The Damned (Their Champion Companion Novel Book 3)

by K. A Knight

  “There you are. Come sit and listen to this story Dray is telling us about the time he apparently swam in the Dead Sea,” she jokes.

  “I did!” He sighs.

  I sit down in the open space between Dray and Jax, gasping when I’m suddenly picked up. Clay holds me as he sits and deposits me on his lap with a pat on my head, making me roll my eyes. Jago and Evan squeeze in next to Maxen, while Archel kicks Dray over and sits in his spot as he snarls and flips him off before crawling to Worth and lying in her lap.

  “What was it like?” I ask with a tilt of my head. “I’ve always wanted to see it properly. I’ve seen glimpses, and Clay has told me stories about the creatures that inhabit it now and the wild waves.”

  “Dark, but not dead like they call it,” Dray starts. “It’s filled with life. I don’t even have names for some of the animals. It was hot as well, and salty, but there was something about floating in it…”

  “Not scared of being eaten from below?” I laugh.

  He smirks and grins at me. “Any creature that thinks it can eat me is welcome to try, I’ll kill them all.” He looks up at Worth, who gazes down at him lovingly. “Apart from you, wife. Feel free to eat me anytime.”

  “Ew.” Evan laughs. “Too much information.”

  “What, don’t want me to eat you, Evvie?” I purr, and he looks over at me, his eyes darkening as he runs his gaze across my body.

  “Shit, okay,” he mutters, making us all laugh.

  “I heard you pissed William off again today,” Worth comments, quickly changing the subject.

  “Nah, he loves me, he’s just grumpy.” I take a swig as I talk.

  “Uh-huh. Is that why he told me if I don’t stop you from annoying him, he is going to melt you down into a horseshoe?” She laughs.

  “Wow, it’s so nice of him to think that’s all I would melt down into,” I reply sweetly.

  Clay chuckles in my ear, kissing my neck. “I would never let him, Pascha. I would blow him up first.”

  “No blowing things up in The Ring!” Worth and I say at the same time as we hear cheers and look over to see Sascha taking her winnings.

  “I like her.” Worth smirks. “She’s crazy like us. Oh, Piper, better to make any announcements now before they all get too drunk, or you’ll never get any sense out of them.”

  “Good point.” I get to my feet and take Archel’s hand to help him up. “Let’s go get the necklaces and present them, then we can get trashed and fuck.”

  “Piper.” Worth sighs, shaking her head.

  “I mean, you’re welcome to join,” I joke, “but this is kind of a sausage party, if you get my drift.”

  “Just go,” she tells me with a laugh.

  I wink at her and wind through the crowd, my men on my heels as I search out William, who is drinking alone in a corner and glaring at anyone who gets too close. “No,” he snaps.

  “Necklaces please, Willy,” I singsong.

  He narrows his eyes before reaching back, grabbing a bag, and tossing it at me. “This was all I had time to make, now fuck off.”

  “Thanks, cutie. You can get started on making the twenty-eight others tomorrow.” I turn then, ignoring his insults, and check the bag. He made two, but they are beautifully crafted, smooth, and clean, and even strung on black woven thread. I guess I know who I’m giving them to. It’s a symbol, after all, of their station, uniting us so they won’t ever feel alone, even if they are on the road.

  Looking around, I try to find somewhere to stand to do the announcement, but every table and surface is taken. Sascha notices and jerks her head before looking at the table with The Damned. “Move your fucking drunken asses, our leader needs it,” she barks, and I’ve never seen a group of men move so fast in my life. Grinning, I head over and leap onto the top. Jago is there to steady me, and Vin and Sascha stand on either side like bodyguards, their arms crossed, even though they don’t know what is happening. They’re simply being loyal, which makes me only more sure I have made the right decision. Even against our own, they are with me, which is exactly what I need, because we never know who we will be hunting out there.

  “Listen up, scoundrels!” I call, and some cheers go up at that. “We’ve got some new enforcers in town that I want you to meet.” The music stops, and I gesture to Sascha and Vin. “These two, Sascha and Vin, will be team leaders of The Damned, under my command. They are the law enforcers, so you answer to them. Show them respect, or you’ll have Worth and me to answer to. Understand?” Some grumbles go up, but people nod. “Good. Without any pompous speech, here.” I pass a necklace to each. “This shows who they are. All enforcers will wear one, and if you see them without it…well, kick their ass for me,” I joke and grab my bottle and lift it into the air. “For The Nations! For our queen!”

