Page 30 of Tiger Bitten

“Stellan,” Mars gritted out.

“Oh, good, you lived,” Stellan said sarcastically. He didn’t sound happy about it at all.

“What’s your problem,” Mars choked out in a hoarse voice as he rolled to his side and propped up on an elbow. There was concrete under him, and the smells of Dame’s barn were starting to hit his senses.

He eased his eyes open to see if his instincts were right. Yep. He was in the cage.

“What the fuck are you doing?” he ground out to Stellan. “You drugged me and drove me here? And put me in the cage?”

“You found your Rabbit.” He held up Mars’s phone. “Nice lock screen.”

It was a selfie of him and Ren from the wedding.

“Did you fuck your Rabbit?” Stellan demanded.

“Dude. I don’t think you can ask him that,” Dame said, arms crossed as he leaned against the farthest wall from Mars.

Mars crawled to the cot and struggled up onto it. He was so disoriented, and nauseous from whatever drug Stellan had tried to murder him with. “Did you know about this?” Mars asked Dame.

“Did I know about the drugging and kidnapping and locking you in the cage? Or are you asking me if I knew about you zeroing on a Rabbit? No! Because neither one of you fucking rodents will answer my calls!” Oh, he sounded mad-mad.

Mars rubbed his face. “Can I have some water? I need to get Stellan’s murder-juice out of my body.”

A clang sounded from where Dame threw a bottle of water against the bars as hard as he could. The plastic bottle exploded and sprayed water all over Mars.

With a snarl, he stood and slammed into the bars of the cage. The entire cage shook with his force. “Give me a fucking water and treat me like I’m your brother you’ve known since birth, you prick.”

Dame yanked a water out of the opened case on the table and strode for him, his eyes bright gold. “You don’t tell me anything.”

“I don’t have anything to tell,” Mars ground out, holding his hand out for the water.

Dame slammed it against his palm. “But you have all these secrets to tell Stellan.”

“Are you seriously jealous of me asking the most fucked up of all three of us advice on being fucked up? Take it as a compliment that I didn’t want to tell you! I’m not trying to disappoint you!”

“But you don’t mind disappointing me?” Stellan demanded.

“No! You can’t judge anyone.”

“What does that mean?” Stellan asked, his pupils shrinking to pinpoints as he stalked closer.

“You chose a human Rabbit.”

“And? I didn’t kill her!”

“Technically because we stopped you,” Dame said quietly.

“Stay out of it!” Mars and Stellan barked at the same time.

Dame threw his hands up into the air and made his way toward the fridge in the corner. “I’m too sober for this.”

Mars was chugging the bottle of water like his life depended on it. He wiped a drip from his chin and threw the empty plastic bottle at Stellan. “Give me my phone. I need to text Ren.”

“Ren,” Dame asked, standing. “That’s your Rabbit’s name?”

“Yes, but again, I was just asking for advice on a Rabbit.”

“Have you tried to kill her yet?” Dame asked.