finally decided to join the Army.
Carnies could be some of the most trustworthy people on the planet. He glanced at Perry. They could also be the scourge of a town. It just depended on the people within it.
This Perry fellow reeked of dishonesty and lies. The first thing Mel had learned to do after becoming a shifter was learn to smell a lie and the man reeked of it. That’s right, old man, you could call yourself the human lie detector, except…wait…you aren’t human anymore.
Mel shook the thought off. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t human. He was better than human now. If one wanted to be arrogant, and he rarely did these days, one could say the lot of them were some sort of super heroes, or super soldiers, at least.
They spent a good portion of their time hunting down what was left of the rogue Tudra and saving innocent women and children and giving them new identities so they could live their lives in peace if they didn’t want to return to Paradise.
Well, they could live their lives with as much peace as they could muster after being held captive, raped and forced to give birth to their captor’s offspring. Some of the women were in mental institutions, their children wards of Paradise or of the other shifter community that they now knew existed.
Fear practically boiled off Milla and her friends. The smell was nearly overpowering, giving them the scent of prey. His beast didn’t like it. He wanted his mate out of the area before the acrid smell of fear drew predators to her and threatened her life.
It was all he could do not to growl at the man.
What the hell was coming over him? He never reacted like this. Was it the el calor , or was it something entirely different? Whatever it was inside him clamoring to get out, wanted to protect Milla and it meant business.
Chapter Eleven
It took every ounce of courage Milla had to stand nose to nose with Perry and defy him. She didn’t know if she would have had it in her to do it, if not for the two men standing at her side.
The man thrived on intimidation. It was what he was doing to her now, what he had always done to her. Every instinct within her screamed for her to either submit or run. She did neither. Milla was through with him and his overbearing ways. She would stand up to this bully, here in this town, if it was the last thing she ever did.
Milla was through giving in and she was through with running. It was time to stand up to the beast. She stared at Perry. He was a beast through and through. If what she’d seen in her men’s minds really was true, and she couldn’t see how it wasn’t. After all, she’d lived through their memories with them. Perry was more of a beast than any of them ever thought of being.
She deserved a home. She deserved a life and, by god, she intended to have both—here in Paradise, if they would have her after this, or in a town just like it, if they wouldn’t. Everyone in the carnival deserved a life of their own. If traveling with the carnival was what they wanted, then so be it. They deserved to do it on their own terms, not under Perry’s thumb.
Hell, she didn’t even remember when or how Perry took over. Before, they had been a band of drifters traveling together for the common goal of survival and business. They made money. They laughed and cried together. They had been a family…once.
Now, they were stuck in it with Perry calling the shots. He forced people to stay when they wanted to leave and he took advantage of everyone. Why she seemed so important to him, she might never know and she didn’t really care. She wanted out. That was all, and it was everything.
She thought back. When had they agreed to take Perry on as their leader? When he’d first joined, he was a nobody compared to the some of the others. All of them had certain gifts. Powers or mutations that made it difficult for them to live a normal life in a normal town. That was why they had originally decided to travel together.
Carnies could be some of the most trustworthy people on the planet. He glanced at Perry. They could also be the scourge of a town. It just depended on the people within it.
This Perry fellow reeked of dishonesty and lies. The first thing Mel had learned to do after becoming a shifter was learn to smell a lie and the man reeked of it. That’s right, old man, you could call yourself the human lie detector, except…wait…you aren’t human anymore.
Mel shook the thought off. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t human. He was better than human now. If one wanted to be arrogant, and he rarely did these days, one could say the lot of them were some sort of super heroes, or super soldiers, at least.
They spent a good portion of their time hunting down what was left of the rogue Tudra and saving innocent women and children and giving them new identities so they could live their lives in peace if they didn’t want to return to Paradise.
Well, they could live their lives with as much peace as they could muster after being held captive, raped and forced to give birth to their captor’s offspring. Some of the women were in mental institutions, their children wards of Paradise or of the other shifter community that they now knew existed.
Fear practically boiled off Milla and her friends. The smell was nearly overpowering, giving them the scent of prey. His beast didn’t like it. He wanted his mate out of the area before the acrid smell of fear drew predators to her and threatened her life.
It was all he could do not to growl at the man.
What the hell was coming over him? He never reacted like this. Was it the el calor , or was it something entirely different? Whatever it was inside him clamoring to get out, wanted to protect Milla and it meant business.
Chapter Eleven
It took every ounce of courage Milla had to stand nose to nose with Perry and defy him. She didn’t know if she would have had it in her to do it, if not for the two men standing at her side.
The man thrived on intimidation. It was what he was doing to her now, what he had always done to her. Every instinct within her screamed for her to either submit or run. She did neither. Milla was through with him and his overbearing ways. She would stand up to this bully, here in this town, if it was the last thing she ever did.
Milla was through giving in and she was through with running. It was time to stand up to the beast. She stared at Perry. He was a beast through and through. If what she’d seen in her men’s minds really was true, and she couldn’t see how it wasn’t. After all, she’d lived through their memories with them. Perry was more of a beast than any of them ever thought of being.
She deserved a home. She deserved a life and, by god, she intended to have both—here in Paradise, if they would have her after this, or in a town just like it, if they wouldn’t. Everyone in the carnival deserved a life of their own. If traveling with the carnival was what they wanted, then so be it. They deserved to do it on their own terms, not under Perry’s thumb.
Hell, she didn’t even remember when or how Perry took over. Before, they had been a band of drifters traveling together for the common goal of survival and business. They made money. They laughed and cried together. They had been a family…once.
Now, they were stuck in it with Perry calling the shots. He forced people to stay when they wanted to leave and he took advantage of everyone. Why she seemed so important to him, she might never know and she didn’t really care. She wanted out. That was all, and it was everything.
She thought back. When had they agreed to take Perry on as their leader? When he’d first joined, he was a nobody compared to the some of the others. All of them had certain gifts. Powers or mutations that made it difficult for them to live a normal life in a normal town. That was why they had originally decided to travel together.
Similar Books
