Page 8 of Her Tortured Beasts (Her Vicious Beasts #4)

Chapter 7

Ghoul

N othing in the land of the living or the dead could have prepared me for the vision of my regina as she assumed her cobra form.

Sheer, utter, majestic perfection.

Something more than me pulled me to my feet and forced my limbs to move towards her. It’s in a state of ecstasy that I watch her scaled body slither keenly towards me, fangs bared in a latent threat.

“See?” I gloat, tossing a smirk at the team. “She recognises my authority.”

She hisses in annoyance and I grin wider, bringing up a shadow-covered hand to enclose around her neck. Her scales are cool and smooth, and the mating mark hidden under my shadows burns at the contact.

“That’s it, little snakelet,” I say, unable to help myself. “Hiss at me all you want, as long as you give me that sweet, sweet poison.” I turn towards Solomon and beckon with my first two fingers. The chief tiger snake passes me the clear cylindrical container, covered with a soft white cap. “Ready?” I stroke a thumb down her slender neck and lean down to whisper, “Give me everything, like a good girl.”

She hisses and strikes. I meet her just in time with the milking container. Her jaws open around it, sharp fangs piercing the plastic, and all that beautiful, dangerous venom squirts out. I watch in rapture, my eyes wide, tears gathering behind them. My focus is on her, only her as she expels the powerful liquid into the jar.

“Such a good snakelet,” I coo. You are perfect , I say into my own head.

She fills the jar twice more than a cobra has any right to before the flow stops, and it’s with great pride that I prise her jaws off.

I had intended to keep my thoughts to myself, but the snakelet slithers like a piece of delicious silk into my mind.

“You’re even crazier than Savage,” she says.

Her voice is like a balm to the rotten crevices within my skull. “Savage?” I muse. “That little puppy dog isn’t crazy at all.”

Mace is right about many things. But the one thing we agree on the most is that serpents are the superior species. And now, I practically have the snakelet all to myself.