Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45605 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 228(@200wpm)___ 182(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45605 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 228(@200wpm)___ 182(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)
He shakes his head. “No fucking way.”
I step closer. I’m almost as tall as this asshole from where I’m standing on the floor. “Now!” I shout so loudly that my voice is almost a roar already.
“You’re insane,” Vincent complains.
“You’re making your own choices. Either you hang yourself or I eat you alive. You pick.”
“I’m not going to fucking hang myself.”
I glance at Ronan and nod. My brother shifts into his lion and rises onto his hind legs, roaring. He’s not as loud as he’s capable of, but loud enough to make Vincent lose his fucking mind.
“All I have to do is say the word, and my brother will rip your jugular open and eat you while you bleed to death.” None of this is true. We are, by and large, a peaceful species. We may be lion shifters, but we don’t actually live off of meat. We don’t prey on other animals or roam the mountains eating them. We eat like regular humans in our homes. But it’s fun fucking with this asshole in his final minutes.
“This is crazy,” Vincent argues. “I’ll leave the property. That bitch can have it. I’ll leave the state. You’ll never see me again.”
I shake my head. That would never be good enough. He would find someone else to abuse in no time at all. I won’t let that happen. “You have five seconds to put the noose around your neck before my brother launches. You choose. Hanging or being eaten alive. Do you have any idea how painful it is to have your throat partially slit and slowly bleed to death while a lion tears the flesh off your arms?” I sound ridiculous, but Vincent doesn’t know this. He’s so fucking scared that he puts the noose around his neck.
“That’s a good boy,” I say to taunt him in his final moments. “Step to the edge of the table. I’ll let you decide when to step off.”
Vincent is crying now, mumbling incoherently as he inches forward. He probably doesn’t have the balls to actually jump, and I don’t need him to. It won’t be necessary. As soon as he’s on the edge, I leap into the air and shift before my paws hit the ground.
The last step is my incredible roar that shakes the roof. That’s all it takes for Vincent to lose his footing and end his own life.
Chapter Seventeen
Cora
The moment I hear the truck pulling up, I run toward the door. I’ve been sitting at the kitchen table with Brea, pretending to care about coloring while freaking out inside.
Brea pointed out that my picture was going to be hilarious because I used no rhyme or reason for my choice of colored pencils. I just picked one up and filled in the small spaces. The picture is ridiculous. I’ll have to throw it away, but it occupied me to a certain extent.
I also got to spend some time with Brea, who is so much fun. I haven’t had a girlfriend in four years. I’m looking forward to having a relationship with her. Plus, she’s the only person who will understand the life I’m living.
We didn’t go into great detail, but I gathered that Daddy wasn’t fibbing me when he told me that Brea lives as Navin’s Little girl in the same type of relationship I have with Orion.
“Slow down, Little girl,” Navin calls out, beating me to the door and stepping in front of it. “Don’t ever open a door without one of us with you.”
I stop short. “Sorry.”
He smiles. “I know you’re anxious. I just want you to be safe.”
“Okay.”
Navin turns and opens the door. “Stay on the porch. It’s dark out. You can wait here for your Daddy to return.”
I step outside just as everyone piles out of the truck. My gaze darts from one man to the next. None of them are Daddy. What if something happened to him? Maybe Vincent shot him or something. I’m about to cry when one of the men approaches.
“Hey, Little one. I’m Ronan. Don’t you worry. Your Daddy will be here in a few minutes.”
“He’s okay?”
“Yes. Not a scratch on him. I promise.”
“Why didn’t he come back with you? How is he going to get here?”
“He had a lot of pent-up frustration to work through, so he decided to return on foot.”
I gasp, my eyes going wide. “On foot? It’s miles away? He walked? He won’t be here for two days.”
Ronan chuckles. “Sorry. I misspoke. I mean on paws. He’s in his lion form, Little one. I’m surprised he didn’t beat us here. He’s fast when he’s shifted. He can run faster than the truck can go on these windy mountain roads. Plus, he didn’t have to take the roads. His route was more direct.”
I’m still absorbing this information as something catches my attention to the left. Sure enough, a giant lion leaps into the clearing, landing on all four paws.