Alien General's Beloved (Brion Brides 6)(56)

Lana was so stunned by that, the smile now dead on her lips, that she let Worgen drag her into the quarters with no resistance. Only once she saw the huge bed did reality crash back down on her.

With the outer doors broken by Corden, the dark general locked the door of his bedroom. The black doors slid shut before Lana could dash through them and she knew they wouldn't open for anyone but Worgen.#p#分页标题#e#

She was trapped.

Desperate, Lana looked for another way out. She had been in Worgen's quarters before, but they didn't seem to have any other exit but the door.

The general watched her, his black eyes observing her hopeless attempts to escape.

"There is nowhere to go," Worgen said at last and Lana knew it was the truth.

She turned to look at her enemy in the eyes, but what she saw there was pure madness. Her earlier impression had been right. The more she saw him, the more terrible he got. In their first meeting, his physical appearance had terrified her. In the second, the way he didn't value life. In the third, all of them combined and adding the madness. But now Lana saw that it had all been a facade.

The true Worgen stood before her and his eyes spoke of the insanity only found in space. There was no understanding, no compassion there.

The mad general saw only enemies and allies, nothing more. And both were ultimately expendable.

The veil of sanity around him was starting to shake apart and Lana thought she finally had a glimpse into why his own men hated him so much. The captain wondered at what point had warriors like Tuven understood they were serving a man who no longer lived in the same reality as they did.

Years? Decades? Had they always known?

Worgen was shaking, the onyx armor heating up again and for the first time, Lana felt the kind of petrifying fear that rendered her speechless. Lana could handle madmen, but not pure madness.

The general was removing his gloves, never taking his eyes off her. Lana looked at the door, willing it to open, for Corden to come before it was too late. But Worgen didn't seem to be in any hurry.

She realized he was waiting for her gerion too, to see, to witness him defiling her. Ruining her.

"Get on the bed," Worgen ordered and his gravelly voice was almost robotic.

All fury was gone. He felt almost cold, disinterested.

"I am not your gesha," Lana said, not moving.

"I know."

"I will never be yours."

"I don't care," Worgen said, and his tone said he really didn't. "You might have cost me my victory. You don't know it, but you cost the Brions their one chance at a future. I can't forgive that."

"What you offer to them is a lie—" Lana began, but Worgen was done with her.

The general approached, seizing her by the throat and throwing her on the bed. Lana coughed, rubbing her neck as her back hit the mattress. The strong fingers had left a twisting mark even without the gloves and the hot edges of the armor had dug into her skin. She crawled away from him on the bed, but Worgen didn't follow her.

"If I'm not yours," Lana said. "If you don't care, let me go. If you kill me, Corden will make you regret this."

Worgen smiled, but like the first time Lana saw that, it almost seemed to hurt his face.

"I will not kill you," the mad general said. "There is no point to that. Dying is easy."

"Is that why you're trying so hard to avoid it?" Lana asked.

If there were no other weapons left for her, she could try and hurt him with words. But it seemed Worgen had also become immune to those. The dark general merely laughed.

"Easy for those who don't have the will and the strength to take their lives into their own hands," he answered. "Like that boy of yours. He thinks there is only one life, only one way he can take. That is pathetic. We are Brions, we carve our own paths. This is why I'm needed, you see? I must teach them again."

A message echoed through the room then, addressed to Worgen.

"General," a voice said. "The enemy is on his way. General Corden has left the bay. He is coming."

Worgen didn't respond, but a fire came to life in his dark eyes.

"Now we will see," he said. "But first, we should make sure your gerion sees the future that is waiting for you."

Lana backed away with a cry, but that didn't stop Worgen. The general pulled her to him by the collar of her jacket. His touch seemed to burn her skin more painfully than the flaming armor. Lana tried to kick him away, but the insane smile on the general's face showed her how little he cared for her feeble attempts to run.

