Chapter 293
Chapter 293
I wanted to tell Asher that I would do anything. If it meant protecting Gideon from a certainly long and agonizing fate, then I would do it.
But I was frozen. No matter how hard I tried the words simply wouldn’t come. Because deep down, I knew I couldn’t abort my baby. It was the one thing I had. I wouldn’t let Asher take it from me, even if it meant hurting my mate.
There had to be another way, though. My mind began to race. Gideon hadn’t come alone, had he? Maybe we could find help. Get out of here together.
And then…
Asher took my silence as a challenge and grabbed Gideon’s fingernail with the pliers. I took a step forward, breath catching. Asher shot me a sneer that made my mouth go dry. And then he began to pull.
I wanted to look away as he tugged, but I couldn’t. I forced my expression into neutrality, even as Gideon woke and began to scream. Even when the blood began to spurt and his nail popped free of its bed with a sickening schlurp.
“Ah…Ah…AHHHH!” Gideon jolted awake, trying to yank his hand back, but it was no use. He was bound to the chair, completely at Asher’s mercy.
Asher held up the nail, still coated in blood and tissue. He looked at me. “No? Nothing?” He waved it around a little. “No reaction to your boyfriend’s pain p>
My throat bobbed. I remained silent, even though I felt like retching.
Gideon slowly turned his head. His eyes widened when he saw me standing there.” Avery p>
Asher tossed the nail and the pliers aside. This time, he walked over to the fire pit and picked up a hot iron poker that had been resting in the coals. The tip was glowing red.
“The request was simple, Avery. If you truly loved him, you would end his suffering now. I’ll set him free, No more pain p>
I still couldn’t speak. My eyes were fluttering between Gideon and the hot poker in Asher’s hand.
Asher walked over to Gideon. The ripping of fabric as he tore into the back of Gideon’s shirt almost seemed to echo in the quiet camp.
He didn’t hesitate before pressing the hot end onto Gideon’s skin.
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Chapter 293
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My wolf howled in tandem with Gideon’s cries, but I forced myself to remain neutral. There had to be another way. Something I could do that could save both Gideon and our baby.
When Asher finally pulled the poker away, Gideon was breathless and panting, head hanging. I dared not to look at the red mark that had been seared into his skin, but it didn’t matter. The image was burned into my mind just as it was burned into his flesh. My eyes pricked with tears, although I managed to hold them at bay.
“Avery…” He slowly looked at me again. “Why…? Why not… Help me p>
I opened my mouth, but no words came. Not that it mattered, anyway. Asher clapped his hands together twice, and two guards rushed into the tent. They lifted Gideon, chair and all.
“Take him to the observation cells,” Asher commanded. “See to it that he’s thoroughly humiliated, but don’t kill him yet p>
“Yes, Sir,” the guards said in unison.
I could only stand there in shock as they carried Gideon away. The last I saw of him was his gaze boring into me. The look of betrayal I saw there made my heart shatter, and the worst part was that the silver binding both of us—my ring, his shackles — made it impossible for me to mindlink him and tell him the truth.
For now, we were both trapped.
And unless I made an impossible decision, Gideon would die.
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