Page 110 of Rest In Knotty Pieces

I lift my gaze to his.

“You aren’t broken or maimed, you are transformed.” His gaze burns into mine, green eyes that I’ll remember forever. “Are you going to wear my chain, then?”

“Only if you wear mine.” I murmur back and tilt my jaw, dragging my bottom lip up so I capture his upper lip. I graze my teeth over his soft skin and flick my tongue out, stroking along his teeth, tasting him.

His fingers tighten enough to cut off my air then loosen, he pulls away, and I open my eyes, looking into his steely green gaze.

“Don’t betray us, Kestrel. I don’t forgive.”

I exhale softly. “Neither do I, Killer.”

Sage smiles and reaches out, I don’t tense, but he just brushes my hair behind my ear, searches my eyes for the answer to some question that he hasn’t spoken. I don’t know if he finds it. He turns away, leaving me wondering and off-center.

I know that whatever I was searching for was left unanswered. Can I trust him? I still have no idea. Merle says we can, but the rest of us are uncertain.

He moves through the kitchen, cooking with precise movements that waste little energy. He’s not flamboyant, though his smile pretends he is. Everything he does is calculated and precise.

Does Merle know who these alphas even are?

Does she realise the danger that we’re all in?

Does she thrive in it the way the rest of us are? Perhaps Merle is just as dark.

I chuckle to myself as I slide off the bench, ignoring the way Sage’s eyes follow me as I sashay out of the kitchen. Blaze is swinging his sword around, looking incredibly attractive, but I don’t stay. I’m on a mission.

Well, kind of a mission.

I find my target sitting in the gym, staring blankly at the wall.

“Is it that painful to have us here?”

He flicks his gaze towards me and shakes his head. “No, it’s just that not having her here is painful.”

I consider the way he says it, low, gruff, like he’s actually hurting. He doesn’t make a move towards me, so I slip in and climb up on the all-in-one trainer, laying across the top of it and staring at his face in the mirror. He watches me like the good little predator he is.

“Do you hate me, King?”

He shakes his head, and I believe him.

I turn my head and catch sight of Roseland standing in the doorway, watching us. He doesn’t come in. He just waits there, then turns and walks away.

My amusement level climbs. Everyone wants a piece of me, and there’s plenty to go around.

I swing down and go and straddle the bench so I’m facing King. He could reach out and place those massive hands around my throat and squeeze until it’s broken, he could lash out and break my bones.

He doesn’t move, he just watches me, and I can see him trying to figure out what my game is.

I have a good game for him.

I have something he wants.

“Tell me about yourself, King. Your brother is Cyn, right? You're younger?”

“Yes.”

“What was it like growing up in his shadow?”

“It was nothing. No one paid me attention. I wasn’t important.”