“So where do your loyalties lie?” He jerked his chin at Ryker. “With him? I’ll admit, watching you two cozy up together was cute, but my eyes tell me one thing and my senses another.”
A sly grin tugged at his mouth, and he pointed a finger at Bren. “With him, perhaps? I can’t blame you. I trained them well and they’re good at what they do, but they will only tell you sweet lies. They learned nothing of loyalty and what it takes to survive in this cold world. They don’t appreciate the sacrifices that have to be made to keep a community together. They think only of themselves, not the clan who sheltered and protected them.”
My nostrils flared as anger curdled my stomach. Screw the plan. I was done pretending. “You killed Bren’s parents. You made him watch as you drowned them.”
He shook his head sadly. “An unfortunate casualty. They got in the way of our livelihood, our survival. It was drowning or a bullet between the eyes. My men chose the cleaner option. The clan is only as strong as its weakest link, lass. We must stand united or we will fall, and I won’t let that happen.” A crazed gleam entered his eyes, causing the blue to glow brightly. I shrank back.
Just like that, the glow receded, replaced with a warm smile. “So you see, Lune, I need you to be on our side. My brother broke radio silence simply to ask if I’d seen you, so I know there’s something special about you, something he would pay dearly to have returned.”
I blinked, forcing myself not to peek at Bren and Ryker’s reactions. “He . . . Renold contacted you?”
This was insane. I was considering the words of a kidnapper. A killer. I wanted to throw up. I wanted to scream in his face and scratch out his eyes. But I didn’t. I stayed glued to my seat, riveted by what he was telling me. What he was revealing. That the Recruiter Clan had a vendetta against Renold and were willing to defy him. To break loyalty.
Maybe I could use that knowledge to my advantage.
“He only contacts me to make sure his operation is running smoothly, so when he radioed a few days ago and mentioned you, it was quite the surprise,” he answered. “But after all these years, I still don’t know what he’s planning—and he is planning something. He and Father were always plotting while I did the grunt work. They’d disappear for days without explanation, refusing to include me.”
The boss fell silent for a moment, stroking his beard, lost in thought. “He killed them, you know. Our parents. One moment, they were throwing a party, and the next, poof! Gone. Disappeared. That’s what big brother does: gets rid of what he can no longer control.”
He abruptly stood, sidling toward the room’s center. Toward Bren. My heart leapt into my throat. I felt my body rise to go after him—to do what, I didn’t know. But I couldn’t just sit and watch him torture Bren. Ryker caught my hand and jerked me down again. I snarled at him, not caring who heard.
“Wait,” he ordered, shooting me a warning look I was beginning to loathe.
“Why didn’t you tell me that Renold is your uncle?” I hissed. “I can’t believe you’re related to that monster.” I snorted, not hiding my abject disgust. “That explains a lot, actually.”
He bared his teeth at my thinly veiled insult. “So because I share the same blood as the Supreme Elite and him,” he said, jerking his chin toward his father, “that automatically makes me a monster, too? That’s rich coming from the girl who fell for her kidnapper.”
I yanked my hand free, deliberately scrubbing my palm on my pant leg. “Bren didn’t want any of this. He was only trying to protect Bells.”
Ryker tensed. In an eerily quiet voice, he said, “What did you call her?”
Before I could cover up the slip, the sound of clanking metal grabbed my attention. I stopped breathing as Rollie unwound Bren’s chains and led him to our table. Bren didn’t resist, but I was encouraged by the rigidness of his shoulders, the clenching of his fists. He still had fight in him.
They stopped directly across the table, close enough that if I leaned forward, I could take Bren’s blood-encrusted hand in mine. Was the damage to his knuckles self-inflicted? I ached to squeeze his fingers and offer him a small measure of comfort, but didn’t dare. I met the boss’s inquisitive gaze, dreading where this was headed.
“Here’s the difference between me and my brother,” he said, looping Bren’s chains around his wide palm. He gave them a quick jerk. “I don’t so easily destroy what I love. Bren may have betrayed me by leaving with his sister, but he’s like a son. And now that you’re here, I’m betting he’ll fall in line again.”
