After thirty-six hours, I was half dead and recovering by the riverbank with Adara and Alonzo.
Two months later, my Pack was still struggling, and I was spiraling. That was one of the two reasons I had allied with her.
The first one was because I owed her. Daniel was crazed and had lost control earlier. I should have done something about him before he tried to hurt Adara. Though she didn’t blame me, I blamed myself. I wasn’t just Daniel’s brother. I was his beta. It was my responsibility to take care of him, not allow him to draw us into a winless war with the Leones Pride.
The second reason was that I would eventually need her to do what every other Mashall had done since settling this town: put down the Farrell Alpha.
“Dance, motherfuckers, dance!”
The sultry, slightly psychotic voice reached my ears, and my wolf startled briefly before running full steam ahead.
“Trevor!” Adara called. “Change back now!”
Her words, though full of power, brushed over me.
She may be a Queen but she ain’t our Alpha.
Nearing the trees, I heard Alonzo screaming for Adara not to change. Whoever was shooting better hope that Adara listened. Queen Kenzie had recently taught Hell Fire Valley’s resident monster how to spew lava, and the beast didn’t have good aim.
There was a good chance I was going to get burned, but Wolf didn’t care. He just wanted to get near the woman crazy enough to threaten Adara.
Moving through the pine trees, I found my target.
Beautiful.
Beautiful psychopath. Large almond shaped eyes delirious with pleasure. Waist length locs blowing in the breeze, caressing her café au lait toned skin. Her breasts shook under her black crop top with deranged laughter. She had handguns strapped to each thigh, visible due to her cut off shorts. An automatic rifle was in clutched between her slim hands as she shot rounds at the angry roaring lions.
A ground shaking prehistoric roar shook the trees. I watched as the woman slipped in her black combat boots and landed on the ground with a thud.
“Sonofabitch!” she screamed in pain.
I pounced on her, a low growl rumbling through my snarled lips as I breathed her in.
“Don’t,” she whispered in fear.
Burying my head between her neck and shoulder, I opened my jaws.
“Please,” she begged.
It was too late. Her fate was sealed the moment she began shooting from the trees. This unhinged little hellion had done the unthinkable. She had tempted a Farrell.
And, now, we would both pay the price.
CHAPTER 49
REVY
Okay, I had made a mistake.
I realized that the moment I fell from the goddamn trees and damn near broke my back with the landing. I knew for sure I had when the giant ass wolf caged me between his paws.
I had made a mistake.
This wasn’t what I wanted. If the damn wolf would shift back, I could explain. Instead, he was busy smelling my neck like a sick pervert. This was just my luck since I always had a thing for sick perverts.
They made me feel kinda normal.
Inching my hand down slowly, my finger had just brushed against the handle of my gun when I felt teeth pierce my skin.
Pain.
Excruciating, mind-numbing pain began in my neck before shooting downward.
This is it.
This was how I would die. By the teeth of an apex predator.
Fuck my life.
This wasn’t how I thought my day would end up. If you had told me this morning when I was stealing a Harley that I would die a few hours later, I would have shot you in the fucking face.
I was Revy. I didn’t die. I did the killing.
Well, apparently, I had made a mistake.
This wasn’t the plan. All I wanted was to have a little fun before revealing myself to Adara.
She was the reason I was here. The bitch had disappeared but popped back on the radar a few weeks ago. When I had heard she had been Turned into a Dragon Queen, well I had come it see for myself.
I was always a risk taker and what was a bigger risk than taunting a fucking dragon?
Real smart, Revy. You should have just stayed where you were.
Fire coursed through my veins and I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for the gray wolf to snap my neck. Instead, he pulled back and began to lick my wound.
Oooo, kinky!
Out of nowhere, a naked man sailed through the trees and laid himself on top of the wolf and me. Seconds later, another roar shook the ground, and heavy winds blew down a tree a few feet from us.
The man was screaming at the wolf, but I couldn’t make out any of the words over the loud growling in my ears.
This wasn’t what I wanted.
I wanted to see Adara.
I wanted to make sure she was okay.
I wanted to make a few more memories before I slipped back into the darkness that shrouded my life.
I just wanted to reconnect with my older sister.
Now, it felt like I would die before I was even able to see her. Tears fell from my closed eyes as regret washed through me.
Opening my eyes, my gaze locked on a beautiful green dragon flying overhead. Her eyes caught mine and she paused. Shifting her line of sight, she trained her stare on the wolf, and a death screech left her lips.
I won’t even get to say goodbye
Closing my eyes, I resigned myself to my death.
And then there was fire.
