Chapter 13
Simon’s mind was a dark place of violence and possession. He owned these creatures now. He could do whatever he wanted to with them beginning with the woman. As soon as he could, he was going to mount her and impregnate her because she was beautiful and she was his. But first he had to make sure every lesser creature here gave him due reverence.
And that meant someone else had to die. It was just a question of who.
He looked at them as they came to their feet. A couple brown bear-shifters, the rest grizzlies. Some impressive in size, others just big. He glared at them all, then bellowed his first order.
“Human. Now.”
He waited, watching to see who obeyed quickly, who struggled to change, and who he would kill first. He didn’t need another dominance show. He was standing next to Nanook’s carcass. But it never hurt to drive a point home.
None hesitated before the shift. One by one they turned from dark glorious fur to naked flesh of unimpressive bodies. None here matched his physique and none would dare look askance at him. If they tried, he would kill them, plain and simple. He also scanned the discarded clothes, noting that nearly every pile had a gun. If any man turned to dress, he would be the next to die.
Simon waited and watched, his mind and body unified in speed and intelligence. Splitting his mind into bear and human was stupid. It made it agonizingly difficult to switch between bodies and he constantly risked being trapped in one form or another.
Not now. Not when he was one being with one goal: dominate all he saw.
An old Hispanic man was the last to shift. Probably one of the weakest here. Perfect as the first cull. Simon could kill him as an example. Or maybe he should target the biggest one.
He walked over to a huge black man with broad shoulders and meaty fists. A scar cut across his jaw, stark and impressive given that he retained the mark even after shifting. That meant whatever had caused the wound had cut into the man’s psyche as well. He had a hard jaw and narrowed eyes, and though his head was tilted in submission, he held it at the bare minimum angle.
“Who is your alpha?” he asked the man, his tone flat.
“You are,” the man snapped in near military precision. But he’d been the only one to answer, and that was unacceptable.
He glared around the room and repeated the question.
“Who is your alpha?”
“You are!” every man rushed to answer.
“Whom do you obey?”
“You!”
Then he turned to the black man. “Why do you obey me?”
“Because you are.”
Good answer, but there was little humility in the man’s gaze. Lip service, then, because he smelled no terror coming off him. Nothing but the lingering scent of stale cigarette.
“I should kill you,” he said casually.
The man’s head jerked straight in surprise, but he didn’t speak.
“Do you know why?”
“Because I am large and scary looking. Because I am the next logical challenger.”
“Yes.” Then Simon allowed his lips to curve. “I don’t need to be a grizzly to kill you. I could do it right now with my bare hands.”
Again the man stayed silent. So did almost everyone else. Everyone but Alyssa who whispered his name.
“Simon.”
It was barely audible and not meant to distract. It was a plea or a prayer to God. Either way he whipped around and stalked toward her. In this group of dangerous, vicious creatures, she was the only one who dared challenge him. She was the one who looked him in the eye and he should kill her. But she was female and he meant to mount her. So she would not die yet, but he would punish her.
Once in front of her, he gripped her arm and hauled her to her feet. And when she was not sufficiently compliant, he jerked her against his body. She was dressed in tight jeans and a thin tee, and he was naked. And while he held her hard against his body, he rubbed himself up and down against her crotch. Let them see how big he was. Let him see what he would do to her.
