Andrei’s anger is frightening, and I nearly reconsider running to the room as he stalks toward me, making me step back and suck in a sharp breath. My heart feels like it is doing backflips, and my stomach drops somewhere cold within me.
I don’t understand why I am suddenly standing here and arguing with him, but the bond is telling me not to back down from him. Though I am sure I am about to wet my pants as he gets closer and stops to let out a breath.
“He is just a rogue, Sage. Just go back to the room, so I can deal with it.” Andrei says, struggling to keep his voice calm and soft.
“I am a rogue, Andrei!” I tell him, my voice comes off stronger than I intend.
“It’s not the same thing!” He snaps at me. I know he has said that before, but just like back then, those words still don’t change a thing.
This whole issue isn’t about how he views some things, because at the end of the day, if he likes it or not, I still am a rogue, and so is that poor man in his basement.
“It is! You were a rogue once, shouldn’t you feel compassion for them, not a need to hurt them?” I press.
The banging starts again, and my eyes dart to the basement door nervously. Before he can answer, I dart past him to head for the door, but Andrei grabs me around the waist. An ugly shriek leaves my lips as my feet leave the ground. Andrei walks towards the stairs, dragging me with him.
“No, you can’t keep hurting them! Why do you keep hurting them?” I scream at him. As always, he shows no reaction or remorse, so I clutch the only option I know to get out of his clutches.
I bite his arm.
Andrei growls, but he doesn’t let me go. Quite the opposite, he tightens his hold to the point it’s painful. I open my mouth to complain, but the front door swings open, and Zane runs in. He looks at us on the stairs while I struggle to get out of Andrei’s grip.
“Alpha, what are….”
“DEAL WITH HIM WHILE I DEAL WITH HER!” Andrei yells at him, cutting him off.
Zane hesitates but follows his Alphas order, darting toward the basement door.
“Zane, stop! Don’t hurt him!” I scream at him, and he hesitates again.
Andrei growls at Zane, and he yanks the door open.
The frantic man barges past him, heading for the open door, trying to escape. I desperately hope Zane will just let him go, but that hope dies when I watch him get up and chase after the naked man.
“No, Zane, please!” I beg Zane as Andrei gets to the top step.
The man looks petrified and isn’t much older than us. How can they want to kill him? He just wants to escape. He isn’t trying to do anything wrong.
I clutch the banister, and one of my fingernails tears off as I urge Sierra to shift as Zane tackles him. They hit the ground and struggle to get the upper hand over each other.
The shift takes over, letting me slip out of Andrei’s arms. He growls as he is being forced to let go, and I drop to the ground at his feet. But of course, my traitor of a wolf has to go against everything I ask of her, and Sierra recedes again.
I try to get to my feet as the man escapes Zane and dashes for the open door, but Andrei moves at blinding speed and by the time I get to my feet, Andrei is in front of him.
“No, Andrei!” My scream cuts off as Andrei snaps the man’s neck in front of me and his body falls to the ground with a thud. Zane pulls himself upright and I stare at the two of them. “Why? You didn’t have to do that!” I scream as tears burn in my eyes and I stumble to rush toward the man.
He is dead. His head is twisted at an awkward angle as his wide, pale, still frightened eyes stare accusingly at me. “You didn’t have to do that! How could you?” I sob.
Andrei is a monster. This man was someone’s son, someone’s family, and he snuffed his life out like it meant nothing at all.
Andrei grips my arm, pulling me to my feet while I try to shove him away. “It had to be done, Sage. He is a rogue, he would have gone back to his camp and had them attack us.”
“You don’t know that!” I hiss as anger seeps into my voice. I know Andrei is capable of awful things, but to kill someone who is just trying to escape his clutches is low even for him.
“I do know that,” he corrects as Zane approaches us.
“Alpha, I am sorry. I thought I tied him down well enough.” Zane apologizes to Andrei as if all that just happened is a game they played and lost for the first time.
“You fucking thought wrong, didn’t you?” Andrei bellows at him, and Zane flinches, as do I.
“Get out and take him with you.” Andrei snaps, his grip unwavering on my arm as he marches us toward the stairs.
Sierra is howling in my head at what we just witnessed. I can’t believe I was going to allow this monster to mark me just minutes ago. That I ever let myself think I wasn’t good enough for him, while Andrei is nothing but a heartless murderer. I can’t believe I thought I could be safe with him.
“Let me go!” I snarl at Andrei as I force all of my anger and pain to the surface. I shake my arm, desperately trying to get it out of his grip, the fact he is touching me now disgusts me. Andrei is touching me with the very hands he used to kill that man.
“Sage, enough! He is nobody,” Andrei growls at me.
“Then, so am I!” I snap back at him.
“No, you are my mate! You are supposed to be by my side here, not some random rogue. You hear me? Mine!” His voice gets louder as he screams at me.
“He was trying to leave! He wasn’t attacking anybody, Andrei! Why can’t you see that?” I yell at him.
“He is a rogue! They want our pack! Why can’t you see that?” He argues back.
“No, they just want a chance!” my chest is heaving, a vice is tight around me, squeezing my heart. “But you’re right, I do see now,” I whisper, my voice breaking and raspy from all the yelling. I’m almost out of breath from the overuse of my voice. “See that you’re a fucking monster,” I snarl in his face.
He growls and yanks me toward him, I whimper at his tight grip. When Andrei’s claws sink into my arm, I scream out in pain and he lets go so suddenly I collapse next to his feet.
Guilt smashes into me from the bond. He looks at my arm as he steps toward me, but I crawl away from him. Andrei hangs his head. With the adrenaline coursing through my veins, my heart is pumping so hard that I am sure I will have a heart attack at any second.
Andrei turns on his heel and plods down the steps before heading for the door and closing it. Zane follows behind him and leaves me sitting on the stairs.
The door slams, and my knees start shaking so badly, I’m sure I will collapse right here and now, if I weren’t already sitting down.
Anger and sadness crush me at how cold and cruel he can be. The image of the man’s vacant eyes forever burned in my memories.
“Now, what do we do?” Sierra asks me.
“I don’t know,” I answer and pull my knees to my chest, ignoring the pain pulsing in my arm.
“His dad will be here today. Maybe we can ask him. He seems nice,” Sierra suggests.