She still snarled in fury as Worgen ripped her clothes, tearing them apart and baring her to the general's gaze, her balled fists seeming to be no more than a nuisance as she punched him repeatedly. His dark eyes burned with a hunger, but it wasn't lust for her. Lana didn't believe he actually desired her, as she hadn't since their first encounter.#p#分页标题#e#

No, she was nothing more than a tool for victory. In that case, a way to distract Corden, to drive her gerion out of his mind with jealousy.

Her clothes were hanging off her in shreds, leaving her half-naked, but that had lost its impact on her. All Lana could think of was how to help Corden fight this monster, how to be useful instead of a hindrance.

Only it seemed that her time for that had run out.

They both heard the roar outside and someone approaching like a thunderstorm. Lana watched in awe as the door shook under deafening blows. Worgen smiled beside her, pulling her into his arms, the armor blazing hot against her back.

The general made her face the door, one hand around her throat. Lana tried to pry it away, but it was no use. Worgen was portraying the exact image they both knew would destroy Corden.

The door bent inward as it was sliced in the middle. Lana saw the tip of a blade and heard furious, growling breaths. She wanted to scream and warn Corden, but Worgen had covered her mouth with his hand and not even biting helped. She was left watching as blow upon blow rained on the door until it was finally pushed apart and Corden stood in the door frame.

Lana almost cried out, seeing her gerion. She barely recognized him. The man at the door looked almost as vicious as Worgen, a feral snarl on his lips and blood covering every inch of his armor. He stood, breathing heavily, and there was nothing in his eyes but pure, unrestrained hate.

The rage was there—Lana could see it as plain as day—and she didn't know if the man she loved could ever emerge from it again.

It took only a second for Corden to take in the scene in the room. A low, malicious growl filled the sudden silence, scaring even Lana.

"I told you," Worgen said from behind her. "I said you would see the truth. We are Brions, boy. The rage is a part of who we really are."





CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

Corden



It burned.

A part of Corden was ready to admit that it felt good, to let his inner turmoil finally break to the surface. The rage was easy, so guilt-free compared to his normal restraint, but the look on Lana's face was tearing at something even deeper than that.

The general felt his hands shake in fury, an occurrence that had never happened to him before. Any physical body was ultimately weak, it had its breaking points, and that's why true strength required an equally strong mind. But seeing Worgen holding Lana in his arms was the first time the general had found himself shaking with anger.

His gesha's clothes were torn, baring her gorgeous body for all to see. Worgen was clearly relishing the fury on Corden's face, sliding his hands over Lana's soft skin, cupping her breasts. She struggled, but Worgen's grip was firm .

Corden wanted to attack, to charge without a second thought. He thirsted for Worgen's blood, hungered to tear him apart with his teeth, but that was the rage talking. It was the part of him Corden had fought for so long, the ancient rage that was manifesting now.

Yet for all of that, he didn't move an inch. He couldn't, not when one of Worgen's hands was wrapped around Lana's slender, pale neck. The message was clear, but it was tearing him to pieces to see it. He knew it was a trick, that it was Worgen's plan to tear down his self-control, but it was a good plan nonetheless. No man could watch his gesha being violated like that.

And when Worgen said he'd finally understood his insane plan, Corden seethed with fury.

"Death is too good for you," he snarled.

To his surprise, Worgen nodded.

"Of course," the other general said, caressing Lana's naked stomach. "True enemies should never die. They should never forget that you bested them. It would be best if they had to live forever, witnessing your triumph over them every day. It is what I mean to do to you."

He pushed Lana on her stomach on the bed and Corden moved before he could register what he had done.

"Stay where you are," Worgen warned with a cruel smile. "Or I will twist your pretty whore's neck. I assure you, there is nothing that can bring the dead back to life. The only way to beat death is to never die."

Corden stopped, gritting his teeth so hard it hurt. He could taste blood in his mouth, knowing he'd bitten into his tongue.

Lana yelped when she half-slid off the bed, her body exposed to Worgen. Her head almost touched the floor while the spear in Worgen's hand stopped Corden from making a move.

"You will be the first to learn this lesson," the mad general said, keeping his black eyes on Corden. "Unfortunately, you won't be able to put that to any use. I will make sure neither you nor she dies before I'm done breaking your minds and bodies."#p#分页标题#e#