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and muscle. She was strength personified in this shape, her curves not detracting from
her deadly intent. Beneath you. She raised her hand and extended her paw, smiling
as the light glinted off of every nail.
You can t He winced and coughed, grabbing his head. You can t do that.
What are you doing?
Do you know how you ll spend tonight? Frank didn t answer her question, but
she wasn t surprised. Beneath me.
Millie sprang forward, tackling him to the ground in one leap. He d hurt her,
violated her, and injured her mate.
Clawed paws dug into his muscles, sinking deep before tearing at his flesh. She
ignored the rotten stench of his snake s blood and instead focused on injuring him,
killing him. One gouging scratch became two, became four. His claws scraped her body,
and she recognized her injuries, but pushed them aside.
Hurt. Kill. Two words, repeating over and over.
Frank jerked and heaved, rolling her beneath him, and he straddled her waist.
The panther didn t care, not when she had her Sensitive powers on her side. That
part of her was fully fused in her mind, reacting to her every thought as she dug
through the snake s mind. Horror after horror flicked past, and she ignored them as
best she could, but they wouldn t be silenced.
Her fourteenth birthday.
Frank backhanding her.
She turned fifteen.
Frank tying her down.
She never had a sweet sixteen.
Not with Frank braced above her as his venom went to work, his body straining as
he fought to keep her still so he could&
Oh, God, eighteen&
Frank keeping her captive as others entered her room.
Millie struggled to shove the memories aside. They wouldn t help her defeat the
male.
Frank hissed and bared his fangs, leaning down as if to strike and wound her as
he d done to Wyatt.
Wyatt&
She spared a split-second glance at her mate and noted his wide, panicked eyes.
Well, yeah, she wasn t enjoying this shit either. Her wounds burned and she was ready
for Frank to die already.
Millie, you re not being a very good girl.
Very good girl?
Three words, another memory. Frank s blood tinged hands stroking her bare
stomach, tracing the lines of her ribs and then finally cupping her cheek. She was
naked, beaten, bruises decorating her body. You re my very good girl.
She tore herself from the past and back to the present. Her cat and her power had
endured enough. The two assisted her, the dark cloud of rage lashing out at Frank
while her cat reacted with inhuman speed. She twisted her wrists in a sudden move and
then shoved his chest, sending him flying backward. She didn t spare time for a breath
before she launched herself at him, pouncing like the panther inside her.
Again and again, her ball of rage pummeled him, disabling him, and she took her
chance. Opening her jaws wide, she attacked. Teeth sank through flesh and bone,
goring his throat in a massive, powerful bite. She increased the pressure, grinding down
on his spine until fangs met her lower teeth.
She wrenched then, tearing out half of his neck with that fierce pull. Dark blood
pumped and sprayed from his body, soaking into the wood.
But it wasn t enough. Never enough. The cat wanted to bite again, wrap its maw
around his skull and pull until it jerked free of the snake s body.
Even now his tainted blood coated her mouth, it seemed glued to her tongue and
clung to her throat. Millie gagged on the spoiled taste, but its presence signified
eventual death.
Yet the cat wasn t satisfied. Her animal wanted to gorge on his blackened blood,
ensure Frank could never return. It ached and pined for his lifeblood, and she fought
the cat s instincts.
The rapid pounding of feet on the carpet reached her, and she shifted her stance,
preparing for a new attack. She straddled Frank, crouching low to let the newcomer
know the snake was hers.
A man jerked to a stop inside the doorway. She breathed past the rancid blood and
scented him. Lion. Familiar lion.
Did he want her prey?
Her power followed her line of thinking and lashed out at him, sending him to his
knees. Prey was hers. She d earned the right to destroy him with every wound he d
inflicted and every moment of pain she d endured.
The stranger groaned and gripped the doorknob.
A moan behind her snared her attention, and she curled her lips back, ready to
defend herself. Only& it was her male. Her male injured, yet stirring. His gaze met
hers, and she noted his control returning, his limbs moving determinedly.
Bethy, stop.
Stop what? She wasn t doing anything.
The lion near the door pushed to his feet. No, he wanted her snake. So she struck
again, sending him to the floor.
Damn it, Bethy. Don t make me do it. A growl filled her mate s voice. Good, he
was recovering well. But what would he do?
Millie nudged the snake s head, sending it lolling to the right. Frank s pain-filled
eyes met hers. It was then she noticed his hands clutching his throat, his blood
continuing to flow past his fingers. Maybe she d watch him suffer as he d gleefully
watched her year after year.
She sneezed, clearing the stench of his blood from her nose and then refocused. Her
prey clung to life, but it d be over soon. She looked down at the body beneath her.
Scaly. Thin. Probably tough.
But hers.
She licked her muzzle and grimaced at the rotten taste. She didn t want it though.
Movement to her right caught her attention, and she swung her head around. She
glared at her mate. She was happy he was rising to his feet, but he couldn t have hers.
She d killed it, damn it. Well, almost. But even if she didn t want it, no one else could
have it.
She bared a fang, curling her lip and flashing it at Wyatt in warning.
He froze in place. Bethy, you need to relax, sweetheart. Step away from Frank. He
deserves to be sent to the council for what he s done. Let them interrogate him. Let
them sentence him.
Her. Prey. Besides, he d be dead soon. She d bitten deep and took quite a bit of flesh
with her.
She flexed a paw and then rested it on Frank s chest. She dug her nails into his flesh
one by one until all four were sunk deep into him. She dragged it down, exposing more
of the man s muscles and blood.
Wyatt s next words were tinged with his lion s growl. I m begging you,
sweetheart. Calm down now.
She d earned the right to destroy him. Earned it through blood, sweat, and tears. So,
so many tears.
The longer he lay beneath her, the more of her memories returned.
There wouldn t be anything left of him to burn.
The stupid lion by the door stirred again, and Millie released a wailing roar,
sending it vibrating through everything in the room.
A heavy weight collided with her, slamming into her side and sending her rolling
and scrambling away from Frank s body. She fought to get her feet beneath her, blood-
slick paws sliding on the wood floors, her claws fighting for purchase. That same
weight settled atop her, holding her down when she would have risen.
She growled low, let the threatening sound pulse through her, but her assailant
didn t move. No, it returned the sound, attempting to scare her into submission.
Millie shifted and jerked her legs, digging her nails into hardened wood and
fighting the body atop her. It didn t budge, but did growl once again, the attacker s
moist heated breath bathing the back of her neck.
The move had her stilling, freezing in place. He d tackled her, caged her, and stood
poised to end her life in a single bite. A shudder tore through her, a hint of fear finding
its way into her body.
It wasn t the lion by the door; he was still in sight.
No, it was& she inhaled, drawing in the scents of the male above her. Her mate.
Her mate held her captive.
Traitor.
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