Cassius leads me to his usual spot, but this time there's a cushion on the floor beside his chair.
The implication is clear—I'm to kneel at his feet while he holds court.
"You can still leave," he says quietly. "What you're about to see... there's no coming back from it."
"I don't want to come back."
He studies me for a long moment, then nods. "Then kneel."
I take my position and immediately feel the weight of eyes on me.
Everyone in Hell knows who I am now—Cassius Wolfe's new toy.
Some look at me with envy, others with pity.
The Covenant members are brought in—three men who thought they could encroach on Cassius's territory.
They're forced to their knees in the center of the room.
What happens next is brutal.
Cassius doesn't dirty his hands—he has people for that—but he orchestrates their destruction casually, as casually as selecting which channel you want to watch on the TV.
One man loses three fingers.
Another is branded with Cassius's wolf sigil.
The third...the third dies.
Quickly, cleanly, a bullet between the eyes from Lionel's gun.
Through it all, Cassius's hand stays in my hair, petting me absently like I'm a cat.
The violence should horrify me.
Instead, I'm aroused by his power, by the fear he commands, by the absolute control he wields.
"Anyone else?" he asks the room. "Anyone else think I've gone soft?"
Silence.
"Good. Clean this up."
The bodies are removed, the blood mopped away, and Hell returns to its usual debauchery.
But the message has been sent—Cassius Wolfe is not to be challenged.
A woman approaches, beautiful and dangerous looking.
She kneels beside me, addresses Cassius. "Sir, I could serve you better than this new pet. Let me show you."
Jealousy, hot and unexpected, flares in my chest.
Cassius must feel me tense because his hand tightens in my hair.
"Did I ask for your service?"
"No, Sir, but?—"