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Queens of Beasts: Taming Revy
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PROLOGUE
“Have you ever seen a fierce animal you were sure would never bite? Because I haven’t.”
Roronoa Zoro
“One Piece”
REVY
Lips pursed, I whistled Bernard Hermann’s Twisted Nerve. The whistle song from Kill Bill was one of my favorites in the whole wide world.
Backpack slung over my shoulders, and an oversized duffle bag clutched tightly in my hand, I headed down the dusty highway. According to my map, it would take me three days walking to get to Hell Fire Valley. Twelve hours if I could hitch a ride. Less than six if I was driving.
The early morning sun was beating across my skin by the time I made it to a small town in the middle of bumfuck nowhere. It was so tiny that if I wasn’t walking, I could blink and miss it.
The scent of fried chicken and barbecue filled the air, and my stomach growled as I walked further down the main drag. I hesitated. I had spent the last several days eating nothing but burgers and gas station nachos. I would kill, literally kill, for a homecooked meal.
Fuck it.
Decision made, I stomped over to the small restaurant, passing a row of gleaming Harleys with keys dangling from each. I burst through the door, all eyes on me.
I wasn’t surprised. How often did this small town see a light-skin black woman with locs flowing past her shoulders and guns strapped to each thigh? I’d bet all the money I had in offshore bank accounts that they never had.
I strolled through the small, crowded dining room to an empty table in the back. Slipping off my backpack, I plopped down on one of the four wooden chairs and propped up my aching feet on an empty one before taking a quick glance of the menu.
The restaurant had that mom and pop type of feel with wooden walls, knick-knacks, and doilies. Everywhere you looked there was something of interest to see. But my eyes were trained on the rowdy bikers near the front.
They were loud. They were drunk. They stunk to high hell. The growling voice in the back of my mind told me they were trouble.
“Welcome to Johnson’s Meal House. I’m Petunia, and I’ll be your server,” a pretty blonde greeted me. “Our specials today are country fried steak, smoked chicken, and brisket. Each comes with two sides, a drink, and cornbread or dinner rolls. You ready to order or do you need time to look over the menu?”
Dinner for breakfast? Fuck yeah!
“Nah, I’m ready. I’ll have the smothered pork chops with mac and cheese, sweet potatoes, greens, cornbread, and lemonade. Can you wrap up a piece of pound cake and a slice of cherry pie to go?”
“Sure thing, honey. Anything else?”
“I’m good.”
“Alright,” she chirped. “Be right back.”
Digging into my back pocket, I took out a small notebook and flipped through the pages. My eyes darted over my notes, committing them to memory.
Adara Akame Mashall. Spotted several months ago hitchhiking. The last trucker she was with now has one hand. Disappeared for a few months. Reappeared a few weeks ago in Hell Fire Valley. Rumored to now be the Green Dragon Queen.
The bitch was now a Shifter. Nah, that wasn’t right. The bitch was now one of the most powerful Shifters on the planet.
I hadn’t had much interaction with their kind but the little I did have let me know that they were nothing to fuck with. I had to see her. Had to see if Adara Mashall was as powerful as everyone believed.
“Stop it, Cap!” Petunia’s voice cut through my thoughts. I glanced up in time to see who I assumed was Cap pulling down the neck of Petunia’ shirt. “Don’t touch me!”
The group laughed as tears rimmed her brown eyes.
Red hot rage filled me. The voice inside my head, the one I had been ignoring since I was a child but had only gotten louder over the last few years, was urging me to kill them. Fill them all with lead and piss on their corpses.
My fingers inched down towards my gun.
“Don’t.” Turning my head slightly to the right, I kept one eye trained on the bikers and the other on the old man who had spoken. “I already called the county sheriff. He and his boys will be here soon enough.”
“They don’t need a jail. They need to be put down,” I gritted out.
“Agreed. But, if you start trouble, you’ll make it worse for Petunia.”
“How long do you think before the sheriff is here?”
A thought was forming in my head. I felt my heart rate kick up a notch. The same way it always did before I made a gloriously bad decision.
“’Bout fifteen minutes.”
“Petunia!” I called out. I watched as she wrenched herself out of Cap’s grasp. “Do me a favor,” I said once she reached me, keeping my voice low. “Pack up all of my food, bring it to me, go back to the kitchen and don’t come out no matter what you hear.”
Eyes wide, she scurried off to do as I said. Less than two minutes later, I had a large paper bag full of food stuffed in my oversized backpack and Petunia was back in the kitchen. I placed the strap of my duffle bag over my head, leaving both of my hands free.
It was time.