Bren’s fists began to tremble. Rollie’s lips twitched. He knew. He definitely knew that Bren felt something for me, and was now using that knowledge to blackmail him into staying once more. That manipulating, son of a—
“I’d like to make a deal with you, Lune.” The words sliced through my fury, leaving me shaken yet again. And the more he spoke, the more my head spun with disbelief.
“Pledge your fealty to this clan. Become its princess. Do so with true intentions, and I will unchain Bren right this very moment. I’m done being my brother’s lackey while my city crumbles. We barely have anything to show for our loyalty to him. We deserve better than this. Strengthen this clan by uniting with my son. By joining forces, Renold will have no choice but to honor my demand for equal opportunity. What say you, lass?”
If I were breathing, my lungs would have emptied in a giant rush. My heart fluttered like a trapped bird, because that’s what this deal was. A cage to contain me. A plan to use me. I quickly glanced at Bren to find him stiff as stone. His eyes were twin yellow beams burning holes through the tabletop. If I didn’t speak soon, he was going to explode. And there was no way I’d let him risk his life over this.
It was my turn to fix things.
I carefully cleared my throat before saying, “You really think I mean so much to Renold that he’d listen to your demands?”
Rollie barked a laugh. “I know so. And with you as Princess of the Recruiter Clan, dedicated to our well-being, he’ll have to take me seriously for once. He can always find more men to run his secret breeding program, but something tells me that you’re irreplaceable to him. I’d hate for the object of his attention to fall into harm’s way simply because he couldn’t see reason.”
I didn’t fail to catch the double-barbed threat. It was meant for me as much as it was for Renold.
But Bren caught the threat too.
“Harm her and I’ll—”
Faster than I could blink, the boss snaked a chain around Bren’s neck.
“No!” I lunged forward only to have an arm block my attempt at scaling the table.
Without hesitation, I whipped my head back, pegging Ryker in the face. He swore loudly but held on, immobilizing me within seconds. I continued to fight against his punishing grip as the chain around Bren’s throat dug in deep.
“What will you do, boy?” Rollie goaded, dark blond locks falling into his steely eyes as he grappled with the younger man. “You think you can best me? Say it then. Say the words and we’ll see who’s more alpha.”
When Bren remained silent, the boss laughed mockingly and released him with a shove. I ceased trying to break free, watching helplessly as Bren doubled over in a fit of coughing.
“That’s a warning, lass,” Rollie said, casually reaching for his drink as if he hadn’t just strangled a man he called his son. “Betray me and he’ll be the first to pay the price. So what’s it going to be?”
There was no thinking this over. No choice.
If I didn’t agree to his terms, he would kill me. Or Bren. Stars, it wasn’t Ryker who held all the cards. His father did. But in doing what he wanted, Bren would be released from his underground prison. One step of my plan completed. It could still work. I could get us out of here. I just needed to play by the clan’s rules a little while longer.
Bren lifted his head, just enough for me to see the turmoil on his face. He knew what this meant. Knew that I would do anything to save him, even align myself with the
men who’d killed his parents and forced him to become something he hated. And then there was Ryker. His friend turned enemy. The person who’d endangered his sister’s life and now mine. Bren knew what I would have to do.
I would have to sacrifice him—his love—in order to save him.
Because if kissing Ryker hadn’t destroyed his love for me, becoming his enemy’s mate surely would.
A sudden ache splintered my heart.
It was breaking. For him.
For us.
My body moved of its own accord, shaking Ryker’s grip loose so I could round the table. In one swift motion, I knelt. Before a king.
“I swear fealty to you and your clan. I will become your princess.”
Every single word was real.
The tension was a wall.
A wall of rigid, moving, steaming muscle—that I was currently wedged between. No one spoke. Only the heavy tread of boots dispelled the silence. The rain had finally stopped, but the dark streets ran amuck with sludge and sinkholes that I kept stepping into. If only Jaxon were here to lighten the mood. He would say something like: “Okay, let’s all sing a song and express our feelings. Then we can hug it out.”
