Beneath the Monster's Feet

Josie

The threat silenced me in a way nothing else ever had.

I wasn't even aware I'd stopped breathing until my vision darkened at the edges, my chest rising in shallow, broken pants. My lungs burned. My eyes stung. But I refused to give Alpha Ian the satisfaction of seeing me fall apart—not yet. Not in front of him.

Still, I was quiet.

So quiet, it scared even me.

His words echoed in my head again and again.

"Behave, or one of your mates will bleed."

My fingers curled against the ropes at my side, my wrists still raw. I blinked fast, trying to push back the tears that burned like acid. I couldn't cry in front of him. I wouldn't. But I was shaking. Not with fear—at least, not only fear—but with anger, sorrow, betrayal... and a darkness I didn't know I carried.

Alpha Ian turned away, and with a snap of his fingers, a couple of men stalked into the room.