  A massive roar goes up, and feet stomp as I down some of the bottle, which others copy. I wink over at Worth and wipe my mouth. “Now let’s get drunk and have fun!”

  With that, I leap down and turn to face Sascha and Vin. “Enjoy tonight. Tomorrow, you work,” I instruct.

  “Yes, sir.” Sascha nods.

  “Understood, captain,” Vin responds.

  “Good, punishment for your own team is up to you. Watch them tonight and make sure they don’t make fools of themselves or die. Now excuse me, I have four needy men and a whole lot of booze to drink.”

  Taking the bottle with me, I down it and mix into the crowd. For the next hour or so, I drink and dance with my men, laughing when Archel shakes his ass for me. I’m busy grinding with him when I realise I can’t see Jago, Evan, or Clay anymore. “Come on, let’s make sure they’re not killing anyone,” I grumble and pull him after me.

  We eventually find them at a table with herbs and some hard pieces of, well, what I can only describe as wood-looking food. Archel chuckles as Jago pokes one. “Why not try it, man? They are really good,” he encourages, but his voice is choked. I glare at him, and when Jago takes a bite, I wait to see if he was lying, but Jago groans in bliss and eats the whole thing, so Evan and Clay join in. I turn to Archel to see him struggling to contain his laughter.

  “What?” I snap.

  “You’ll see, Princess,” he wheezes.

  Forty minutes later, he’s right. I do see, and I’m going to kick his ass for not warning them.

  “Jago, don’t!” I yell as he downs the bottle and throws it, making me sigh. “Archel, you asshole, go stop Clay from pretending to be a bomb.”

  He laughs so hard he has tears dripping down his face as I glare at him. “Sorry, Princess, I couldn’t resist. They needed to relax anyway.”

  “But drugs? Really? You could have warned me!” I stop abruptly when I spot Evan with his shirt around his head as he shimmies his chest to the music. Fucking hell, they will never live this down. Good job everyone else finds it hilarious. It seems it’s a rite of passage to take Conian without being warned.

  But still.

  I prop my hands on my hips and get into his face. “I swear if you don’t round those drugged idiots up, I’m going to dump your ass.”

  “Nah, you like my ass too much, Princess,” he teases and kisses my cheek. “But I’ll go get them. You deal with big guy here.”

  I look over and sigh, seeing him lying on the ground. I stop next to him and peer into his face. “Beast baby, what are you doing?”

  “Sand angel!” he calls with a slur, moving his arms and legs to, yep, make an angel. I roll my lips inwards to stop myself from laughing. He’s going to be so pissed tomorrow, but I’ve got to admit, he’s cute like this. His eyes are hazy, and his hair is everywhere as he smiles unashamedly.

  “You make a very good angel, but do you want to come with me?”

  “Where to?” he asks, sitting up.

  “Bed?” I offer, and he grins.

  “Oh, hell yes!” He tries to get to his feet and falls with a giggle, so I help him up, propping myself under his arm with a grunt as I wave to Worth to let her know I’m going. She’s laugh
ing too, the dick.

  Archel has managed to round up Clay and Evan, who are laughing and leaning on each other over at the entrance to the building. I drag Jago over, and between us, we manage to get them into the room and on the bed, though they are giggling like crazy.

  “Shit, what is that stuff?”

  “No one knows. Some guy named Conian found it and made it. He sells it for a high amount to warriors. Like I said, rite of passage, Princess.”

  “Uh-oh, so you did it?” I snap, turning to face him, ignoring the three giggling musketeers.

  “Fuck yes. Dray made me and didn’t tell me. That night, I tried to fight a brick wall for four hours and then passed out using my bike as a blanket. Good times.”

  “But you didn’t let me take it.” I frown.

  He steps closer, making my breath catch as he presses his body to mine. He lowers his head until his cool eyes meet mine. “Princess, I wouldn’t let you touch that shit. No one gets to see you like that but us,” he growls out, and a shiver goes through me as he reaches out and pushes a strand of hair behind my ear. “I didn’t know how it would affect you with your past, so I wasn’t risking that.”

