't human. Dear God, she wasn't human.

Lyon released her and whirled, striding away.

Kara ran after him. "Lyon!"

He turned, his face hard. "You don't have a choice." His voice was harsh. Angry. "You must ascend. And Vhyper is the only one who can help you do it."

Kara stared at him, feeling the ground beneath her feet drop away. In the past twenty-four hours, she'd lost her mother, her home, her world, even her very sense of who she was. Yet through it all, she'd had Lyon beside her, holding the terrifying sense of loss and chaos at bay. She'd trusted him.

And he'd betrayed her.

It was too much. She sank to her knees on the hard stone floor, wrapping her arms around herself as if she could keep from shattering into a million pieces. Her dress pooled around her like a lake of glistening tears.

"Kara…" In Lyon's voice she heard all the pain in her heart. "I'm sorry."

But when she looked up, he was already walking away.

Kara wasn't sure how long she'd sat there in the smoky room, in the ruins of the Pairing, the voices talking over her. Sounds of disbelief. Regret. Anger.

One hard voice cut through the others. "If Lyon touches her again, I'll kill him."

"You know Lyon better than that, Vhype. He'd never betray you."

"No. He won't." But the words sounded more like a threat than any affirmation of trust.

"I don't blame you for going crazy, my man. We're all hanging on to control by a thread. Lyon's no different."

"I said I'll f**king kill him!"

Kara shivered, feeling battered. Broken. She refused to listen to this anymore. She rose from the floor, wiped the tears from her cheeks, and started for the doorway.

Vhyper stepped into her path, blocking her escape. "You're going with me, Radiant. Nowhere else."

Kara stiffened, chilled as she stared into those cold eyes. "I need time. You have to give me time." A sob rose up to choke her. "This is all too much."

"Leave her alone tonight, Vhype." Tighe moved toward them, his eyes no longer yellow tiger's eyes, but green human eyes. "She wasn't prepared for this."

Vhyper cocked his head at Tighe, a smile forming on his mouth that quickly turned into a sneer. "I saw that tongue action, Stripes. You looking to make a little time with her yourself?"

Tighe snarled, his eyes flashing back to tiger, his fangs elongating.

But Vhyper ignored him and grabbed her, jerking her roughly against him. "She's mine."

It was too much! Whatever control she'd had dissolved in a cold wash of panic, her mind screaming as she struggled against the far stronger warrior, desperate to be free of this nightmare. She strained against his hold, kicked his leg with her bare foot, but Vhyper easily turned her against his side, pinning her.

"Let me go!"

"Vhyper." Another Feral's voice. Wulfe's? "If your aim is to win her affections… which it should be … this is not the way to do it. She's going to hate you for this."

"Fuck off." Vhyper turned, dragging her toward the door.

"No!" Kara screamed.

Paenther stepped forward, blocking their exit. "Wait, Vhype." Amazingly, her captor stopped. "Kara." But she was too desperate to quit struggling. "Kara!"

She felt her jaw gripped in a firm hand and found herself staring into Paenther's black eyes. Eyes that were not unkind despite their hardness.

"I've known Vhyper most of my life. He's a good man." She made a sound of disbelief and tried to jerk away from his hold, but he held her fast. "He's jealous at the moment, and suffering from the lack of radiance, as we all are, but he'll make you a fine mate once you're ascended. Once you get to know one another."

Kara scowled. "I don't want a mate! I don't want to be your Radiant, I don't want to be immortal, I don't want any of this!"

Paenther released her and stepped back as she flailed against the arms that bound her. Finally, she managed to catch Vhyper in the shin with a good, hard swing of her heel.

"You little bitch." Vhyper's hand closed around her throat, his thumb jamming hard beneath her ear.

Darkness fell.

* * *

Chapter Eight

"Your blood. Radiant. I will have your blood."

She was dreaming. Kara knew she was dreaming, but the knowledge did nothing to ease the terror. Smoke stung her nostrils as firelight danced on dark walls. Like before. Like the Pairing. But this time, instead of standing on a pedestal in a beautiful gown, she hung from the ceiling. Naked. High above her head, ropes bit into her wrists, pulling her arms taut, nearly wrenching them from their sockets as her body swayed in the air. Warm liquid ran down her hips and legs, dripping from her toes.