Free Drink of Me by Jacquelyn Frank Page B

the other pain he felt through her body’s memory.
    He had braced for it, yet still was blindsided. There was screaming oblivion and then vicious nausea. Blood from his mouth, his nose…everywhere. Shadow lurched forward and vomited violently.
    “Enough! Darcio, it’s enough!”
    Reule’s command was followed by the feel of his Prime’s hands gripping his shoulders. Shadow was sick again, caught up in the cycle of body memory and suddenly unable to let go.
    But as always, Reule was there for him. He felt the instant his ruler unleashed his own power. Reule used it to seize control of Darcio’s thoughts and emotions, jerking him into the present, into the steam and heat of the private bath.
    Forgive me, old friend. I asked too much. Reule’s regret weighed heavily in the telepathic sentence, but Darcio waved it off as he focused on his Packleader. Reule had pulled on a robe after leaving the tub, he realized, and the small detail centered him, pulling him even further away from the horrifying memories of what a small female body had endured these past few days.
    “I didn’t find out how she was originally injured,” he said apologetically. “I fear that was only half the hell she’s been through.”
    “You did enough.” Reule frowned darkly, lines of disturbed emotion etching into his forehead. “I’m sorry I even asked. Now I’m left with still more questions.”
    Darcio nodded, his body aching with the ghosts of pain and brutalization.
    Reule had one answer that he’d not had at the start of this, however.
    He now knew why she felt such sorrow.

Chapter 4

    After he’d bathed, dressed, and taken some supper, Reule entered Chayne’s quarters. To his surprise, the room was in a total uproar. Chayne was the center of a ruckus that looked like a mass wrestling competition, he realized a moment before an arc of blood spattered in droplets against him.
    “What in the name of all that is holy are you doing?”
    Reule’s bellow sounded like the hard crack of a whip, and everyone, including the heavily panting Chayne, froze in mid-tableau. Delano, Saber, and the smaller man Reule recognized as the apothecary all turned their heads to look at their thunderous Prime’s visage. Rye, who was standing back as though supervising, was closest to Reule and also turned. Delano and Saber, it appeared, were attempting to secure Chayne to the bed by physical force so the apothecary could tend him. How Chayne was even moving after so much blood loss was beyond Reule.
    The Prime was infuriated and he made it very clear with an emanation that sent his Packmates staggering.
    “Damn!” Rye yelped, jumping back from his Packleader in shock.
    “Uh!” Delano concurred, bolting away from the bed. Saber staggered back as well, the Prime Defender swinging around hard to stare at his leader. The apothecary cringed and shook.
    “Back off!” Reule commanded even though they were backed away already. “Would someone care to tell me why you’re wrestling with an injured man?” But they all knew that Reule was really asking how they dared try to strong-arm Chayne when they knew—absolutely knew —it was the worst way to go about getting his compliance. Chayne loathed being held down. In light of his recent captivity, it would be even less tolerable to him.
    Chayne, the last one he’d demand an answer from, ground out in response, “That demented son of a bitch was going to clamp that contraption on me!” Chayne swung a shuddering arm toward the apothecary. An arm, Reule noted, that had been broken when it had been skewered by a steel spike.
    “By the Lord,” Reule swore as his Packmate’s agony beat at him. Yet he forced himself to move closer. Chayne’s other arm and his legs were no better off.
    The contraption in question made Reule’s blood curdle as he laid eyes on it. The steel vises were meant to hold realigned bones together, screwed tightly in place against the skin to form support. But this was often at the