I ran my finger along her neck, then down her sternum to the jagged marks across her stomach. It seemed someone had done surgery on her with teeth and claws rather than proper surgical equipment.
“You came from the breeding camp,” I guessed. My property unfortunately bordered the farm of homes used to create more Clemente Clan lycans. Would Edon continue the practice? I wondered. Something about the new alpha struck me as different from the others of his kind. He seemed almost humanized.
Watching his leadership might prove interesting.
Not that I cared enough to truly engage.
Of course, if I remained a royal, I wouldn’t have a choice.
“So many decisions,” I mused out loud, taking stock of the little warrior’s injuries once more. I could see why the lycans chose her for breeding. She had nice hips. Toned legs. Her breasts were a bit small, but some calories would fix that right up. Same with her protruding ribs.
“Hmm.” I brought my wrist to my mouth and bit down. “Let’s see what a little bit of my blood does for you, shall we?” I pressed the open wound to her lips, allowing my life essence to seep into her. “You’re going to need to swallow, little one.”
She didn’t comply right away, which only made her gurgle as she began to choke.
With a dramatic exhale, I repositioned myself on the ground and used my opposite hand to guide her head onto my thigh to a better angle for drinking. Her throat began to work automatically, as if her spirit had taken over and recognized the gift I offered her.
I stroked my fingers through her hair while she fed, whispering encouragement under my breath. If Damien saw me, he’d gape. Because this wasn’t me at all. It just seemed like the right thing to do for my new pet.
“When you’re more coherent, we’ll pick a name,” I told her softly. “Or perhaps you already have one. I’m good with that, too.” Unless it was something like Veronica or Whitney. I didn’t much care for those.
Actually, there were a lot of names I didn’t like.
So maybe I would have to pick one for her.
My wound began to close, so I reopened it and pressed it to her lips again. “Keep drinking,” I ordered. “When you’re done, I’ll bathe you.”
Then I’d end up either eating her or playing for a while.
It depended on how entertaining she proved to be.
For her sake, I hoped she showed more than a little fire. Otherwise, I’d just wind up dousing her flames and extinguishing her life. For good.
3
Willow
Cold.
Hard.
Cement.
I nearly groaned at the feel of it pressing into every inch of my body, the unforgiving substance the bane of my existence. There were so many times I just wanted to crawl into the concrete and hide, but I couldn’t. It left me exposed. Vulnerable. Pained.
Except, I didn’t feel all that agonized right now, which was strange because I could tell I’d slept for some time on the ground. Usually, I awoke achy and sore after my naps, but my limbs felt alive today. Energized.
I stretched, my muscles loosening and warming in response. Odd. I couldn’t remember the last time I felt this alive.
My lips curled down.
Actually, I couldn’t remember much at all. Everything felt foggy, as if I’d existed in a haze all my life and I was just now coming out of it.
It must be the drugs, I thought, rolling onto my back to stare up at the iron bars over my head. My eyes widened. Those are new.
I glanced left—more bars. Same to my right.
I’m in a cage.
Not a small one, maybe ten feet by ten feet, all sides exposed to open air. And below me was a slab of cold concrete. No windows decorated the walls beyond my prison, and the room held a slight musky odor. And dust particles floated in the air.
Oh, those are interesting. I narrowed my gaze at them, watching as they caught in the dim lighting, their colors a flash of intrigue. It was as if I’d never really seen dust before. Was it always this hypnotizing?
And has my skin always been this soft? I wondered as my fingers grazed my bare thigh. I drew my nails over my hips to my abdomen, tracing across my skin in a hypnotic wave of heat. So smooth and perfect.
I was naked—no surprise there. But I was also clean, and that struck me as odd. Although, I couldn’t really remember why. The reason was lost