“Not right away,” I said backing up. I motioned for the others to do the same, and we gave the moon man a wide berth. “He’ll lose a good amount of blood, but he’ll have a while before he croaks.”
The first few fingers exploded, sending scraps of the hostage’s bone, skin, muscles, and blood spatter everywhere. Some got on my shoes, which pissed me off. Olga wasn’t here anymore, and I’d have to clean them myself or throw them out. The audience was far enough away that they were clean. If you included torture as part of a meeting, and your guests got bodily matter on them as a result, cleaning the affected item for them was the right thing to do.Duh.
The moon man bellowed out agonizing cries of pain as the rest of his fingers exploded, soaking his shirt in blood. The pain must have been too much, because he slumped forward.
Bash checked his pulse, and nodded. “He’s good, just passed out.” He placed his hands on the man’s head and closed his eyes, concentrating. “Just collecting some memories and information I can sort through later.”
“Seems like Diana doesn’t do her own dirty work,” a burly, giant man near the door said. He stood, revealing a body that was covered in thick, wiry hair.Hera’s hat, I’m Greek and I’m not even that hairy.It poked out from under his shirt sleeves and collar like it was searching for a way off his body. “She just gets her fuckboys to do it instead.”
I stood up, immediately moving to stand between them. He was not allowed to talk to her that way.
“Stand down for now, Ares,” Diana asked, her voice eerily calm. I moved behind her, keeping close in case he tried anything sly. “And who are you, exactly?” Diana asked. She didn’t rise from her seat. On the contrary, she leaned back, acting like the man’s insult didn’t bother her in the least. “You didn’t make an impression earlier, so I’ve forgotten your name already.”
The man glared at Diana, puffing his chest out and clenching his fists. I placed my hand on her shoulder, a silent warning he understood because he eased up his posture.I fucking DARE you to touch her. I’ll turn your ass into a hide and make a lampshade out of it to match my human skin blanket.
“Bjorn Bearson. I represent the Alaskan Bear Shifters. You’re a fraud!” he shouted as he stood from his chair. “You sit there on your fat ass and let the competent men around you do all the work.”
“Thank you–it took a lot of work to get an ass this fat. It’s a shame you feel that way. Maybe a demonstration is in order?” Diana inquired. I had a feeling she was going to go postal on this asshole.
She stood from her seat and strolled over to the man. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. With a wave of her hand, Diana bound his hands and feet and gagged him. Her magic created iridescent bindings that would be impossible for a being with his weak-ass power signature to escape. His face winced in pain as he fell to the floor with a giant thud.
Diana raised her palms either side of her so they were waist height and facing the ceiling. Bearson levitated off the ground, turning so that his front side faced the floor. Diana’s eyes went completely black, and the skin around her temples turned red and splotchy. The tense set of her jaw and steely glint in her eye was mesmerizing.
Omg, she’s so hot when she’s about to wreak havoc.
A few people rushed to come to his aid, but Desmond and I blocked their path. This bear-minimum piece of shit was going to get his just desserts.Then hopefully I will get some dessert. That sweet fucking pussy.
“Let her handle this,” I commanded. I planted some waist-high barrier fire, so they couldn’t get past without seriously hurting themselves in the process. That was enough to keep them waiting in the wings, eyes on the fight in front of them.
She’s maaaaad, the voice in my head sang.
Oh, I know, and I’m mad about her. We’ll get to see her bloodlust come out and play today.
“Hmmm, what kind of dirty work can I do, since I seem to do none of it myself?” Diana pondered. “Sorry about your chair, Judas.” Diana threw a ray of magic at the chair next to her, blasting it into pieces. She levitated the pieces underneath Bearson and lit them ablaze. Her laughter as she lowered him so his body was just above the flames sounded so malevolent that it gave me a hard-on. I readjusted myself, catching Bash’s gaze out of the corner of my eye.
Don’t fucking judge me, you’re probably just as hard,I linked him.
True, but I do a way better job of hiding mine. Hold onto it, though, and maybe we can take care of it after this meeting,he replied, winking at me.Fucking tease; he better have his own hat for theBrokebackorgy because I’m not sharing.
Bearson’s screaming and thrashing brought my attention back to Diana. She had somehow magically rigged him so he rotated over the flame.
“Bjorn, was it? The reason I let my men torture people is because they enjoy doing it. It makes themhappy,” she emphasized the last word. “I’m perfectly fine torturing people, but I’d never want to take the opportunity away from them. Now, you have a choice. You can shut your fucking mouth, and align yourself with us, or I can ask Mal for an apple so we can spit roast you properly. You may be a bear shifter, but your squeals of pain sound like a pig’s to me.”
Matte black horns sprang from Diana’s head, and our mouths dropped. Everyone stared at them, some in awe and some in terror.
Where the fuck did they come from?!Desmond asked.
They look like smaller versions of your horns,Mal pointed out.
The horns were enough to scare Bearson into submission. He changed his tune real quick.
“I’ll join you!” he shouted. “Please, let me go. I’ll shake on it and make it magically binding!” The panicked expression on his face was a work of art. I took a mental picture so I could remember this day forever, the day my Little G publicly tortured her first victim.Diana should be proud of herself.
Diana levitated him away from the flames, placing him on the floor. She undid his magical bindings, and Bearson took his time standing. He walked over to us, with his hand outstretched. I watched the interaction closely, making sure he didn’t make any sudden moves to attack her. She waited, her hands at her sides, as she eyed Bearson with a raised brow.
“I was mistaken. It will be a pleasure to support you,” he grumbled.
“I’d rather you support me than get annihilated by one of myfuckboys,” she snarked, shaking his hand. Sparks flew out from their joined hands, and I relaxed slightly.