  Sighing, I lean into him, and he cranes his head down farther and kisses me softly. My shadow is always protecting me. “I love you.”

  “I love you too, Princess,” he whispers, but the sound of Evan being sick interrupts us and we pull away. “I’ll deal with him. Clay is already passed out. It’s strong, but it wears off quickly enough. You are on your own with Jago though. Even drugged, that fucker scares me.” He laughs and moves over to Evan, holding his hair away from his face and rubbing his back. “That’s it, get it all out and then you can go to sleep, and tomorrow, Piper can laugh her ass off at your dancing.”

  “I’m a good” —heave— “dancer. Ain’t I, Pip?”

  “Yup, really good,” I reply as I get into bed next to Jago, who’s staring up at the ceiling, lifting and dropping his hands.

  “Hey, big guy.” I grin and then yelp when he suddenly moves, grabbing me and cuddling into my chest.

  “Brawler, make the room stop spinning,” he whines.

  “Sure thing, baby,” I coo quietly to calm him and start to stroke his hair.

  “No, make it stop!” he yells, and I panic and say the first thing that comes to mind.

  “Shh, you are the prettiest princess here. Yes, you are. The room is still, you are okay.”

  “Prettiest princess? Me?” he asks, relaxing into my chest. I share a giggle with Archel and stroke Jago’s hair.

  “Yes, you are the prettiest princess I’ve ever seen,” I tell him and carry on saying it until he finally goes to sleep, snoring into my chest. Archel cleans up Evan and tucks him and Clay in before shaking his head. “You were right, not a good idea, Princess.” He comes around to me, covers me up as much as he can, and helps me get comfy with a giant snoring on my chest. Crouching next to the bed, he kisses me softly. “But you never fail to make me smile. All I could think about tonight when I saw all those other warriors watching us with jealousy was how lucky I am to have you.”

  He looks over at the three others in the bed and shakes his head. “It’s not what I would have imagined, but it’s better. I have a family now as well as you.”

  “They are going to kick your ass tomorrow,” I warn, and he grins, kissing me again.

  “Let them try, Princess. You can even watch. I know how it gets you all hot and bothered, and after, you can kiss it better,” he purrs against my lips.

  Fuck.

  Laughing, he kisses me again and sits on a chair next to me like he did when I was healing, only this time, his hand is in mine and he’s watching over our family to make sure nothing happens while we sleep.

  Our shadow, not just mine.

  He’s right—this isn’t what I expected for my life…but it’s so much better.

  There doesn’t seem to be any aftereffects from the drug, apart from their embarrassment and anger. Evan thanks Archel for helping him when he was sick, but he also punches him in the balls as he passes by to go check on people. Clay just laughs it off, and Jago? Well, I’m watching him chase Archel around The Ring right now. Jago may be strong, but he’s tired, and Archel is a fast little fucker, laughing as he jumps and sprints away from him.

  I sip my coffee as I watch. Finally, Jago gives up and lies next to me, his hand over his heaving chest. “Fucking little prick,” he mutters.

  “It’s okay, pretty princess,” I tease, and he glares at me, so for once, I shut up. Just then, Archel sneaks over. I don’t think Jago has seen him, when suddenly, he springs up and punches Archel right in the face, knocking him out.

  I watch him go down and glare at Jago. “That wasn’t nice.”

  “He deserves it, Brawler,” he argues as he sits next to me, both of us watching Archel.

  “You didn’t kill him, did you?” I snap.

  “Nah, he’ll get up… I think.” He groans, resting his head on my shoulder. “My fucking body aches.”

  Archel groans and rolls over, and even with a bloody lip, he’s grinning. “Now you can kiss it better, Princess.” He winks and then looks at Jago. “We good?”

  “Yeah, we’re good. I’m too tired to kill you.”

  I sip my coffee as they sit on either side of me, enjoying the quiet, since most of the other warriors are still asleep or hungover. I spot Sascha coming my way and nod my greeting. “Worth wants to speak to you, boss, but did you have any missions for us?”

