Page 58 of Monsters Carve Thrones

My blood boiled, but I said nothing. I looked each man in the eye, daring them to see anything close to surrender in me. Waylon noticed. He leaned in close, whispering in my ear so no one else could hear.

“You hate this,” he murmured. “That’s good. Hate keeps you awake. But eventually, even hate gets tired. And I’ll be there when it does and you fall apart.”

Then he did it. Right there in front of them all.

He pulled the leash harder, forcing me down to my knees beside his chair. The cuffs bit into my wrists as I staggered. The carpet scratched against my shins. “Now, smile for the gentlemen,” he said coldly, stroking a hand over my hair like I was some kind of lapdog.

I stared straight ahead. Refusing. Furious.

One of the men scoffed. “She’ll need training.”

Waylon smirked. “Oh, she’s being trained. Trust me.”

My jaw was locked so tight I could taste blood. My cheeks burned, not from shame, but from rage so complete I could hardly see straight. He wanted me humiliated. Broken. Submissive. He would choke on disappointment because I would never bow to a king who wasn’t Rafe.

Waylon’s fingers gripped the leash, and with a sharp tug, he made me stand.

I rose slowly, heart hammering, every muscle screaming to lunge. But I didn’t move.

He brushed imaginary lint from my shoulder and turned back to the men. “As I was saying,” he began, voice sharp with command. “We need to be vigilant. Vaughan’s scent is already in the air.”

The room fell quiet.

He leaned against the table like a commander giving orders, casually holding my leash like it was nothing more than a decorative piece. “Three of our contacts in Paris were found dead yesterday. Knife wounds. Hands bound. Teeth missing.”

There were muttered curses in various languages. One man muttered, “Fucking Vaughan.”

“He’s looking for her,” another said, eyeing me. “Of course he is. She’s a pretty little thing.”

I said nothing, but my chest burned with the spark that ignited deep in my gut.Rafe was coming.I knew he would.

Waylon’s tone was deceptively calm. “Vaughan is predictable. Dangerous, yes, but obsessive. He’s not thinking with strategy anymore. He’s thinking with rage. That makes him a threat… but also a weakness.”

I kept my expression flat, but inside, something unfurled. A new kind of steel.He was killing his way toward me.

But the man beside Waylon sneered at me. “Don’t get too excited, girl. He won’t make it to you. Waylon will gut him before he gets close.”

I snorted. “You idiots really don’t know who you’re dealing with.”

There was a beat of silence, just long enough for everyone to hear the crackle of fire in my voice.

Waylon’s hand snapped to the back of my neck. “What did you say?”

“I said,” I hissed. “Rafe is going to slaughter every last one of you. And I’ll be smiling when he does.”

The table scraped loudly as he yanked the leash forward, slamming my front against the wood. “Don’t speak unless I request it,whore,” he snarled, leaning close, breath hot and sour at my ear. “And don’t youdarespeak his name in my presence again.”

The other men laughed, low and cruel, the sound slithering up my spine.

“I’ll do more than speak it,” I spat. “I’ll think it every time you climb on top of me.”

Something in him snapped. With an angry growl, he yanked my shorts down so I was in my underwear. I froze, but I refused to show fear. “You’re lucky I’m such apossessive man,” he hissed, pressing his growing bulge into my backside. “Otherwise, I’d fuck you right here and then let every one of them fuck you.”

I heard a snort come from across the table, followed by the sound of his belt sliding free.Fuck. Fuck.

Before I could even imagine what he was about to do to me publicly, he struck my ass. I couldn’t help the yelp that escaped my lips. Unfortunately, I met the eager gazes of the wolves sitting across from me, their eyes glued to where Waylon was now repeatedly hitting me.

“I don’t know how you ever make it out of the bedroom,” one of them sneered. “You couldn’t pull me away from that tight ass.”