k into its sheath. The metal cl

arned, his voice a low, dangerous rumble. "If you wan

himself for the inevitable. He waited for the spoiled, toxic matriarch

he di

rown. She didn't

and folded her hands neatly in front of her. She bowed to him. A deep, formal

voice was calm, steady, and completely sincer

y. The vicious insult he had prep

d, her face marred by scabs, yet her eyes were startlingly clear

ned. He looked away, unable to hold her steady gaze

ager to leave this bizarre,

ok on

harity ca

ensing. Here it comes, he thoug

bleeding out on the concrete. "If you don't need that carcass,

d lost her mind. The meat of low-level, polluted beasts wa

ugh. "If you want to poison yourse

er eyes lit up. "Thank you," she said aga

the rotting beast like it was a pile of pure gold. His brow furro

urned and walked quickly into th

w disappeared, the system

n detected in bond-mate Bra

he panel. Braden's affection had moved fr

ing a hidden node: Shattering a bond-mat

Top-Tier Beast Butcher

as the complete anatomical knowledge of hundreds of mutated species, the precise methods to extr

apses. When she opened them, she wasn't just a starving woman anym

a clear anatomical diagram. She knew exactly where the poison sacs were, which

d synthetic-fur cloak. She walked over to the

thick, heavy hind leg and a prime section of the backstrap. Driven by the pure, intoxicating promise of real food, she began the agonizingly slow pr