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“Playing stupid?” I had him in my grasp before his feet touched the ground.
His hands gripped at mine around his throat as he began to shake, the tell-tale sign of the start of a shift. I launched him across the gravelled drive and watched as his body convulsed and twisted mid-air, his clothing shredded and falling slowly around him as he crashed into the earth. The force of his landing multiplied by the sheer weight of his beast form, created a small crater in the ground.
I could hear the muted grunts of fighting behind me and glanced to see my royal guard having disarmed the guard provided by Sanguis Academy. Sanguis Academy guard were loyal to the Academy, not to me. They must have moved to intervene.
“Secure them inside,” I commanded, keeping my attention focused on Oskar as he shook his head and stood, making a pathetic moaning sound as he did. His yellow eyes met mine and I saw - for the first time - fear flit across them. Good. He should be scared. I did not allow him time to recover, to charge me. Oskar was strong in his human form and that strength was multiplied in his beast. The large foreboding bear form that his beast took was not to be underestimated. I was stronger, but his jaws and claws could easily damage me and his dramatically increased mass was an advantage in itself. My strength would be useless if I allowed myself to be careless.
He had only enough time to stumble a foot back before my open palm strike landed across his muzzle. He roared in pain and swung his clawed paw where I had been. When he found only empty space, I watched as he shook his head to clear the tears from his vision.
“I don’t have time to play this game with you,” I told him, and he swung his head towards me, a new determination in his eyes.
He roared, dramatically rising to his hind legs, and I wondered if the display was meant to be frightening. He crashed his paws down and charged me. He was surprisingly slow, perhaps unaccustomed to battle in his beast. I moved aside and drove my elbow into his middle as he reached me, producing the satisfying sound of bones cracking. The air left his lungs and he wheezed, stumbling. I drove my elbow into him again, the same spot, more of a crushing sound than cracking the second time. Moving back, I watched as a ripple ran across his spine and he fought the instinct to shift back.
Frustrated with the delay that his pathetic attack was causing, I kicked him, the same ribs taking the impact, his body toppling and skidding across the ground. He had shifted to his human form, naked and groaning. I could see the beginnings of what would surely be a rather impressive bruise forming across his chest when he came to a stop before the mansion’s steps.
When I reached his prone form, my rage simmering barely contained, I could not stop myself from the sudden urge to indulge in his pain. He looked up at me, eyes wide, terrified, and I kept my eyes trained on his as I brought my heel down hard on his manhood.
“No man has ever told me, between the vomiting, crying and wailing – often for one's mother – that it is excruciating to have one, or in your case both, testicles rupture. And yet, I get the distinct impression that it is,” I said while watching Oskar’s face turn purple, his hands desperately reaching, clutching at my foot to remove it. I lifted my heel and stepped back. The agonising roar that left his throat was far more beast than man, his eyes yellow and glowing and the bloodshot red against the whites creating a drastic, almost beautiful picture. His genitalia was bloated, swelling as I watched, an unnatural purple and no longer recognisable as any part of a person, more a mutated and boiled grapefruit. He vomited; green bile, mostly.
“YOU FUCKING BITCH!” he screeched.
“Come now, Oskar, dear, I’ve done you a favour; with any luck, the burden to sire an heir for your House is yours no more.” I would have laughed. I would have liked to enjoy myself, to take my time with him, tear the flesh from his bones one small strip at a time, and discover how many organs a beast shifter truly needs. Yet, I felt a constant sense of needing to be moving, looking, tracking down my pet, my soul match, my Percy. Time was not on my side. I could not allow myself to get carried away in my bloodlust, even as I noticed the sweet smell of his blood.
After his heaving seemed to subside, I gripped his throat, his trachea between my fingers. I had control of him so entirely he would not breathe without my say-so. His body twitched, an echo of a tremble as he tried to shift again. I doubted it would be possible; most likely a shift in his current state would kill him, and I needed him alive.
“There will be no more shifting, understand? I want answers, but not nearly as bad as I want to hurt you. If you shift, I’ll skip past questioning and straight to torturing. Blink twice if you understand,” I threatened him and received two rapid blinks. I loosened my grip.
“S-S-Selene - for a-a slave?” he gasped out.
“You conspired with Ardens to pilfer from me, to take what I value most,” I hissed and tightened my grasp again. “Why?” I asked and loosened my grip for a reply.
“B-B-Because you valued her so much. It was embarrassing!” he rasped, and I could smell the blood that dripped inside his damaged throat and caused him to sputter as he spoke. “E-Everyone knew you placed her higher than me. I had to do something to save my reputation.”
“When I am done with you, there will be nothing to save,” I told him. I turned to my guard. “I need a beast collar. If the servants have not started the journey home, ensure they leave within the hour. Prepare for my return. We will be transporting two prisoners.” I instructed my guard before turning my attention back to Oskar.
“Y-You’ll start a war,” he sputtered, blood spray on his lips and my arms.
“So be it.”
I took a special sadistic pleasure in collaring Oskar. The beast collars were cruel and designed to stop a shifter from shifting to their beast. Solid, sharp spikes ran along the inside of the collar, and I fastened it until each spike pressed tight against his skin. Shifting would mean certain death.
We had to leave the Academy before anyone became aware that I held Oskar captive. Some spaces, such as Academies and healing grounds, were neutral, where no House held power, not even the Royal House. Neutral spaces protected all their residences, or guests, with a private guard force. Sanguis Academy had the most elite private guards, which only furthered my belief that the Academy was no longer safe. Ardens should not have been able to enter the Academy grounds when not on official business, not last night - of all nights.
I had to get all of Borealis home. I would not leave my people behind when their safety was in question. I had a duty of care to even my lowest of servants.
We began our travels within mere minutes. Each prisoner was placed in a separate vehicle, as a measure of loss control; if there was an attempt to free them on the road, there was much less chance of both being liberated.
I was anxious, and my anxiety increased exponentially when my motorcade stopped. The divider between myself and the driver and guard up front was pulled back.
“You have a call, my Royal Highness,” the driver informed me.
Rylan tapped on the window and I put it down.
“Valen, Marquess of Ardens,” he told me, handing the phone over.
My mind ran blank for a brief moment, but when I pressed accept and heard his hideously gleeful laughter, it took all my effort not to crush the phone in my grasp.
“Selene, are you there?” he asked, his voice loud, triumphant.
