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killed and tormented the pack, they won’t allow you to hurt him.”
    No surprise there. “I didn’t think he would. But play along. I have a plan, just follow my lead,” I said and Liam’s eyebrows shot way up. He visibly struggled to not smile. “I’m not that bad,” I grumped.
    “Yes, you are. But it is one of the things that makes me love you. You leap before you look and that usually works. But it is so damn sexy to hear you say you have a plan.” He swatted me on the ass, his fingers grabbing a cheek for good measure.
    The heat flooding my body had nothing to do with embarrassment. Shit, one touch and I was melting into a useless puddle. “Enough of that. Later, if you’re lucky.”
    He laughed under his breath as we walked back to the hunter.
    “What’s your name?” I asked.
    His mouth clamped shut and I beckoned Liam closer. “Where should we start? If he won’t even give us his name, this is going to be fun.”
    “Hmm. Should we peel his hide first, or leave that for after the hot irons?” Liam asked, leaning in to nuzzle my neck. The hunter’s eyes went wide. Yeah, the combination of blood and torture being an aphrodisiac for your captors was as freaky as if we were cold and menacing.
    “I was thinking”—I leaned into the hunter and pressed his head against the tree—“that we should start with his eyes. That won’t kill him, but bursting them is so very, very satisfying. Like popping grapes.”
    “Agreed,” Liam said. “You take the left one, I’ll take the right. But, ladies first.”
    I lifted my hand to the hunter’s left eye and, with the other hand, held the eyelid open. “I don’t want you to miss a single thing,” I whispered, doing my best to keep my voice seductive.
    The hunter struggled, but he couldn’t get free, his hands were useless and Liam pinned his head against the tree.
    “This will hurt,” I said, then smiled at him, feeling my guts twist at the thought of what I was going to do if he didn’t break first. “A whole fucking lot.”
    I put my thumb against his darting eye, the slick surface making me fight a full body cringe. Applying pressure slowly, his eyeball wasn’t able to move and he stared at me as I pushed harder. He let out a scream.
    “Dimitri! My name is Dimitri.”
    I stepped back and put on a pout. “Damn, just when it was getting fun.”
    He swallowed hard and Liam let his head go.
    “Oh, look, he can be scared into talking; this is going to be so satisfying,” I murmured, my voice just loud enough for him to hear me. He paled, his skin going a pasty, awful white that clashed badly with his blond hair.
    “Dimitri, we are going to have a long, long, chat—”
    “What are you doing?” Peter came as close to shouting as I’d ever heard him, the anger palatable on the words as he reached me.
    “Doing what you won’t.” I kept my back to Peter, a slight I knew he would have to accept or go back on his whole peace-keeping werewolf schtick. He pushed past me, shouldering me, and I shouldered him right back, putting him off balance. He stumbled a couple of steps and then stared hard at me, the brown in his eyes bleeding into a definite gold.
    “I may not be a wolf, but I am a fucking alpha,” I said, calm as could be.
    The old wolf faltered. Peter was playing right into my hands. He just didn’t know it yet.

Chapter Five
    Peter took a deep, shuddering breath and the gold evaporated from his eyes. Too bad, I was kinda hoping I wouldn’t have to go and do this behind his back. So be it.
    Two steps and he was behind Dimitri, cutting the ropes I’d bound him with. “We do not condone violence or torture, not even to our enemies, and while you are here and guests of our pack, you will follow our rules.”
    Dimitri stumbled forward, his hands still dripping with salt water. They wouldn’t freeze right away, but it would be fucking cold on those digits of his. As if reading my thoughts, he tucked his hands into his armpits.
    Peter made a