Page 34 of Their Lethal Pet

“Thanks for making this so easy, Alina,” he drawls, slamming my back against the wall.

I can’t even reply, my ears ringing from the impact of my head meeting the hard surface behind me. My lungs scream in protest at the lack of oxygen, too.

It all happened so fast.

Toofast.

And now my vision is swimming with spots.

What the hell just happened?

One second I was lost to a strange scent and now… now I’m?—

“Don’t kill her,” a deep voice demands. “The Viscount wants her untouched.”

“She’s fine,” Threat—Timothy—snaps back.

“She’s turning purple, T,” the other guy growls. “Let her go.”

Timothy mutters something under his breath that I don’t quite catch, and the world suddenly shifts. My knees protest, shooting pain up my spine as they crash into something hard.

The ground?I marvel, falling to my side on a wheeze as I grasp at my aching throat. I curl into a ball, only to find myself being handled once more as someone jerks me up off the floor.

I yelp, my head stinging from my hair being caught in a fist.

“Dude, what the fuck is wrong with you?” the one guy barks. “What part ofuntoucheddon’t you fucking get?”

“He wants her virginity, Mark. He couldn’t give twoshits about her actual condition beyond that,” Timothy replies as he roughly positions me in his arms. “Stop worrying about me and worry more about getting us underground. We need to get on the train.”

Train?I repeat groggily.No. No, thanks. I amnotgoing back.

Some part of that thought seems to kick my reflexes into gear because suddenly I’m squirming and fighting for this guy to release me.

He hisses words at me I barely understand, my instinct to escape overriding all thought and comprehension. All I can think about is freedom. I need to get to my sister. To find a map. Torun.

The man—Timothy—grunts as my knee connects with his groin, my feet somehow on the floor.

I shove myself away from him, my shoes slapping on the ground as I make a run for it.

Only for my hair to be caught in a fist once more.

I scream,furiousat this ridiculous outfit and the impracticality of it all.Furiousat the man grabbing for me.Furiousat this world and the dark fate taunting my every breath.

“Let me go!” I demand hoarsely, my hands flying aimlessly.Recklessly. I’m a ball of fiery limbs and newly released fury.

Yet all I seem to be doing is ripping my own hair out.

My scalp burns, followed by my cheek as I’m shoved up against the wall once more.

Fingers dig into my hips, a palm wraps around my sore throat, and tears stream down my cheeks.

“Just knock her out!” a man shouts. I’m not sure which one. I’m too busy trying to break free of this impossible hold.

I won’t go down easily.

I won’t just allow this to happen.

I won’t?—