Resisting the Moon: A Royal Shifters Novel (21 page)

“You’re a lot stronger than she is, an alpha. The son I give you will have both of our strengths. If everything goes according to plan tomorrow, I might just have to think about this.” Grabbing my arm, he pulled me out of the barn and back to the cabin. I had no clue what the hell to do.

Tyla

I
nstead of going in through the basement door, Jaret took me up to the main level. “Where are we going?”

“You’re staying with me tonight.”

“Fuck no, I’m not,” I hissed.

He dragged me in through the door, where Stefan waited on us. “Disobey me and my men will go straight downstairs. Who will you choose to live? Your pregnant cousin or your mate?”

Deep down, I knew who I’d choose, but I didn’t want to say it. “Fine.”

“Tyla, where are you?”
Sebastian asked. I could feel his desperation through the bond.

“I’m upstairs with Jaret.”

“What the hell are you doing up there?”

Swallowing hard, I followed Jaret down the hall to a bedroom that smelled exactly like him. I tried to get the thoughts out of my head, but Sebastian kept pushing to get in. I didn’t want him seeing what was about to happen.

“Tyla! Stop pushing me out.”

Stefan stood guard at the door while Jaret shut it, locking us in. When he turned to me, he raked his hungry gaze down my body. “Turn around,” he ordered.

“Why?”

He pulled a pair of gloves out of his back pocket and slipped them on. “Not unless you want to stay in that rope for the rest of the night. Personally, I don’t want my sheets covered in wolfsbane.”

“Well, in that case, I’ll keep it on.”

Huffing, he stalked toward me but I had nowhere to go.
“Tyla, answer me!”
The sound of Sebastian screaming echoed in my head. Grabbing my arm, Jaret turned me around and pushed me onto the bed, pinning my body beneath his. I was stuck with my face buried into the mattress. All I could smell was his scent, it surrounded me like a dark cloud. The ropes pulled against my skin and I hissed in pain as he roughly untied me. When the ropes fell to the floor, he jerked me back to my feet.

“Does that feel better?” he asked, slipping off the gloves.

I looked down at my wrists, they were blistered and red. “Not exactly.”

He bit his lip and smirked. “Then maybe a shower will help. Take off your clothes.”

“You’ve lost your fucking mind,” I hissed, taking a step away.

“Tyla!”

Eyes burning, I took a deep breath.
“I’m sorry, Sebastian.”
With newfound strength, I shut him out. It broke my heart to do it, but I couldn’t let him in my head, not when there was nothing he could do to help me.

“Shall I get Stefan to bring your mate up to watch?” When I didn’t answer, he started toward the door. “Stefan,” he called.

“Stop,” I pleaded. “I’ll do it. Just don’t bring Sebastian in here.”

Grinning, he turned back around. “I knew you’d see it my way.”

I took off my clothes and faced him head on, ready to shift at a moment’s notice. If he tried to get anywhere near me with that dick of his, I wasn’t going to let him win, not without a fight.

A satisfied moan escaped his lips as he looked at me. “Very nice. Now get in the shower and clean up for me. You smell like your mate.” The bathroom was off to my right and before he could follow me in there, a knock sounded on the door. “What is it?” Jaret growled.

“Your sister’s back. She wants to see you,” Stefan answered.

“Where the hell has she been?”

“Don’t know. She says it’s urgent though.”

Huffing, he turned back to me and pointed at the shower. “Clean up. I’ll be right back.”

As soon as he left, I switched on the shower and searched through the drawers, looking for anything I could find to help defend myself. When I found nothing, I rushed into the shower. My wrists burned where the ropes had rubbed me raw, but thankfully, the water washed away the painful wolfsbane residue.

Stepping out of the shower, I froze. There was someone in the bedroom, but it wasn’t Jaret. “Who are you?” I inquired. I couldn’t see who it was, but I could hear them.

I walked out of the bathroom and there was a girl with her back to me. She had red hair hanging down in waves past her shoulders, dressed in a long, white skirt and white top. She was a wolf, but she was something else as well. “Laila?”

She set the tray down and turned around, holding a steaming mug in her hand. Her face looked familiar, like I’d seen it before. “Amelie must’ve told you about me.”

I snorted. “More like how you betrayed her. What do you want?”

Sighing, she stepped toward me. “I’m here to help you. There’s a change of clothes on the bed. Now get dressed, and hurry.” I did as she said and threw on the clothes. The last thing I wanted was to be naked in Jaret’s bedroom. “And I didn’t betray Amelie. She’s my friend.”

