Stumbling out the bar several hours later, my mind was still hazy from the five bottles of vodka and Mama Terrell’s words.
Crazy old bat! I know exactly who I am.
At least I thought I did.
In Russia, I was Revy the badass. I could bring grown men to tears with one look. My trigger finger was always itchy, making me an instant star in the organization I worked for. My name meant something
Here, in Hell Fire Valley, I was once again in Adara’s shadow. She was a queen. I was just the younger sister that brought destruction wherever she went. As much as I loved my sister, I didn’t want to go back to being compared to her.
“You talk about Adara as if she’s the only queen in your family.”
“Fuck!” I screamed at the moonlit sky so loudly that dogs began barking. “Fuck,” I whispered.
Mama Terrell’s words were fucking with my head. But, at least they had silenced my wolf.
I wobbled over to my Harley and tried unsuccessfully to climb on. The damn thing fell to the ground with a crash, setting off another round of barking. I sat on the curb and placed my head in my hands.
I had three options. Walk home. Call Trevor. Call Adara.
All three of those sounded shitty.
My phone vibrated, and I fished it out of my pocket. The brightness of the screen had me wincing as I read the text message.
S: When are you coming back?
My heart thundered in my chest as I read and re-read the text. It was official. I had been gone too damn long if my handler was looking for me. Usually, Sasha let me roam free.
My hands became clammy as I tapped out my reply.
Me: I don’t know.
The response was immediate.
S: Are you coming back?
Me: What kind of question is that, Sasha?
S: The kind I want an answer to.
Shit!
Sasha was the only thing on the planet—human, Shifter, or demon—that I had an ounce of fear of.
Limbs shaking, I stood from the curb and began the long walk back to Farrell land. The chilled night air did little to ease my hazy mind.
Good or evil.
Mama Terrell wanted to know which one I would choose.
At this point, I wasn’t even sure if there was a difference.
CHAPTER 6
REVY
Bursting through the door of the law office, the redheaded secretary yelped in shock. It had been two days since my talk with Mama Terrell. One thing was clear, I needed fucking answers, and this was the place to start.
It was Cleophous Bushae’s letter that brought me to America, to begin with. Adara’s situation made my journey more interesting. The wolf…well that was a whole different story.
I watched as the pale woman fumbled with the speaker on her desk as I walked closer.
“Mr. Bushae,” her voice shook. “Another one of those Mashalls are here!”
Before he could even respond, I kicked open his office door.
“You must be Revy,” the chocolate silver fox drawled as I barged into his office and took a seat.
“The one and only.” Stroking his gray beard, his dark eyes twinkled as he stared at me. “I see I’ve captivated you with my stunning good looks, but I have shit to do. So, can we get on with it?”
With a shake of his head, Bushae reached into his drawer and took out a thick envelope.
“This is for you,” he said, sliding the envelope across the large wooden desk. “I’ll leave you alone to look through it.” He made his way to the door before turning back towards me. “You know, the door does work. I don’t understand why you Mashalls insist on not using the damn knob.”
Ignoring the old man, I ripped into the envelope. Inside was a key to a safety deposit box, two insurance policies, and a handwritten letter.
Revy:
My sweet, unpredictable, courageous Revy. If you’re reading this, then two things have happened. One, the good Lord has finally called me home. Two, Cleophous Bushae is finally worth all the money I paid him.
Now, if what I believe is right, you would have arrived in Hell Fire Valley after Adara. If so, then you already know that I left the land to her. For centuries, the Mashall land was passed down to the oldest girl child.
I didn’t break tradition because you don’t need the pressure that comes with holding onto that land. You need to, for once, focus on your own wants and needs.
I want you to own who you are and step into your destiny, my Revy. Stop living in your sister’s shadow and step into the light. You were meant for more than the life your parents forced you into.
You are destined for greatness. Own who you are. All of your flaws. All of your insecurities. All of your hopes. All of your dreams. All of your demons.
Own them and wear them proudly and no one will ever use them against you.
Nothing has been or ever will be wrong with you. You are who you were always meant to be.
I have always loved you, my sweet Revy. And, I will adore you beyond death.
Love,
Grandma
I sat there crying for the only woman I felt understood me. I had known she was dead, but this letter put a finality to it that I was not ready to accept. Sophie Mashall was gone and would never come back. My heart broke in my chest. Even Wolf was quiet for once.
The door creaked open, and Bushae shoved a silk handkerchief underneath my nose.
“Thank you,” I whispered, forcing myself to use the manners that my grandmother had instilled in me.
“Dry your eyes,” Bushae grumbled. “Your kind shouldn’t shed tears in public.”
“Wolves?” I asked, patting my face with the scrap of fabric.
“No,” he stated, lifting my chin with his index finger. “Queens.”
CHAPTER 7
REVY
“I’m going to die out here.”
The whispered words floated on the early morning breeze as I stared at the Tyrol River.
Three days.
Three long days and my grandmother’s letter was still playing in my mind.
A part of me wanted to jump into the river and never come back up. But, knowing the growling bitch inside of me, she would just take over and save us both.
