el

actly two days, just enough time for her imaginary bruises to "heal" into somet

s were shaking so violently I could feel the tremor

in that flared with every tug. "Disinfect the shears. L

ast stitch, her fraying nerve finally snapped. The sharp tip of the shears sl

Elara dropped the shears as if they had burned her.

orry! Please, I be

s what the pack thought of me. A monster who

flat, leaving no room for

nt disbelief was louder, and far more tragic

ars, a heavy, violent knock rattle

h the wood, heavy with the Alpha's authorit

ara's face. She looked at me

f ice. I knew exactly what I was walking into-a firing squad. Yet, as I turned the handle and stepped out int

onso

led me, Alpha!

ce, grating on my nerves. She knelt before me, her face bu

r, my expression bored.

action of a second. "They're... they're in a d

very single one of Ariel's strikes with clinical awe. Joints. Nerve clusters. Specific pressure points that woul

it so there would be absolutely nothing

ut a predatory thrill that had absolutely nothing to do with her

about

ted to surround her with the hostile, accusing eyes of the elders. I wanted to apply the kind of crushing pressure that broke the strongest o

mind-link, my eyes never leaving Trina's pathetic form. "A

was a crucible. And I was setting the stage