The borian guard beside Leah bent down to pick up her cage, a distinct look of distaste on his face. The guard behind Shay shifted his hold to her biceps, lifted her onto her feet, and forced her to follow the borian.
Shay turned her head, her eyes locking with Drakkal’s as he was hauled off the floor and dragged toward Vanya’s transport. His teeth were bared, and the light on his collar was on—that bitch was shocking him again—but the guards were still struggling to move him as his powerful legs fought for purchase, claws scraping the floor.
Though he didn’t speak—probablycouldn’tspeak—his eyes said everything.
I will get back to you, kiraia.
Then the guards dragged him into the back of the transport, and he vanished from her sight. Shay shifted her gaze slightlyaside to see Vanya staring at her, still wearing that arrogant grin.
Though she didn’t know how she’d do it, or when, Shay was going to knock that bitch’s teeth out before this was all done.
TWENTY-FOUR
Despite his resistance, the effects of the shock collar were too strong for Drakkal to resist for long. After a couple minutes of struggle, Foltham’s guards finally managed to stand Drakkal up against one of the transport’s interior walls, and Vanya swiftly locked the manacles against it, forcing his hands up and to either side of his head. Growling through his teeth, Drakkal strained against the bindings and kicked at his captors. The panting guards stumbled backward to avoid his clawed feet.
“I’ll take it from here,” Vanya said, appraising Drakkal with smoldering, half-lidded eyes.
The guards wasted no time in exiting the vehicle, smoothing their rumpled suits and attempting to don an air of dignity and composure along the way. The doors closed behind them. The space was plunged into darkness but for the faint blue glow of instrument panels from the cab, which was through an open entryway up front. That light granted Vanya’s features a fittingly sinister cast.
Drakkal wished he’d seen her in such a light when they’d first met.
She sauntered toward him, and the raging fires in Drakkal flared with the intensity of an exploding star. He threw his weight forward, ignoring the pain in his shoulders and chest as the muscles were stretched beyond their normal range of motion, and snapped his jaws shut on the air a few centimeters from her face.
Vanya reacted only by widening her grin. Her eyes moved over him from top to bottom. “You always were big, Drakkal, but you’ve filled outverywell over the years.”
Her scent, old, familiar, and despised, filled his nostrils; Drakkal focused past it, shifting his attention to the lingering scents of his mate and cub. His instincts thrummed with wild energy. He’d never wanted so badly to taste someone’s blood, to feel it running warm over his lips and down his throat, to watch it drip from his claws.
She tilted her head, and her tail flicked forward, brushing his leg. “We’ll talk soon. I’m sure you don’t want to be here any longer than I do.”
“Should’ve killed you already,” Drakkal rasped. The words were raw and abrasive in his throat, as harsh as his festering regret.
Her grin receded into an almost wistful smile more genuine than he’d thought her capable of. “But you didn’t. And that was always the difference between us, wasn’t it? You may be big and strong, but you’re soft on the inside. You’re weak. Even now. Your terranji’tasis a prime example of it.”
“Don’t talk about her!” Drakkal lunged forward again. This time, the transport rocked, and the cuffs lifted away from the wall, albeit for a fraction of a second and barely a few millimeters.
This time, Vanya did flinch back, surprise flashing over her features. She recovered quickly, and her expression fell into something dark and dangerous. Her voice was low but had asharp edge when she spoke again. “She’s gone, and you’reminenow. You’ll learn to put that ugly little terran behind you soon enough. Once you accept that you’re never going to see her again, you’ll start thinking clearly. You’ll see that having me back really is the best thing for you. It’s what you always wanted.”
She took a step closer and leaned her face as near as possible without entering his reach. “Either you can reach that conclusion on your own, or I can break you and force you to it. You may be bigger and stronger, Drakkal, but you’re just as weak as yourji’tasat heart.”
“If I’m even half as strong as her at heart,zhe’gaash, you should be afraid right now.”
“Do not speak to me that way again,” Vanya warned.
“You’re a disgrace to our people,” Drakkal snarled. His entire body tensed as he pulled against the bindings again. “An honorless, cowardly traitor.”
Vanya scowled and swung her arm, slamming her fist into Drakkal’s mouth. The flare of pain it caused came with a metallic tang of blood.
She raised a clawed finger and pointed it at Drakkal’s face. “You don’t call me that. Everything I’ve done was to survive.Thatis the true way of our people, not your inflated sense of honor and overvalued courage.”
“Truth sting,zhe’gaash?” Drakkal forced his lips into a grin, displaying his bloody fangs.
“You’re the one who picked a fucking terran,” Vanya roared. “And you’re the one who’s locked up. You’re a failure, Drakkal. You couldn’t fulfill me when we were young, and you couldn’t protect yourji’tasand her ugly little beast now. You couldn’t even succeed at dying like your blind honor dictated. But you’ll learn soon enough. I’m going to shape you into something better.”
Drakkal tugged violently against the cuffs around his wrists, making the transport shake. “Release me and let’s test your confidence, you fuckingzhe’gaash!”
“I suppose that’s another difference between us. You always were stupid, Drakkal. Never knew when to give up. Now shut your mouth, or I’ll knock you out again.”
“Kraasz ka’val, killing you once will not be enough,” he growled.