“That’s not what she thinks. Your family’s full of fucked up psychopaths. She’s not going to believe you for a second.”

Laila closed the distance between us. “I don’t have time to explain. Drink this.” She held the mug out to me. It wasn’t coffee and it wasn’t tea.

“I’m not drinking that shit.”

“Dammit, Tyla, I’m trying to help you. I need you alive and the only way to do that is to keep you from fighting Jaret. This is the only way. Now drink.”

Keeping my gaze on hers, I took my chances and drank the contents. It tasted like hot peach green tea. Once I was done, she took the cup and set it on the dresser. “What happens now?” The room started to spin and she took my hand, guiding me over to the bed. My head hit the mattress and everything began to fade.

Her voice sounded far off, but I could still hear her. “You’re going to sleep for a while. Just know that you’re safe. No one’s going to touch you.” She held my hand and then a zing of pain sliced through it. I could smell my blood. “I’ve been waiting my whole life for you to show up and now you’re here. Soon it’ll all be over.”

Sebastian

“S
ebastian, please wake up.”

My head pounded and all I could smell was burnt flesh. I opened my eyes and saw Amelie, her tear streaked face wild and desperate.

“Oh my God, I thought you were dead,” she cried.

Groaning, I sat up and hissed when I looked at my hands. The skin was peeled back and they reeked of wolfsbane. “What happened?” It was all a blur, until I looked at the bars and everything came crashing down. “Tyla!” Closing my eyes, I concentrated on her, but it was like she wasn’t even there. “No!” I shouted.

“Where is she?” Amelie demanded, getting to her feet.

I looked up at her. “I don’t know. I can’t feel her in my mind. All I remember is trying to get out and then everything going blank. What happened?”

She shook her head. “I’m not sure. You were doing that mind to mind stuff with Tyla, then you went crazy. The next thing I knew, you’d wrapped your hands around the bars and started prying them apart. I screamed for you to stop, but you didn’t listen. Your hands kept burning. Then suddenly, you stopped and fell to the floor.”

“How long was I out?”

“I’m not sure exactly, but it felt like forever.”

My stomach clenched. Tyla had been alone with Jaret for who knew how long. If anything happened to her, I’d never forgive myself. Kneeling down on the floor, I covered my face with my mangled hands. “Fuck, fuck, fuck. Why isn’t she answering me?”

As if on cue, Jaret and three of his men walked in. When he got sight of the cage and my damaged hands, he barked out a laugh. “Not too happy this morning, I take it?”

“Where’s Tyla?” I growled. The wolfsbane had definitely taken its toll on my body. I felt the poison eating its way through my hands. Stefan opened the cage door while the other two pulled me out and slammed me into a chair. Before I could go on the attack, they wrapped a large rope around me, tying me to the hard, wooden chair. As bad as I wanted to shift, I couldn’t. There was too much wolfsbane on my body, weakening me.

Leaning against the wall, Jaret smiled. “Tyla’s still sleeping soundly in my bed.” Then his gaze met Amelie’s. “I made a mistake in choosing you. Your cousin knew exactly what to do to please me.” He licked his lips. “I can still taste her.”

My whole body shook with rage, my insides on fire. “You son of a bitch,” I growled. “If you’ve touched her in any way, I’ll rip off your goddamned head.”

“Oh, I did more than touch her,” he claimed, grabbing his crotch. “Many times actually. Can’t you smell her on me?”

Amelie’s screamed, “No! How could you do that?” I could smell her scent on him and it only fueled the fire more.

Jaret walked over to her and grinned. “Simple. I spread her wide and fucked her. She was begging for more by the time I got done.”

Even though it burnt her skin, Amelie reached through the bars and smacked him. “I hope you rot in Hell.”

He rubbed his cheek and winked at her before coming back to me. “Once tonight’s over, I’ll kill you both and not have to worry about you getting in the way. Then, when I’ve gotten what I want from Tyla, you can reunite in the afterlife. But first,” he nodded at his men, “it’s time for a little fun. Some would call it payback.”

Amelie gasped, her eyes wide. “Jaret, stop! Don’t do this.”

His men surrounded me, two of them holding me to the chair. Jaret reared back and punched me in the jaw, the sting of it burning like fire. My head snapped to the side, but it wasn’t enough to deter me. Jaret cracked his neck and approached me, his eyes and claws shifting.