Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 105936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
My Clan—Clan Savage—has Serpentine genes in our DNA. My fangs give me the ability to either poison or heal whenever I want. One guess which I was doing to this fucking asshole.
The would-be rapist howled, sinking to his knees right there in the middle of the club. I kept injecting until my venom sacs were dry—only then did I release his arm.
“Wh-what did you do to me?” he gasped, cradling his arm to his chest. It was already swelling and his light gray skin was turning an ominous reddish-purple. Dark lines of poison were creeping from his wrist, where I’d bitten him, up towards his elbow.
“I gave you what you deserved,” I growled at him. “If I were you, I’d go seek medical attention right fucking now.” I nodded at the lines on his arm. “You might get there in time—or not. If my venom reaches your heart, you’re dead. Even if it doesn’t, your cock is never going to work right again. Good fucking luck.”
Then I swung Jessina up into my arms and started to carry her back to our table where I figured Slade could take care of her. But she was still half-conscious and she looked up at me with pleading in her big amber eyes.
“Please, Turk,” she begged softly. “Don’…don’t tell Slade. He’ll be so…so angry with me.”
I felt my heart melting as I looked down at her—so young and innocent and so afraid to disappoint her big brother. She reminded me of a bird with a broken wing.
“All right, little bird,” I murmured. “I’ll make an excuse and take you home.”
I carried her out of the club, cradled against my chest, and managed to flag down a hover-cab. Once I got her safely stowed inside, I got in myself and gave the auto-drive the address of her family mansion. Then I called Slade and told him I had met someone—which wasn’t entirely untrue—and I would see him and the others back at the mansion later.
I could hear the rest of our crew laughing and telling me what a dog I was, but they bought it. They thought I had picked up some girl and was taking her someplace quiet. Well, they weren’t completely wrong, though of course it wasn’t what they thought. I would never, ever do anything like that with my best friend’s little sister—not even if she was completely sober. Which she wasn’t, thanks to the rape pod that bastard had slipped her.
When we got back to the mansion, I had to sneak Jessina in through the back way, and since I was carrying her in my arms, that wasn’t exactly easy. Still, I managed to avoid all the servants and her Mother and Sire too. Before I knew it, I was tucking her into bed and pulling the covers up to her chin.
I was about to go, but Jessina’s eyes fluttered open and she reached out to grab me by the wrist. I thought she was going to thank me or maybe ask me not to tell Slade again. But instead she murmured something I could barely hear.
“What was that, little bird?” I asked, leaning down to put my ear near her mouth.
“Fated…Mate,” she whispered. And then her eyes closed and she was out.
I looked down at her for a long time, taking in the way her long black lashes curled against her cheeks. She didn’t look like a Brute, except for her eyes. Her skin was a warm, creamy brown and for a moment I saw her as she would be when she got older. She was going to be a heartbreaker, I thought—not merely pretty or cute but fucking gorgeous. She had a regal quality about her. I hoped Slade was ready to defend her because there were going to be a lot of males after her.
Reaching down, I stroked her cheek with the backs of my fingers. So soft and warm…so innocent. She stirred and a soft moan escaped her lips but she didn’t wake again. I wondered if she was dreaming of her Fated Mate—she must be, since those were the words she’d spoken. Whoever he was, I hoped he would treat her right.
I left her asleep in her bed and never told a soul about what had happened at the club. But it made me feel protective of Jessina. Later on, I gave her a talking to about not sneaking into clubs while she was underage and about how she should never fucking ever take a drink offered by someone she didn’t know.
“Order a drink in a bottle or a squeeze-bulb if you’re thirsty and be sure to keep it in your hand at all times so nobody can tamper with it,” I lectured her the next day. “Never trust any of the guys you meet at those places—half of them are fucking rapists! You could have died last night if I hadn’t seen you!”