But no, I was on my own. I buried myself in this hole and would have to dig my way out. But what choice did I have? At least Bren wasn’t in chains.
I could feel anger pulsing from him in waves. His hurt was a hurricane.
Despite the barrage of his emotions, Ryker’s fury made me the most nervous. I knew where Bren’s anger came from, but Ryker’s? His plans were shot to dust, and I’d just made his fake plans real. But even if I’d wanted to follow through with his plan to sneak out of the city with the serum and leave my mother behind, that was no longer an option.
We were being tailed.
“For your protection,” Rollie had said before we’d left the tavern. We all knew it was to keep us from fleeing, though. I couldn’t see the clansmen, but I knew they were there, lurking in the shadows.
Maybe when I was officially their princess, I could make a deal of my own. I thought Ryker would be the one to convince, but perhaps I could talk his father into forming an alliance with—
Out of nowhere, Ryker swore and grabbed my arm, dragging me into an alley. He didn’t stop until we reached a tall, chain link fence. My back struck the links with an echoing clang. He buried a fist in my jacket and yanked me close. Shocked, I stupidly gaped as he laid into me with fierce vengeance. “Do you know what you’ve just done? We can’t leave now.”
Once again, I was dragged away, this time by Bren. He pushed me behind him, then went nose-to-nose with Ryker. “Touch her again,” he said, low and lethal. “I dare you.”
Ryker bared his teeth. “And what are you going to do about it? You know the code, brother. You know who she belongs to now. The bonding ritual is complete.”
A growl exploded from Bren and he shoved Ryker. “She’s not yours. You had no right to kiss her or force this life on her. She doesn’t want it. She doesn’t want you.”
Ryker licked his bottom lip with a goading smirk. “Maybe she does. Maybe this is exactly what she wants. You heard her in there. Saw her bend a knee to the great alpha king. She’s not pretending. This is happening.”
Bren was shaking now, a hair’s breadth away from snapping. At the menace in his eyes, my heart jack-knifed in my chest. “She didn’t have a choice. As soon as we find a way out of this mess, she’ll come back to me. To someone who can keep her safe.”
“Back. Off. This isn’t your fight, Bearon,” Ryker said, his tone deathly soft. Yet he moved closer as though spoiling for just that. A fight.
A harsh laugh left Bren. “It became my fight the minute you lured my five-year-old sister into the woods when my back was turned. When you tracked me to my home and tore apart my family. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be in this mess. Neither would Lune.”
Ryker jerked as if he’d been slapped, but quickly recovered. “You want to do this right now? Fine, let’s do it. I was nine. Nine years old. I didn’t want a flogging or another broken bone, so I did as I was told. I wanted to see my mother.”
“Did you tell Lune that you tracked down her mom that day? Admit it. She’s been here this entire time, so I know you did it. You pumped me full of guilt the day I took Lune, but you didn’t go home empty-handed either.”
I gasped, stumbling against the fence when Ryker didn’t refute the accusation. My heart was pounding, head throbbing as they continued to spar with words, slicing deep, cutting to the very core of their lifelong feud. I remembered Ryker’s gun and searched for its shape beneath his leather jacket. If things escalated, maybe I could reach it before he stopped me. But after that latest revelation, a weapon in my hands could be deadly.
The mood suddenly shifted. Anger became something else entirely. There was hurt saturating their shouting match. They were indeed yelling now, uncaring who heard, lost to the world around them. Even me.
And I couldn’t . . . I couldn’t stop them. I didn’t want to. They wielded truth like blades. It was a dance unlike any I’d ever seen. Raw and ugly. But, stars, it was real. They were talking about Bells now, a point of contention that had caused so much hatred and bitterness between them.
I was riveted. Rooted to the spot as Ryker jabbed a finger at Bren’s chest and growled, “You took her from me. The only good thing I had in my life. You didn’t even let me say goodbye.”
