Free A Dangerous Hunger: (The Sentinel Demons) by J. S. Scott

punishment?” he asked his king.
    Kristoff’s nod was nearly imperceptible. “Granted,” he replied formally, his voice strong, but resonating with regret.
    Zach yanked his arm away from Drew. “Goddammit, Drew. You’ll be locked up all night.”
    “Take care of Talia. Swear it!” he demanded of both his king and his brother, looking from one to the other.
    “Done,” Kristoff and Zach answered in unison.
    “Stubborn bastard,” Zach rasped, watching as Drew strode forward to relieve Hunter of his punishment. It was the right of a Sentinel to take the disciplinary action for another with permission from their king.
    Drew didn’t hesitate. He came to a halt in front of the penalty Sentinel, blocking him from getting to Hunter. “I’ve been granted permission to take Hunter’s place. Let him go.”
    The Sentinel who was to carry out Hunter’s sentence lifted his head and spotted his king standing across the open courtyard. Kristoff nodded and Hunter was released. It took him only a moment to get Hunter completely free.
    “No. Get on with it,” Hunter told the penalty Sentinel. “I refuse to let him step in.” Hunter’s voice was hoarse and defiant.
    The penalty Sentinel shrugged. “You can’t refuse. It’s an order from our king.”
    It took several guards to take Hunter away, dragging him to Kristoff’s side. Drew breathed a sigh of relief as he saw all of them flash away—Hunter definitely not leaving by choice as Kristoff wrapped a powerful arm around his neck and transported out of sight.
    They’ll take care of Talia.
    Truth was, he didn’t want anyone watching over Talia except him. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Zach and Kristoff, but he needed and wanted to see her, to protect her. His mating instincts were screaming painfully at him to go to her, but he was bound by his word, and he would serve Hunter’s sentence. His brother was just a short step away from losing his mind, and he was afraid that any further punishment would send Hunter tumbling over the edge.
    “You ready?” the Sentinel standing next to Drew asked stoically.
    Drew didn’t bother doing things the human way. He wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible. He made his clothing disappear magically, leaving himself completely nude.
    A prolonged beating was first, followed by incarceration in the isolation cell. Sentinel demons couldn’t bear to be confined, and it was the worst sort of torment for them to have to live through being in the tiny prison with no escape. The cubicle was mystical, and Drew knew he’d be powerless the entire night. Not that he’d try to leave. Hunter’s fuck-up had to be punished, and the slate wouldn’t be clean until his time was served.
    Drew gritted his teeth as he was bound to a brick wall, the captivity enough to irritate him.
    The first crack of the whip hurt. The second was a bit more excruciating. He tried to think about Talia, how his whole life had changed since she’d entered it. Her beauty took his breath away, and everything about her delighted him. Occasionally, he’d delved into her memories, and most of them infuriated him, made him want to kill anyone who had ever hurt her. He’d be doing a lot of murder, because she’d been hurt time and time again. Talia had spent most of her life feeling unwanted and unattractive. The only happy memories he’d viewed were the ones of her with her mother, and even many of those were sad near the end of her mom’s life. Talia had spent most of her young life taking care of her mother during her prolonged fight with cancer, and the rest of it completely alone.
    A freak.
    Just the thought of that slur against his woman made him nearly insane. Talia was special, and in no way freaky. She was…perfect.
    When Drew had finally taken the number of lashes that Hunter’s punishment required, he was released from the bounds, his body sagging from the pain.
    How the hell did Hunter manage to do this so often? No wonder he was batshit