Chapter 194

Livia followed Rhye as he led them downstairs, her heart beating a little too rapidly, nerves buzzing through her like a swarm of angry bees. Part of it was the lingering shock over everything they’d told her, but part of it was good old-fashioned Leon of the unknown.

She believed Rhye when he said he could contain her power if it got out of hand, which eased some of the Leon; but not all of it. The what-ifs were circling around and around in her mind. He’d said her power felt different, so what if it were broken? What if he was wrong, and he couldn’t contain it?

What if he could prevent it from escaping the room to which he was leading them, but he couldn’t stop it from hurting him, Leon, or Joseph?

What if they become obsessed? What if her power finally began to affect them like it did, well, humans?

That's going to take some serious getting used to.

Sure, she’d kind of, sort of, thought she might be an alien. She realized that after having confirmation that she definitely wasn’t human, she hadn’t truly believed she was... other. Different, yes. But, in the back of her mind, she’d been holding onto the belief she’d formed years ago: that she was just mutated or a freak leap of evolution.

Leaning to the side to see around Rhye’s bulk when he opened the door at the bottom of the stairs, Livia caught sight of a dark, underground hallway, at the end of which was a massive, steel door.

Livia slowed to a stop. "Umm, guys? Someone tell me you’re not leading me into some kind of dungeon, because that looks a hell of a lot like the door of a torture chamber."

"Oh. "Uhhh," Joseph stumbled.

Whipping around to face him, she gave him wide eyes. She caught the look Rhye gave Leon and the elbow he threw into her Cookie Monster’s ribs.

"Ouch! What was that for?" Joseph yelped, rubbing the spot with a look akin to a wounded puppy, the scar cutting through his eye creasing with his tented brows.

Leon shook his head at his friend, then smiled reassuringly at her. "It’s not a torture chamber, Livia."

"Oh! "Riiiigghhtt," Joseph's expression softened to one of comprehension. Looking down at her, he nodded with exaggerated agreement. "Yeah, no, definitely not a torture chamber." His eyes flitted to the right. "Or… not exclusively a torture chamber. It’s a multipurpose room, really."

A garbled sound escaped her throat, and she was sure if her eyes got any bigger, they were going to be in serious danger of popping out.

She felt Rhye’s heat a moment before his deep voice whispered in her ear, "If torture was on the menu for you, we would’ve done so by now."

Joseph held up a finger and added, "Let’s not be rash here. I don’t think we should cross it off the menu entirely. Some torture is fun!"

Livia gave him a look that clearly said he was crazy, which she thought was more than fair. Grabbing it, he bent and brushed the tip of his nose across hers, eyes flashing gold in the faint light. "You silly, little sis…you are not my type, really. I don’t like girls."

She rolled her eyes. "I knew it." She smiled at him.

Rhye growled, "Stop touching her, Joseph or…"

"Yeah, yada yada. She is yours." Joseph winked and slapped Livia’s butt, which made her chuckle.

"She is just making me smile, Rhye, relax," Livia whispered in his ears, "I'm yours, remember?"

With a voice that had a low rasp, barely a breath of sound, Rhye purred, "Fuck, little witch." Before her lips could brush his, Rhye straightened. He glided the tip of his tongue across his lower lip, giving her a teasing peek, then grinned widely, looking smug as fuck.

Seduced by that low purr and the way Alpha Rhye's eyes held her captive, Livia swayed forward.

"Yes, you are mine, only mine."

"Oh, really now? What if I want you now? What are you going to do about it?" Livia teased.

"Oh, that was dirty! You’re going to pay for that later," he growled, but the threat was ruined by her smile.

Rhye's eyes went hooded, and his grin became anticipatory. "Promises, promises."

The quip she was about to fire back was cut short when Rhye slipped one thickly muscled arm over her shoulder and across her chest. The touch, which was more contact than they’d ever had, stunned her to silence.

And, apparently, to docility, because when he used that arm to guide her around, it didn’t even occur to her to resist. Rhye held her lightly against his front, not so close that walking was difficult, but close enough that she could feel his hard body brushing hers from the back of her head down to her ass. Close enough, she felt small, delicate, safely enfolded by his big frame, and drowning in his intoxicating scent of sunshine, smoke, and bourbon.

"Flirt later. We have more important things to do at the moment," Leon said as rage throbbed in him like a heartbeat, but he did his best to cover it up with a fake smile.

Rhye snorted, as if that were the most ridiculous thing he’d ever heard. Even Joseph made a skeptical sound low in his throat and rolled his eyes at the beta. "You are a killjoy, Leon."

Snickering, Livia shook her head at their antics. That was when it hit her that they were distracting her on purpose, trying to calm her by taking her mind off of obsessing about what was coming. Even Leon—dangerous, deadly, brooding Leon—cared enough to try and make her feel better.

Once inside the room, still standing in Rhye’s arms, Livia quickly scanned the space as either Leon or Joseph secured the door behind them. It was weakly lit with a single bare bulb hanging from the ceiling.

Her nose wrinkling at the faint scent of copper and damp earth, she eyed the drain directly under the bulb warily. To the right was a long, metal table covered in dents and scratches—the only furniture the room boasted.

Cutting Rhye a look when he stepped up to her side, she drawled, "Not a torture chamber, hmm?"

He had the grace to look slightly guilty, but she knew it was for the fib and not at all over the fact that they had a dungeon.