Bren knocked the finger aside. “What was I supposed to do? Stand by while you failed to protect her from jealous, vindictive men who would do anything to see me tarnished in the eyes of their king? She was my responsibility. Not yours. I never gave you permission to claim her—”
Ryker shoved Bren, sending the taller man back a couple feet. “She wanted me. Me. And I wanted her. Then you took it all away.” Both men silently fumed, neither giving an inch. Ryker’s expression suddenly fell. “You left me here. Alone. You were . . . you were the only friend I had. And you tossed me aside like trash. Just like the boss always said I—” He cut himself off, dragging both hands through his hair.
I winced as he spun and took out his pain on the wall, his fist the inflictor. My stomach and thoughts were in knots, but I couldn’t help feeling a twinge of sympathy. I knew that kind of loneliness, the hurt that could so easily turn into anger, causing further alienation.
Ryker may have started the events that led us to this point—and destroyed lives in his quest to better his own—but I understood his pain. He didn’t have to suffer alone anymore. Not if I could help it.
I reached out. Not with my body, but with my mind. It was easy to form a tether with him now. I knew him. Knew his motives, his hopes and dreams. Many were self-serving, but he wasn’t the monster I thought him to be. He had a heart—a big one—and it was bleeding.
The connection solidified.
You’re not alone.
His back stiffened as I sent the words into his head.
I’m not abandoning your plan. But this is bigger than you and me, Ryker. People need us, and not just our mothers. I’ve got an idea, but I can’t do it alone. I need your help.
It took several moments of heated silence, but he eventually glanced over his shoulder at me. His eyes were narrowed, searching. “How do I know you won’t double-cross me?” he rasped.
Bren tensed, scanning both our faces. As it dawned on him what I’d just done, his jaw hardened. He looked away. Guilt squirmed inside me. I knew how this must seem. But instead of reassuring him like I ached to do, I ignored him. And hated myself for it. I shrugged at Ryker, smirking as I replied, “You don’t. You’ll just have to trust me.”
He snorted, but it was devoid of rancor. For him, the sound was practically laughter. It was a start, at least.
“So it’s real then?”
Confused by the question, I forced my eyes to meet Bren’s. Oh stars, the look he was giving me. There was only one word to describe it. Lost. My chest practically caved in as I fought to hold eye contac
t. My voice was reed thin, but I managed to say, “What is?”
He gestured at me and Ryker. “You. Him.”
Panic shot through me. I quickly shook my head. “No. I mean, yes. But not—” Crap. Crap! “We didn’t do anything. Well, not what you’re thinking anyway.” Shoot me now! “But I fully intend to follow through with this whole princess thing. You know I have to, Bren. Which means—”
Which meant what?
Too many things that I didn’t want to say out loud.
Mortification heated my face. Did he think I would sleep with Ryker? Holy crap, would the boss expect us to? My thoughts and emotions went haywire. The more I struggled to speak, the worse my guilt became.
A throat cleared and I flinched. “Meet me back at the apartment when you’re done hashing this out. And don’t even think about running off together. I’ll track you both down myself if I have to. But you know I won’t be the only one.”
With that foreboding promise dangling in the air, Ryker left us.
Left us to stew in our doubts and fears and unspoken deeds.
Bren broke the silence first. “He just keeps getting in the way, doesn’t he?”
“It’s not like that,” I whispered, my throat too tight for much else.
His sigh was short. Harsh. He looked away again. “I deserve this after everything I’ve done. It’s only fair that I suffer this way. I can sense it, Lune—your feelings for him. You’re not indifferent as you once were. And although this kills me to admit, I don’t blame you. I’ve done nothing but cause pain with my lies and secrets. Then I was afraid, so afraid of losing you that I let fear tear us apart. You deserve so much better than me.”
My jaw couldn’t help but drop. “Bren. I don’t—”
I squeaked as his arms shot out, trapping me against the fence. He didn’t touch me—just curled his fingers into the chain links on either side of my head and leaned in close. Close enough that his bright golden eyes became my world.
Immersive Page 11