“You’re not going to die, Revy.” I didn’t even startle as Adara walked up on me. I wasn’t even surprised that she knew exactly where to find me deep in Mashall land. “I’ll kill you if you die.”
“That literally makes no sense.”
“I don’t care,” she quipped with a shrug.
We sat there, watching the sun fully rise over the horizon.
“I wanted to die once,” Adara said, breaking the silence.
I slid my gaze to her. Her body was rigid with tension as she continued to stare straight ahead.
“What happened?”
“I had been in Japan for a little while…”
“Is that where they sent you?”
There was no reason to clarify. We both knew who “they” were.
“Yeah,” she snapped. “I had been there for about two years when Sora, my handler, wanted to send me out on assignment.” She blew out a breath and ran her fingers through her waist-length twists. “Things were said, and I realized how shitty our parents really were. That night, I went to the edge of this huge mountain cliff and tried to step off.”
My damn jaw was on the fucking ground. I couldn’t believe. My older sister, the perfect Adara, had felt so helpless that she wanted to end it all.
“My Sensei, Tsunade, pulled me back in time. She told me I was more than what I had been through, more than what I was going to go through. She said I had the destiny of a dragon. She was right.”
Sadness laced each and every word. I didn’t even have to ask. I knew that Tsunade was no longer walking this earth.
“I didn’t have a Sensei,” I muttered. “I woke up one morning in a cabin in the middle of Russia. The only other person I had was Sasha.”
“Was Sasha good t
o you?”
I paused, not knowing how to answer. “I’m not sure. All I know is that Sasha and my guns are all I’ve depended on for the last thirteen years.”
We once again fell into a silence as we watched the woodland creatures scurry about the land.
“I’ve been living in the forest,” I confessed.
“Shit.”
“Yeah…I can barely remember what a bed feels like. Some days, I feel more like an animal than a person.”
God this was painful, laying my problems at someone else’s feet.
“Look Revy, we both know that your wolf is out of control. If you want me to, I’ll put you down. If not, you know what you have to do.”
“Yeah,” I sighed. “I need to find Trevor.”
CHAPTER 8
REVY
Several hours later, after building up my courage, I dragged myself and my belongings from the woods and up to the Farrell Alpha house. From what Adara told me, Trevor was staying there since she burned down his home at the far end of the property.
“Whoa.”
The one word tumbled from my lips as I stopped in front of the porch. This house was all clean lines, dark wood, and glass. The square structure sat on an elevated wraparound porch. The porch had huge circles cut out where large maple trees were growing. It was as if the builder didn’t want to disturb the nature in the area.
I stepped up the porch and walked through the front door silently. The setting sun, shone through the floor to ceiling windows, casting pink and purple streaks across the wood and leather furniture.
Setting my bags by the sectional, I stood awkwardly in the middle of the living room. Breathing deeply, I took in the scents of lemon wood polish, coffee, and Trevor. Wolf tried to push through, but I yanked her back.
I don’t think so. I’m sleeping indoors tonight!
Slipping out of my boots and socks, I edged closer to the stairs when I heard it. Voices.
“You need to get it together, Trevor.”
The unknown man sounded slightly muffled like his voice was coming through a speaker.
“Listen Thomas…”
“No, Alpha, you listen.” I swallowed down Wolf’s grumble as we listened to the asshole. “You’re letting that bitch roam around like she owns this place. She may be an ancient, but she’s not our Alpha. You are. Do something about her!”
“You’re out of line,” Trevor growled.
“We have outsiders flooding the town because of that video. One Mashall bitch is burning the land. The other one is destroying it. It’s not safe in Hell Fire Valley anymore, and it’s your fault.”
I heard Trevor slam his hands down on what I assumed was a table. “Daniel was sick in the fucking head. He had to be put down.”
“Not until he had an heir. That is how it has always been.”
“What’s done is done.”
“You need to fix this. You helped kill your brother. You won the Alpha challenge. You have Awoken an Amarok. Fix it before I stop sitting idly by.”
“Are you threatening me?”
Sounds like it to me, I thought.
Let’s kill him, Wolf grumbled. Let’s kill the man that threatened our Maker.
To say I was surprised was an understatement. Usually, Wolf wanted to kill Trevor, not protect him.
If anyone is going to kill him, she snarled, it’ll be me.
“You and I both know you’re not fit to be Alpha,” Thomas growled. “If you don’t step up, I’ll make sure you step down.”
Silence and then a booming crash sounded. Trevor’s thunderous howl shook the planks underneath my bare feet, and my heart sped in my chest.
Sick, sick, sick.
Trevor’s wolf sounded sick. Just like mine.
I didn’t know who this Thomas man was, but I was going to find out. No one was going to hurt Trevor. He was mine to protect…hurt…I wasn’t even sure anymore.
Sick, sick, sick.
Trevor’s wolf sounded out of control. Just like mine.
The only difference was that he hid his crazy better than I ever did.
CHAPTER 9
TREVOR
Hunt. Kill. Protect.
My wolf’s chants woke me from my sleep. It wasn’t like it was peaceful anyways. I had fretted all night long.
