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The bastard sneered at me, blood still covering his face. I’d removed all fingers from his left hand, but he was pissing me off to the point that I would chop off both hands.

I lifted his arm, studying the finger bone sticking out. The cut had been clean through. I turned toward Ren, waving the last finger at him.

“Any new ideas?”

Ren was just as bloody as me. He’d taken his turn first and beaten the vampire until every bone broke in his body. Then we waited for him to heal before I had my turn. The door slammed shut and footsteps thudded on the tile. Bastien entered, carrying a large box. He placed it on his table.

“Keep your activities to that side of the room.” Bastien flicked the finger away that had flown to his worktable, across the room. “You will contaminate my study.”

He sliced the box open and rifled through the contents, setting things next to his other materials.

“We can just kill him,” Ren said. His calm words didn’t fool me, he was pissed the fucker wasn’t talking.

“I can make him talk,” I said, resolved. I scanned the drooping body. “We can cut off his dick, see if that will give him incentive.”

His body stiffened.

Gotcha.

“No,” he croaked, whimpering.

Ah, something I could work with.

“Do we have sharper pliers?”

“You’re being generous.” Ren laughed.

I smirked and moved forward.

A hesitant knock came from the door. “Can I come in?” Catalina called.

“Hide that,” Bastien snapped.

“Fuck,” I hissed. I shoved a rag into his mouth and pulled the binding hanging from his neck over it so he couldn’t spit it out.

Ren tossed a large tarp over the area to cover the blood and gore. She would smell the mess, but at least she would not see it.

We had it all covered in time for Catalina to stride through. She slowed, frowning as she swept her gaze across Bastien’s lab.

“Why are you guys looking all suspicious—ah.” She cleared her throat, looking at the blood the tarp wasn’t long enough to cover. Catalina’s eyes widened. “I don’t want to know what you’re doing to that vampire, huh?”

“No,” I responded.

She grimaced.

“I’ll stay curious.” She turned to Bastien. “Tobias let me know your stuff to check my blood out arrived.”

“Yes, it did, Little One.” He patted the bench to the side of his worktable. She propped her luscious ass on it.

“Oh, and, Jax, Asher was looking for you. He wanted to know if you got the guy to say anything.”

“Right.” I cleared my throat and went in search of the others. Ren deviated to kiss her forehead and then trailed after me as Bastien set up his syringe.

Fuck, I would like to switch spots with him. Being near Catalina allowed me a peace I never could have anticipated. Being around her was like how I imagined being around the sun was. It had been so long since I’d felt it’s touch but the warmth that spread in my gut whenever I even thought of her didn’t seem possible.

I’d believed Imogen was my Beloved, but I’d been wrong. What I had felt was a manifestation of what I believed it would have felt like. Now I understood how I could so easily fall to Catalina. She was my true match. She completed our Coven.

THIRTY-FOUR