The back door to the secure room swung open with a loud rattle. Two large guards walked in first, holding the arms of a cuffed man.

They dragged Arthur into the center of the room, his clothes dirty and stained from the car crash. His face was already bruised, and a thin line of red ran down his chin, but his eyes were bright with a strange, wild energy.

​Julius stood by the back wall, his arms crossed over his chest. Marcus sat in the corner behind his small table, his hands resting near his laptop, while Daniel stood near the door with his arms folded.

​The guards shoved Arthur down into a plain metal chair in the middle of the space. Instead of begging or looking afraid, Arthur looked around the room, a wide, mocking smile spreading across his lips.

He fixed his eyes straight on Julius, leaning back as much as the cuffs would allow.

​"Well, look at this nice little family gathering," Arthur scoffed, his voice rough but loud. "Julius, you really think you accomplished something today?"

​Julius did not answer. He kept his expression completely blank, though his jaw tightened slightly.

​Arthur laughed, turning his head to look directly at Harrison, who was walking into the room. Harrison looked massive in the small space, his shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

Arthur’s smile grew wider, his tone turning completely filthy. "And Harrison, the great alpha of the territory. Tell me, does Julius taste good? Is that why you are spending all your men and your time protecting him?"

​Before Arthur could finish the next crude word, Harrison moved. He stepped forward with incredible speed, his large fist swinging around and hitting Arthur straight across the face.

​The impact made a loud, cracking sound. The force of the blow spun Arthur’s head back, flipping the metal chair sideways. Arthur hit the floor hard, his eyes rolling back as his body went completely limp. He was knocked out cold in a single second.

​Harrison did not even blink. He stood over the quiet body, shaking his hand out once before turning his eyes toward Daniel. "Wake him up."

​Daniel walked over to the side counter, picked up a bucket of cold water, and walked back to the center of the room. He kicked the chair back onto its legs, hauled Arthur’s limp body up by his shirt, and dumped the entire bucket of water straight over his head.

​Arthur gasped loudly, coughing and spluttering as the cold water hit his face.

​Harrison walked up, crouching down right in front of Arthur’s face. His dark eyes were completely cold, showing no human emotion at all. "The talking part of the morning is over, Arthur. I want the names and the exact locations of every single person you are working with in this city."

​Arthur spat a mouthful of thick red liquid straight onto the front of Harrison’s clean boots. He grinned through his bleeding gums, his voice shaking but still full of spite. "Go find them yourself, you big animal."

​Harrison looked down at his boot, then looked back up at Arthur. A tiny, terrifying smile appeared on his lips. "I love this game."

​Without giving Arthur a chance to prepare, Harrison reached out and grabbed Arthur’s right hand, which was cuffed behind the chair. With a sudden, brutal twist of his fingers, Harrison snapped four of Arthur’s fingers backward all at the same time.

​A loud, horrible shriek tore out of Arthur’s throat. The sound echoed off the bare walls, raw and full of agony. His legs kicked out wildly against the floor, his face turning bright red as he thrashed against the chair.

​"You think that is loud?" Harrison said softly, his voice a low purr over the sound of the screaming. He did not wait for Arthur to recover.

He reached around with his other hand, clamping his fingers tightly onto Arthur’s jaw and forcing his mouth wide open. Arthur tried to bite down, but Harrison’s grip was like iron. Harrison reached inside with a pair of metal pliers from the side table and clamped them onto one of Arthur’s front teeth.

​With a sharp, hard yank, Harrison pulled the tooth straight out from the gum.

​Arthur’s scream reached a completely new pitch, a high, bubbling wail of pure torture. Tears and sweat poured down his face, mixing with the water and blood. He was shaking so hard the metal chair rattled against the floor lines.

​"Scream for me," Harrison whispered, his face inches away from Arthur’s. "Scream louder. Let Julius hear how weak you really are."

​"Please!" Arthur finally sobbed, his head shaking back and forth as much as Harrison would let him. He was begging now, his pride completely broken by the sudden pain. "Please, stop! Stop!"

​"The locations, Arthur," Harrison demanded, his voice dropping into a dark, demanding tone that filled every corner of the room.

​Arthur gasped, his eyes wild with pain, but he still hesitated, looking past Harrison’s shoulder straight at Julius. His gaze turned murderous, full of a deep, burning hatred. Even in his broken state, he looked like he wanted to tear Julius apart with his bare teeth.

​Harrison noticed the direction of his look. He stepped directly into Arthur’s line of sight, blocking Julius from view. "Nah. You do not need your eyes anymore if you are going to look at him like that."

​Harrison reached up, his large thumb pressing hard into the corner of Arthur’s left eye socket. He didn’t hesitate, using his raw physical strength to push deep into the gap.

​Arthur let out a sound that did not even sound human. It was a loud, tearing screech of pure agony as his body thrashed violently, nearly lifting the heavy metal chair off the floor.

The guards had to step forward and hold the frame down as Arthur’s muscles went completely stiff from the shock. With a brutal pull, Harrison popped the eye completely out of the socket.

​Arthur’s head fell forward, blood pouring from the empty left side of his face as he wailed, his body trembling uncontrollably. Harrison looked at the wet eyes in his hand, tossed it casually onto the floor, and brought his boot down, stepping on it.

​Harrison wiped his bloody hand on his trousers, looking down at the top of Arthur’s head. "Okay. The scalp is next."

​In the corner of the room, the sight and sound were too much for Marcus. His face went completely green, and he threw himself toward the small trash can by his desk, vomiting loudly into it.

​Julius stood perfectly still against the wall, watching the entire scene play out. His heart was hammering against his ribs, and his throat felt completely dry. He was looking at total horror. Harrison was completely covered in blood, his face dark and unhinged, looking like a literal monster from the deep woods.

​Yet, as Julius stared at the raw, power Harrison was showing, a sudden, dark surge of heat rushed straight down to his dick. A wave of intense arousal hit him so fast it made him swallow hard.

He felt his breath hitch as his trousers grew tight, his body reacting to the terrifying dominance of his man before his brain could even process the horror. He was completely hard, standing right there in the middle of a bloody interrogation room, unable to take his eyes off Harrison’s brutal frame.

​Harrison reached out, his hand wrapping around the hair on top of Arthur’s head, tilting his face up toward the ceiling.

​"Wait! Wait!" Arthur screamed, his voice cracked and completely broken. He could not take any more. The threat of having his skin torn away broke the last of his resistance. "I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything! Just don’t touch my head!"

​Harrison stopped his hand, keeping his grip tight on the hair. "I am listening."

​Arthur choked on his own blood, his remaining eye wide with pure terror as he gasped for air. He looked toward the wall where Julius was standing, his voice trembling so much the words almost bled together.

​"It wasn’t just me!" Arthur screamed out, the truth spilling. "I didn’t build the network alone! Selene is the one! She has been part of it from the very start! She helped me kill your fathers!"

​The words seemed to hang in the air.

​The entire room went dead silent. The sound of Marcus coughing into the trash can stopped instantly. Daniel froze by the door, his eyes widening in complete shock.

​Julius felt the blood completely drain from his face, his body going totally numb as he stared at the bleeding man in the chair.

Selene was the name of his own mother.

His legs felt like they had turned to stone. The room around him blurred at the edges, the voices fading into a distant hum as one single word echoed over and over inside his skull. Mother. He pressed his back hard against the cold wall, his fingers gripping the surface behind him just to stop himself from hitting the floor.

Harrison turned around slowly, his blood-covered hands falling at his sides. His dark eyes found Julius immediately.