Page 23 of Renegade Queen
Good intentions were never enough. Trying to help was a curse for the poor unfortunate soul in need.
It should have been enough to make me change my mind. To decide that going through to Nymeria would definitely end in nothing but blood. Except it had the exact opposite effect. Last time, I’d left. I’d run for my life, and all those people who’d needed me had helped me escape, knowing the consequences. It was time to face the music. Fighting might end up with me being killed, but at least then those who had helped me before wouldn’t continue to suffer for doing so. Once the King had his way, he’d have no reason to keep punishing them.
I knew it was a lie as soon as the thought formed in my head. But it was a lie I welcomed. It was penance and motivation all rolled into one. If I could do this, if I could stand up and fight, maybe I could fix some of my mistakes. Maybe Damon wasn’t dead. If, by some miracle, he’d survived, he could be the pack Maddox needed.
The lies were flowing fast today, but maybe that was the trick to surviving a life that fate had decided needed to have a purpose, no matter how much of a curse it turned out to be.
Chapter 11
Dean
Dean
My head pounded, and my mouth felt like someone had taken a shit in it and then tossed me into the desert to die. I fucking hated the desert.
Sitting up with a groan, I didn’t even question it when a water bottle was pressed into my hand, and I greedily swallowed the contents.
The memory of that punk-ass MC sat at the front of my mind as I drank the last of it. I should have fucking punched him while I had the chance. I saw how he’d looked at Alyssa, like she was nothing but a body to keep his bed warm. Well, over my dead fucking body would he ever touch her.
The rage that rolled through me at the thought of him was shocking even for me. I wasn’t exactly the friendliest of our group, and posers like him had always pissed me off.
But it was more than that this time.
I wanted blood. I wanted to hear him scream and beg, and I doubted I’d be able to hold back if we ever crossed paths again. Not that I intended to try.
The growl that rumbled in my chest made me pause. It didn’t feel like me, but it did at the same time. It was like the grumpy fucker part of me had taken on a life of its own, but it wasn’t nearly as terrifying as it should have been.
“Interesting,” Tank’s voice came from beside me.
I looked up, surprised that he had passed me the water and not one of my brothers. I realised then that I was lying on a tiny bed with Ryder basically spooning against my side. The fucker wasn’t even asleep and blinked up at me innocently.
“Nah, D’s always been a growly, grumbly fucker,” he joked.
The snarl that ripped out of me shocked me enough to actually feel the need to apologise to him, which was nearly as shocking as the fact that that need for blood had momentarily turned onto one of the few men I’d gladly lay my life down for.
“Back away. Slowly,” Tank stressed calmly to Ryder, who snuggled in closer to me without a care in the world.
My hand came to the back of his neck, gripping him firmly. I knew it would be siding on the edge of pain, but it didn’t stop me. If anything, I just pulled him closer. The rage inside me calmed, pleased that Ryder wasn’t fighting me. He knew his place was at my side.
The faint shuffle of feet on carpet had my gaze flying to Tank, as he slowly backed out of the room. My top lip quivered as I bared my teeth at the intruder in our midst. Except he wasn’t an intruder, it was more than that. He was a… contender. I could sense the power radiating from him, which excited that ball of rage inside me. It quivered with a need to fight.
Even when Tank closed the door, shielding him from my view, it didn’t lessen.
“Do you feel different?” Ryder asked me sleepily.
It at least dragged my eyes away from the door.
“Not different exactly.” I thought about it for a moment before adding. “It’s like a part of me has a mind of its own.”
“I wonder why Tank seemed surprised,” Ryder added.
He was right. That was unusual. He knew what was happening, and the fact that this was surprising to him should probably be more concerning to me, than I felt right now. Because strangely, this whole situation felt kind of right, and that was the only thing I was finding confusing right now.
A soft knock at the door had my grip on Ryder tightening, but then, when the door cracked open, a scent flowed through that had that ball of rage transforming into something else, and a purr rattled in my chest instead.
Ryder sniggered, but then squirmed closer to me.
Alyssa’s head popped around the door, and she laughed at the sight of the two of us. The smile on her face warmed my heart, and even though I’d known she was beautiful before now, it transformed her into something that nearly hurt my eyes. She was perfection. A soft light flowed into the room from behind her, making her blonde hair glow with golden light.