Chapter One
Psych
I stare at the blubbering mess of what used to be a man named Marco. He is strapped to a chair that my father has bolted to the warehouse floor for situations like this. The bare light bulb that hangs above his head offers the only illumination on this dark and dreary night. There is no escaping me or the Fallen Legion MC. The warehouse is deserted and decrepit, located on the outskirts of town. No one comes out here anymore, and that’s exactly the way we like it.
“What do you want to do with him now?” Gears questions, his face a mask of indifference.
I stare at my best friend for a long moment while debating how to answer his question. We have known each other our entire lives, and he would never judge me or question my decisions. But what I am feeling is beyond words. There’s a reason the Fallen Legion gave me the nickname “Psych.” I deserve to be locked up in a psych ward on the best of days.
Today is not one of my good days.
“Blowtorch.”
Gears hesitates for a single heartbeat before moving to get what I asked for. This may not be his style, but he has had my back since we were five years old, and he will in this as well. Stepping closer to the man, I take in the work we have already done. On the floor lay all ten severed fingers, and his face and torso are beaten to a pulp. He used to be what people would classify as an attractive man. Mid-thirties, dark hair, clean-shaven, nice suit. It’s exactly what made him the perfect predator. No one expected it.
If you saw him now, though, you would never have guessed what he used to look like. His expensive suit is ruined. Not just from the blood I’ve spilled today but the fact that he pissed himself at the beginning of the fucked-up adventure we’re on.
“Please,” he pleads through his busted lips. His voice is low and pained.
A sense of immense satisfaction flows through me, knowing I’m responsible for his current state and I will be responsible for his death before the sun rises later. My panther prowls the corners of my mind, not yet satisfied with the violence we have wrought against this piece of shit.
“Tell me, Marco,” I say casually. “Did you stop and heed the pleas of the women you raped? Or did you simply continue to do whatever you wanted?”
Marco shakes his head. “I never—” but I cut him off with another hard hit to his face.
“Don’t lie to him,” Gears says calmly. He sets the blowtorch on the table we have stationed beside the chair. “You don’t want to piss him off.”
“I’ve seen the footage. You were caught red-handed and still want to lie to me?”
My voice doesn’t rise with my anger. I am calm and in control. Always.
“I’m sorry,” Marco sobs. “I swear it will never happen again.”
“Finally.” I smile at him. He shrinks back away from me as far as the chair will allow, knowing this isn’t going to end well for him. “Something we can agree on.”
Circling behind him, I take a set of rusted tongs in one hand and the blowtorch in the other. My panther purrs in satisfaction, knowing there will be more bloodshed in the near future. I smile in relief, finally being able to slake my bloodlust and satisfy the monster that lives just beneath my skin. The violence calms me. It’s why my father, the President of the Fallen Legion MC, promoted me to the position of Enforcer the moment I was fully patched into the club. I live and breathe for this shit.
“Cut his suit off him,” I instruct Gears calmly. Marco sobs louder, blubbering words that I can’t even make out as my friend complies.
As the last fragments of material hit the blood-soaked concrete floor, I step back in front of him. “Now, it’s time for you to receive some of the pain you so easily wrought on those innocent women. You can scream and cry, but I will have no mercy. Just like you.”
Using the tongs, I harshly grip his shriveled prick and lift it away from his body. With a trained flick of my wrist, the blowtorch shoots to life. Marco tries to scurry away, but there is nowhere to go. It’s time to face the consequences of his actions. The scent of burning flesh and singed hair permeates the air and burns my nostrils as I run the flame slowly along the length of his cock. The flesh bubbles beneath my gaze as his agonized screams reach the high beams overhead.
We are miles from town and everything else. I’m not worried about anyone hearing him. Besides, I’m sure if I should show the proof to anyone, they wouldn’t even think twice about what I was doing.
“He’s out,” Gears says after a while.
I didn’t even realize the asshole had passed out from all the pain. He doesn’t deserve to be spared a moment of this. “Wake him up.” I shut off the torch.
It only takes a moment for the smelling salts to do their work. At first, the fucker is numb to the pain, probably hoping this will be nothing more than a bad dream, but then the pain hits. The scream that tears from his lungs is high-pitched and quickly grates on not just my nerves but that of my panther. The noise is getting to be too much, driving me closer to the edge of insanity, and I know I will need to finish this sooner rather than later.
Removing my hunting blade from the holster at my side, I carve the word rapist into his chest before slicing open his stomach and letting his guts spill to the floor.
“Hang him from the Bay Street Bridge where everyone can see him,” I instruct my friend as I turn and leave.
Straddling my old black Harley parked outside, I contemplate shifting. But I can’t do that just yet, even though I would gladly allow my panther to take charge for a while. I need to head back to the compound and update my father on the situation. I doubt he’ll be happy with the outcome, but I really couldn’t give a shit.
Afterward, I will let my beast out and give him a chance to bask in the glory of our violence. Tonight, we have done what we were made to do. My panther and I believe that no one should be allowed to harm innocents, and we will take whatever steps necessary to right any wrongs we see fit.
In my life, I have done many horrible things. Deeds that most others would never be able to fathom or forgive, but I have never harmed an innocent. And I sure as shit won’t allow it to happen in our territory.
****
Aryanna
I look over my shoulder at my best friend, Isabel, a lynx shifter who is struggling to keep up with my cougar. I finally stop and give her a chance to catch up.
“You’re such a bitch,” Isabel says playfully when she shifts beside me.
I can’t help but laugh because I know my best friend isn’t pissed at me. We’ve been friends since we were toddlers, and she is someone I can tell anything to. She’d keep my secrets as I would keep hers.
We lay down on the soft underbrush and listened to the animals that had scurried away when we arrived, starting to return. I could easily stay out here all day. It’s one of the most peaceful places I have ever been, and I love coming here. I turn my head to stare at my friend. I have always been jealous of her beauty. Dark hair, olive skin, and brilliant green eyes. She is curvy and confident—things I have never been.
“Do you think we’ll be stuck in the mansion forever?” I ask.
Isabel sighs. “I’m not sure. I have it easier than you. I’m just the daughter of the head of security for your father. I’ve always had more freedom than you have.”