  “In fact, I do. Can you go check on the scavs and Jon please? Worth said he’s newly in control, and I’m betting he could use some backup. Also, please tell Vin I want him to arrange watch duty here for the others and then go on a food run. We ate a lot last night.”

  “Got it,” she replies and then looks at Jago. “You handled it well last night. When they slipped it to me, I somehow locked myself in a fridge. When I finally managed to get out, I realised the fridge was actually in an enemy camp I snuck into before I decided to take a nap. Let’s just say it was a bad hangover.” She walks away, leaving us staring after her.

  Seriously, how many woman crushes can I have?

  After making sure the guys aren’t going to kill Archel or die from whatever drug they took, I leave them to go find Worth. I locate her at the gate, and we sit and watch the sand as we talk.

  “I have a task,” she begins and then looks at me. “But I also have a bad feeling about it. I would normally go myself, but my fucking husbands said I need to trust you and let you do your job.”

  “Which is right,” I agree with a smile. “I can handle it. Tell me what it is.”

  “There are rumours of a band of scavs causing trouble up north, past old Ivar’s keep nearly at the top of The Wastes. I’ve never been up that far, but I’ve heard they are basically feral fuckers. They are traveling down and attacking people. I made a promise to protect The Wastes… We need to stop it.”

  “You want them dead.” I shrug.

  “Or reasoned with, but yeah, it probably will end up with their deaths.”

  “Got it. North. Kill. Back.”

  “It won’t be easy, Piper.”

  “I know, but when is life ever easy?” I grin. “Come on, Worth, give me some credit. Plus, I get to see up north. I’ve never really been up there, so it’s sort of like a holiday but with more death and bloodshed than normal,” I tease.

  “Uh-huh, well, don’t pack your swimsuit, but take your knife.” She laughs.

  “Oh my God, was that a joke? I’m rubbing off on you, aren’t I? I knew it.”

  She stands, dusting off her ass and rolling her eyes. “Shut up, Piper, and get ready. You choose when you leave, but let me know before you do.” Then she leaves me there, grinning.

  Guess it’s time to hit the Yellow Brick Road again. Standing, I skip my way back to the others, singing “Follow the Yellow Brick Road” the whole way…

  Maybe I should change it to Red Brick Road? It seems more fitting for Th
e Wastes.

  “Grab your shit. We’re going on an adventure!” I call as soon as I step into the room. Jago flips over, groaning at his obvious headache.

  “Are you quoting The Hobbit?” Evvie snorts.

  “Maybe, bet it made you hard though,” I tease, and he winks at me. “But it was the truth. We are hitting the road again, so get your shit.”

  “When?” Clay groans. “My head hurts worse than my cock when you are around.”

  Pursing my lips, I look him over, specifically his cock, which, yep, is hard. Shit, I wonder if we have enough time for an orgy before we get on the road.

  “Talking out loud, Princess,” Archel calls from his spot at the table where he’s sharpening his blades. Lifting it into the air, he checks the shine before smirking at me. “But I wouldn’t say no to that kind of break.”

  “I need sleep,” Jago grouses, and I become serious, knowing if he’s complaining, it must be bad.

  “You and Clay rest. Archel will get the bikes and weapons ready. Evan, grab the medical kit and check in with everyone. I will sort food, maps, and the other teams for when we are gone. When you are both feeling better, we will leave.”

  “You’ve got it, Pascha.” Clay salutes.

  “On it, Pip,” Evan murmurs as he slides past me with a quick kiss.

  “If you get bored and want that break, you know where I am,” Archel purrs as he leaves too.

  Jago gets to his feet and tumbles. “I was just whining. I’m fine. Let’s get going—”

  Rolling my eyes, I stomp over and push him back to the sofa. It’s a testament to how weak he’s feeling when he falls back with a grunt. I distract him by kissing him slowly until he groans and reaches up to drag me closer, but I pull away with a chuckle. “Rest for me, big guy?” I plead. “I’ll make it up to you.”

  “You fucking better, or you could rest here with me,” he whispers, grabbing for me again as I dance out of his grasp.

  “Next time,” I promise as I lean over and kiss Clay too. “Sleep,” I order, and then I leave them before I’m tackled and forced into a warrior sandwich.