"I'm being quiet. I just hate being human. This sucks. How do you stand it?"
"Fang!"
"What?"
Vane rolled his eyes. It was useless. Any time his brother was in human form, the only part of his body that got any exercise was his mouth. Why couldn't their pack have left Fang gagged before they strung him up?
"You know if we were in wolf form, we could just gnaw our paws off. Of course if we were in wolf form, the cords wouldn't hold us, so-"
"Shut up," Vane snapped again.
Fang grimaced as he continued to try and pull his legs up, but it was useless. His whole body was going numb and he couldn't stand the sharp stabs of pain the constricted blood flow was causing. "Does the feeling ever come back into your hands after they get all numb like this? This doesn't happen when we're wolves. Does it happen a lot to humans?"
Vane closed his eyes in disgust. So this was how his life would end. Not in some glorious battle against an enemy or his father. Not quietly in his sleep.
No, the last sound he would hear would be Fang bitching.
It figured.
He leaned his head back so that he could see his brother through the darkness. "You know, Fang, let's cast blame for a minute. I am sick and tired of hanging here because of your damned big mouth that decided to tell your latest chew toy about how I guarded a Dark-Hunter's mate. Thanks so much for not knowing when to shut the hell up."
"Yeah, well, how was I to know Petra would run to Markus and tell him you were with Sunshine and that he would think that was why the Daimons attacked us? Two-faced bitch. Petra said she wanted to mate with me."
"They all want to mate with you, dickhead, it's the nature of our species."
"Fuck you!"
Vane let out a relieved breath as Fang finally quieted down. His brother's anger should give him about a three-minute reprieve while Fang simmered for a more creative and articulate comeback.
Lacing his fingers together, Vane lifted his legs up. More pain sliced through his arms as the cord cut deeper into his human flesh. He only prayed his bones held a little longer without severing.
More blood ran down his forearms as he lifted his legs up toward the branch over his head.
If he could just get them wrapped . . . around . . .
He tapped the wood with his bare foot. The bark was cold and brittle as it scraped against the soft topside of his foot. He cupped his ankle around the wood.
Just a little . . . bit . . .
More.
Fang snarled at him, "You are such an asshole."
Well, so much for creativity.
Vane focused his attention on his own rapid heartbeat and refused to hear Fang's insults.
Upside down, he wrapped one leg around the limb and expelled his breath. Vane growled in relief as the weight was mostly removed from his throbbing, bloodied wrists. He panted from it while Fang continued his unheard tirade.
The limb creaked dangerously.
Vane held his breath again, terrified of moving lest he cause the branch to snap in two and send him plummeting into the putrid, green swamp water below.
Suddenly, the gators thrashed about in the water, then sped away.
"Oh, shit," Vane hissed.
That was not a good sign.