Thomas was going to be a dead man. I didn’t like threats of any kind.
Hunt. Kill. Protect.
I understood the concerns of the Pack. Outsiders were combing through Hell Fire Valley. Shifters and humans. The once peaceful town had been turned upside down by those wanting to be under the protection of a Dragon Queen and an Amarok wolf.
What they didn’t understand was that they were in more danger now than ever before. The balance hadn’t been restored when Adara was Awoken, and I was partially to blame.
Hunt. Kill. Protect.
Getting out of my bed, I hopped in the shower before brushing my teeth. I dressed, put my locs up into a bun, and made my bed. My wolf’s chants ringing through my head the entire time.
I wasn’t surprised. This was what happened when you became an Alpha. You grew obsessed with dominating, with demonstrating your strength.
Hunt. Kill. Protect.
Walking down the stairs, I stopped on locked legs at the bottom.
Revy.
In my home. On my couch. Asleep.
Even in her sleep, she was wild. Long legs sprawled, one hanging off the edge of the couch and the other up on the back. Her torso was twisted at an angle, causing her locs to brush the floor.
For the first time in weeks, my wolf was quiet. Yeah, I knew it wouldn’t last, but I was determined to enjoy these few moments of peace.
Between the wolf and the massive guilt for my past that terrorized me during the day and the demons that haunted me at night, I was slowly going insane.
Her chest rattled with the peaceful growl of her wolf. Stepping closer, I damn near melted to the floor.
Revy Mashall, the Beautiful Psychopath, was sucking her thumb.
God, she’s adorable.
I stared at her for several minutes, committing everything from her long lashes brushing against her cheeks to the arch of her perfect feet to memory. This was worth it.
Every mark on my soul for my brother’s actions and death, every scar on my body from the Alpha challenges, every ounce of guilt I felt from Awakening Revy without her permission, every deranged thought my wolf had was worth it because of this moment.
It was then that I made my decision.
I would help Revy. It was apparent she didn’t want to stay here with me. That wasn’t her problem to deal with. It was mine.
I would help her get control of the wolf so she could leave so she could be happy. She deserved at least her freedom after everything I had put her through.
This would be the last good deed I would do on this earth.
Helping my mate become the one and only Amarok Queen.
CHAPTER 10
REVY
The early morning sunshine. The chirping of birds. The scent of waffles and bacon. All of these things hit me at once as I awoke from a deep sleep.
But, that wasn’t what woke me. No, it was the tingling of my spine, the racing of my heartbeat that roused me.
I was being watched.
Faster than a viper striking its prey, I reached underneath the couch, grabbed my gun, cocked it, aimed, and opened my eyes.
“You plotting on me?” I growled.
Hanging upside down on the couch, I had the barrel of the gun aimed upward, right underneath Trevor’s chin. His silver eyes churned and his chest vibrated with the growling of his wolf.
“Put the fucking gun down, Revy.” His bored tone grated on my nerves. “Get up, shower, and change. Breakfast is almost done.”
He turned his back on me, walking toward the delicious smelling kitchen.
My wolf and I sat there shocked. Usually, my antics got some kind of reaction. For him not to give me anything…I was not expecting that.
With nothing else to do, I grabbed my bag and traipsed through his house, looking for the bathroom. I passed by three before I found the one I was looking for, his. It was all wood planked walls and stone floors. A large tub sat across from a window that overlooked the forest. The stone covered shower was big enough for three people.
Fuck yeah! I’m going to enjoy this.
I knew the Farrell wolf was territorial and this was just the thing to piss him off. I paused for a moment, wondering why I was so interested in getting under the Alpha’s skin. But, I was never one to analyze my actions, so that moment of self-reflection lasted all but three seconds.
Turning on the shower, I grabbed my toiletries out the bag and stepped into the steaming water.
“Yasssss!” I damn near purred.
After spending the last few weeks living in the woods and bathing in the river, I was enjoying the fuck out of this indoor plumbing. I lathered up with soap and scrubbed weeks’ worth of dirt and sweat off of my skin. Massaging shampoo and conditioner into my locs, I felt the stress melting away. All too soon, the water began to turn cold, and I reluctantly got out of the shower.
Twenty minutes later, I was dressed in my signature cutoff shorts—black ones this time—and a tight red t-shirt. Tromping down the stairs, I followed my nose to the kitchen, my stomach growling loudly.
Without saying a word, I sat down at the breakfast table. Equally as silent, Trevor slid a plate stacked with waffles, eggs, bacon, and hash browns in front of me before taking his seat across from me.
Dousing everything in syrup, I stuffed my face. We stayed like that for at least ten minutes before he broke the silence.
“I’m going to help you.” I stared at him as I continued to shovel the delicious food into my mouth. “Say something.”
“I don’t need your fucking help,” I mumbled around a mouthful of bacon. “I’m perfect.”
“Yeah,” he sighed, his eyes glowing brightly. “You are.”
“Then it’s settled.”
“You want to go back to Russia?”
I eyed him suspiciously. “Yeah…”
“Then let me help you. It’s not like you have any other options.”
Taming Revy Page 3