Page 45 of Orion

Vincent fists his hands and growls at me. “Fuck you. Get the fuck out of my house.”

I chuckle. “You want to hear a growl? Yours is pitiful. Have you heard a lion roar up close and personal before?”

He’s trembling now. He glances to the right and left, but Pryce and Quinn are flanking me. He’s trapped.

I don’t usually shift in the house. I’m huge, and I don’t like to run the risk of breaking things, but I’m going to make an exception just for the satisfaction of causing this man to piss himself.

But not here. He needs to pee his pants in the kitchen. I nod that direction. “Kitchen, fucker.”

When he doesn’t move, I lean in and shout, “Now!” I still haven’t touched him, and I don’t intend to unless I have to.

Vincent startles, but he slides around the corner into the tiled kitchen. “You need to get the fuck out of my house before I call the sheriff.”

I chuckle again. “I’d love to see you try to explain yourself to the sheriff. I’ve already informed him of your past troubles with the law.” This is a lie, but I don’t give a fuck. Vincent won’t be alive long enough to follow up on my statement.

Vincent is sweating. The scent coming off him is fear and hatred. I’m good with that. He lifts his hands in the air. “Listen, I won’t sell the land to you guys if you’re that bent out of shape about it.”

What a joke. Does he think I care about the sale of the land over his abusive tendencies?

Ronan returns. “Found exactly what we needed in the garage,” he says, holding up a thick piece of rope. He’s wearing gloves. We won’t be leaving any fingerprints. None of us have touched a damn thing yet besides the front door knob, and I pulled my shirt over my hand to do that.

Vincent gasps when Ronan drags the kitchen table under the light fixture and hops on top of it without using his hands. He makes a nice noose out of the rope and attaches it to the ceiling. Hopefully it’s sturdy enough to hold this asshole aloft long enough to kill him.

“Get on the table,” I order.

“No fucking way. Are you insane? So what if I slapped that bitch around. She deserved it. If she told you otherwise, she was lying. She’s a lazy cunt who needs a firm hand.”

My lion almost comes out at his insulting words. “She’s my mate, you fucking piece of shit. Now get on the fucking table before I decide to shift and tear you limb from limb with my teeth. Do you know how long my incisors are? Are you aware that lions are carnivorous creatures who like to eat their prey live?”

Vincent flattens himself to the wall. His face is white. He glances around at all of us before returning his gaze to me. “You can’t do this. I have rights.”

“I’m the judge today. I’ve found you guilty. If you’re not on that table in five seconds, I will shift and eat you alive.”

Vincent is sniffling as he climbs onto the table.

“Put the rope around your neck, you piece of scum.”

He shakes his head. “No fucking way.”

I step closer. I’m almost as tall as this asshole from where I’m standing on the floor. “Now!” I shout so loudly that my voice is almost a roar already.

“You’re insane,” Vincent complains.

“You’re making your own choices. Either you hang yourself or I eat you alive. You pick.”

“I’m not going to fucking hang myself.”

I glance at Ronan and nod. My brother shifts into his lion and rises onto his hind legs, roaring. He’s not as loud as he’s capable of, but loud enough to make Vincent lose his fucking mind.

“All I have to do is say the word, and my brother will rip your jugular open and eat you while you bleed to death.” None of this is true. We are, by and large, a peaceful species. We may be lion shifters, but we don’t actually live off of meat. We don’t prey on other animals or roam the mountains eating them. We eat like regular humans in our homes. But it’s fun fucking with this asshole in his final minutes.

“This is crazy,” Vincent argues. “I’ll leave the property. That bitch can have it. I’ll leave the state. You’ll never see me again.”

I shake my head. That would never be good enough. He would find someone else to abuse in no time at all. I won’t let that happen. “You have five seconds to put the noose around your neck before my brother launches. You choose. Hanging or being eaten alive. Do you have any idea how painful it is to have your throat partially slit and slowly bleed to death while a lion tears the flesh off your arms?” I sound ridiculous, but Vincent doesn’t know this. He’s so fucking scared that he puts the noose around his neck.

“That’s a good boy,” I say to taunt him in his final moments. “Step to the edge of the table. I’ll let you decide when to step off.”

Vincent is crying now, mumbling incoherently as he inches forward. He probably doesn’t have the balls to actually jump, and I don’t need him to. It won’t be necessary. As soon as he’s on the edge, I leap into the air and shift before my paws hit the ground.