Inhumane

030

DAMON

A million moments led up to this one. They were made up of so many different fragments of me, my Pack, and Paige. It almost felt like my life had led me to this exact moment, standing before the enemy. As if my duty as the Beta had been a long and winding road only to reach this massive obstacle, leaned up against the rock with a smirk on his serious face.

I stalked out from the trees, coming to a stop twenty feet from him. My teeth were bared and the growl refused to stop rumbling from my chest, almost deafening in volume. I wanted to kill him so badly right there, but he knew that. He placed his hand at his hip and smoothly exposed a polished silver handgun. He didn't point it at me, but he didn't have to. I got the message and I knew what he wanted.

"Don't bother, I just want to talk. It would be a lot easier if you were not a mutt." Samuel said coldly.

I responded with another snarl and a snap of my jaws. My eyes narrowed as I weighed my options carefully. Shifting to skin meant compliance, but what else was I to do? He obviously had some nerve coming onto my territory. But more than that, he had an angle he wanted to play. Seeing the look on his face, it was almost as if he knew he had all the cards in the game. But that could have just been his poker face.

After another moment of thought, I changed back and stood unflinchingly before him.

"You are trespassing," I told him bluntly, keeping my voice steady and cold.

"Almost," he nodded to the technical boundary that sat between us.

"Close enough for me," I responded, folding my arms over my chest.

A laugh barked out of his throat, dry and short. "You don't want to kill me, mutt."

I let the corner of my lip tilt upwards, just in the slightest. Baylor's eyes hardened into coal.

"You don't. I know this because, despite what I tell my men, your kind does have a little common sense. Right? You know what will preserve your life and what won't. Your hair still pricks up on the back of your neck when danger nears." He ran a large hand over his beard and then stuck it out, palm up like he was serving his next statement to me. "Obviously, you know that if you try and kill me, you will have two dozen barrels shoved down your throat."

"The same could be said about teeth and your throat," I shot back smoothly. "Just get to the point."

"I told you, I came to talk. This is not something I usually do."

Patiently, I waited for what came next. Honestly, I didn't know what to expect. Instead of preparing for his statements, I reviewed the story we had created in my head. Paige was supposed to be locked up, Tye was released to tell Samuel that Paige needed time, and then she would kill us all. Was I supposed to be devastated at my mate's "betrayal?" Too late, I supposed I should play my part. Although the sleepless nights that had started to show on my face may have been in my favor.

"You have my daughter, and that just doesn't sit right with me."

I cut him off, "It has been months, Baylor. Pack up the sob story, you're too late for that."

It took him a moment to respond, as if he was controlling his temper or approaching a new angle. When he spoke again, his voice was colder. "Do you want her to die?"

This question took me back, it was so brutally honest that it took me a second to regain my composure. I knew he had seen it, my slip up. My mouth remained shut tight. I didn't want Paige to die, but I also didn't know what he was getting at.

"This is why I am here. You know me, my profession, my men. It's all well and clear to your kind. Contrary to what you may think, I don't want my daughter to die. But, the thing is, if you go through with what you think you are or whatever it is she has planned, she will die, and so will all of you." Baylor leaned back against the rock, folding his arms over his chest. "I have loyal men, but they are not loyal to a traitor. They see Paige like they saw her mother."