“You people are animals,” she spat after he’d entered the room and they were alone.
He arched one eyebrow. “Partly.”
“How could you allow that asshole to do that to your own son?”
“He will heal. The punishment wasn’t severe and he’s a grown man. He made his own choices. I can only support him and care for him when he needs me to. Carlos offered to whip my son so I wouldn’t have to. That was a kindness.”
“A kindness? Are you high? Drantos was in so much pain he passed out when that son of a bitch was done beating on him.”
“Carlos is a Lycan, not a VampLycan.”
“And that means what?”
“He’s not as strong as we are. The blows were less severe.”
“Did you see Drantos’s back?”
“Trust me. It could have been far worse. He’ll heal from that faster than if the lashes had gone deeper. Only his skin was sliced. No deep muscle or bone was harmed.”
“I don’t understand you, nor do I want to. No way in hell would I ever just stand there while someone took a whip to Bat. I’d have killed that son of a bitch for striking her, and I know how easily she pisses people off. I wouldn’t care what she did.”#p#分页标题#e#
“Your world has laws you must follow. They punish your criminals. No one is locking my son up inside a cage. That would be cruel. He’ll heal, and I doubt he’ll even carry a scar since I tended to him well. This will just be a painful memory to hopefully prevent him from breaking another law.”
“He’s not a criminal. From what I understand, he just had an argument with you.”
“I’m the leader of this clan. Disobedience of any kind is met with punishment. It’s hard to explain to someone like you, but it’s how we live. It is for the harmony and peace of all. Otherwise there would be chaos and deadly fights amongst our people. My son took his punishment and it will dissuade others from making the same mistake.”
“Unbelievable. You people are nuts. Violence isn’t always the solution, you know.”
“It is in this world.” His mouth hardened. “You’re no longer living with humans. You’re my son’s mate and you need to toughen up to do him proud.”
She hugged her chest hard. Arguing with the man wouldn’t do any good. He was the biggest barbarian of all. “I want to see my sister.”
“She’s not here.”
“What does that mean?” Fear rose. “Drantos told me she and Kraven were fine after the attack and had been brought here.”
“Decker Filmore broke the law when he attacked us to take you. He drew blood and caused the deaths of his own men in his quest for power. The clans’ meeting earlier not only discussed Drantos’s punishment, but also your grandfather’s. We were unaware at that time that Lord Aveoth is seeking him as well. A joint team from the three clans breached his land to bring him to task. He’d already fled though.
“His only recourse is to get his hands on your sister to attempt to use her against us. Now we know it won’t work, but he probably doesn’t. He’ll continue to believe she would be the one thing he could use to force the GarLycan leader to form an alliance with him. Kraven took your sister away for her safety. He didn’t want more of our people attacked or to risk your grandfather obtaining possession of her.”
“I didn’t even get to talk to Bat. How could Kraven just take her away?”
“He was determined to get your sister far from here. He wouldn’t be swayed to stay overnight.”
“Where did he take her?” Fear turned to alarm. “Where are they?”
“I do not know. He refused to say. My son is very cunning. She’s his mate and he’ll do whatever is necessary to protect her.”
“I want to talk to my sister I’m worried about her. Do you get that? Does Kraven have a cell phone?”
Velder sighed. “He’ll contact us when he feels it’s safe to do so. You both have been too softened by the human world, too spoiled. The first thing you need to learn is to not always question my words.”
Her arms dropped to her side and she fisted her hands. The guy made her so angry. “We’re not spoiled. Bat worked her ass off to get where she is and we both know about survival. We had to go through a lot after our parents died.”
“The hardships of the human world are nothing compared to ours. Your life there didn’t depend on your ability to fight and kill.”
His answer irritated her. “You have no idea what it’s like out there. People die every single day. When was the last time you lived in my world?”