AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Bad dog," he taunted.
"Knock it off, Arrow," Castor muttered, walking over to crouch beside me. He looked down, studying me in much the same way the other priest had, sans the malice. "He's an alpha, I think.”
Arrow squinted doubtfully at me. “Doesn’t look like an alpha. Too wiry and small.”
“Well, he’s sure as hell not a normal shifter,” Castor countered. “He’s bipedal, more or less. And look at those fangs.”
Arrow grunted in acknowledgment. “Guess so.”
“Either way, we should get him back to Father Marius,” said Castor.
"Assuming he even makes the trip,” the other priest countered.
When he reached out to grab me, I snarled, but the sound was faded and hollow, and my attempts at resisting him were even more futile. It took what little energy I had left, and I blacked out in the process.
ChapterTwo
EDDIE
Iopened my eyes to the sight of a white specter approaching me. My vision was blurred and tripled, and the ghost seemed to be weaving an infinity pattern before me, but when he finally came into focus, I realized it was just a man with the palest skin I had ever seen and hair so white it appeared translucent. His eyes were the color of blood, and he wore a frock of nearly the same shade, save for the white clerical collar at his throat.
I snarled and lunged at him on instinct as he peered down at me, only to realize I was bound and on my back on a wooden table. I looked down to find thick leather straps reinforced by metal chains binding my chest, both arms and legs, and my lower torso.
Enough control and sensation had returned to my limbs that thrashing was sufficient to free my right arm, and I swept out, clawing the snow-white priest's garb open. Blood as red as the torn fabric pooled to the surface of the four marks on his chest as he sidestepped out of my reach, merely looking down at the wounds as if he was intrigued.
"You fucking fleabag," a familiar voice hissed. A second later, Arrow reappeared before me, his left hand pinning my freed arm with force a human body shouldn't have been capable of. His strength alone wouldn't have been enough to hold me, but I was just conscious enough that the blade he pressed to my jugular gave me pause. "I'll put you down right now."
"Arrow, that's enough," the white priest said, his tone gentle yet commanding.
Arrow's eyes burned with spite as he stared at me, his teeth clenched. I realized only then that he had fangs, but they weren't natural. His eye teeth were capped in sharpened silver tips. He hesitated for a few seconds, as if he was considering whether he was going to obey.
A second too long, judging from the way the other priest's voice hardened as he repeated, "Arrow."
"Yes, Father Marius," he said through his teeth before he pulled the knife away from my throat. He rammed it into my bicep hard enough that it went all the way through to the wooden table, impaling my arm.
A pained roar tore from my chest and I tried in vain to claw at my arm, but the restraints wouldn't allow me to lift my other hand far off the table. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Father Marius continuing to watch me curiously.
"He does seem quite feral, doesn't he?" he mused. "Where did you say you picked him up?"
"Neutral territory," Arrow said, standing between me and the other man with his arms folded, clearly displeased by the fact that he had been called off. "One of the Order's new brats had already pumped him full of silver by the time we got there."
So that was what had burned like fire and poisoned my veins so efficiently.
"I'm not surprised," said Father Marius. "The Matriarch has never understood the value of these things."
Things.I was pretty sure he was talking about me. All my attempts to thrash free of the blade in my arm proved to be futile, merely tearing the wound deeper. I gave up that quest, still trying to free my other limbs.
The door opened and Castor's familiar scent hit my nostrils before he appeared in the dark cellar they had brought me to as a prisoner. The young priest walked in, calm and collected, and stopped next to Father Marius to study me with his arms folded behind his back. He had traded his bloody street clothes for a black frock similar to Father Marius's red one, though it wasn’t quite as ornate.
"He's awake. That's a surprise,” said Castor. “With all that silver and wolfsbane in his system, I would have thought it would take at least a day."
"Your catch seems quite resilient," Father Marius remarked, tilting his head. "And belligerent. Or at least, he was right up until you came in."
Castor's gaze drifted to the blade embedded in my arm and he lifted an eyebrow. "I can see that."
I realized only then I had stopped thrashing, too entranced by his presence to do anything else. I didn't know if it was an effect of his scent or some other strange magic, but I was so transfixed on him that all my usual urges of bloodlust and rage seemed muted in comparison to my curiosity. It was the first time in ages I had felt human, or something close to it, but I was still incapable of speech.
"I think he likes you," Arrow said in a jeering tone.