Walking around the tables, I felt one of the bikers slap my ass. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Cap grinning, his tongue making a slimy trail over his top lip. He spread his legs wide, the head of his dick poking at the front of his tight pants.
A soft chuckle left my lips as I shook my head and continued to walk out of the restaurant. Stepping out into the cool morning breeze, I reached into my large duffle bag. Two seconds later, I had a semi-automatic clutched between my slim hands and was filling the row of motorcycles with bullets.
Screams of terror and anger echoed throughout the restaurant as I placed the weapon back into my duffle bag. Strolling over to the one bike I left unscathed, the one I was ninety-nine percent sure belonged to Cap, I hopped on, turned the key, and began backing it out just as the group of pissed off men ran out to the street.
“You ready to die, bit—”
Before Cap could finish his question, I pulled my pistol off my thigh and shot him. Nothing fatal. Just the head of his rancid dick.
As the sound of sirens neared, I gunned it down the road. Next stop, Hell Fire Valley.
And I was going to arrive with a bang.
REVY
It was a few hours to sunset by the time I arrived in Hell Fire Valley, Harley roaring through the streets like a badass. It had taken me longer than planned since I had to avoid the cops. It was all backroads for me. According to my map, I was about five miles away from Mashall Land where Adara had set up shop.
Being the stubborn bitch I was, I cut off the bike and walked it through the woods to Mashall land. I knew that Shifters had sensitive hearing and I was determined to make a grand entrance.
I left the bike near the Tyrol River and continued my trek. By the time I arrived in the cluster of trees by the Mashall house, I was a sweaty hot mess, and the sun was beginning to set.
Catching my breath, I set my bags by a large tree. I took a seat and ate my meal, enjoying the beautiful scenery. Over the rustling of the woodland creatures, I could just make out the sounds of laughter and conversations at the Mashall house.
I felt a slight pang in my heart. Adara had found something that people in our lifestyle never get: a family. Family ties were as important as breathing. It was those bonds that kept us rooted, gave us a sense of self.
Finishing off my cherry pie, I licked the sticky sweetness off my fingertips before grabbing my duffel bag and climbing the tree. I found my footing on a high, sturdy branch and leaned against the trunk, automatic rifle clutched tightly in my hands.
“Ahh,” I mumbled, keeping my voice low. “There you are, Adara.”
The chocolate beauty was being served a steak by a handsome man with glowing amber eyes. This had to be Alonzo Leones. I had overheard his name attached to Adara’s when I filled up my gas tank in town.
“Fucking lovebirds,” I grumbled.
My eyes scanned the yard, landing on three gorgeous women sunbathing. One Latina, one Indian, and one African.
“The Red, Black, and Blue Dragon Queens.”
Chills blasted up my arms as I took them in. Hundreds of years old and they didn’t look a day over thirty.
My gazed darted around the backyard, taking note of everyone before landing on a lonely figure in the corner. I could barely make out his features, he was so far away.
The voice in my head was grumbling, and I felt my irritation rise. Maybe it was time to check myself into the psych ward and get on some meds. I could barely go five minutes without the voice making its presence known. It was getting harder to tell if my thoughts were even my own anymore.
Bracing my left foot against the trunk, I found my balance and aimed the gun at the clearing. I watched in demented amusement as everyone jumped and screamed from my gunfire. Well, everyone except the Red, Black, and Blue Dragon Queens. They were completely unbothered.
Laughter bubbled up from my throat as I continued to spray the landscape. Next thing I knew, a huge gray wolf burst from a man and was barreling towards the trees.
“Dance, motherfucker. Dance!” I screamed, making sure my bullets hit the ground.
I was a dead shot, expertly trained in the harsh Russian lands. If I wanted to kill them, they’d all have a bullet in their skulls in less than thirty seconds.
A prehistoric roar shook the earth, and I fell from the trees with a yelp.
And, to my absolute horror, the gray wolf was waiting for me as I landed.
Sonofabitch!
REVY
Okay, I had made a mistake.
I realized that the moment I fell from the goddamn trees and damn near broke my back with the landing. I knew for sure I had when the giant ass wolf caged me between his paws.
I had made a mistake.
This wasn’t what I wanted. If the damn wolf would shift back, I could explain. Instead, he was busy smelling my neck like a sick pervert. This was just my luck since I always had a thing for sick perverts.
They made me feel kinda normal.
Inching my hand down slowly, my finger had just brushed against the handle of my gun when I felt teeth pierce my skin.
Pain.
Excruciating, mind-numbing pain began in my neck before shooting downward.
This is it, I thought to myself.
This was how I would die. By the t
eeth of an apex predator.
Fuck my life.
This wasn’t how I thought my day would end up. If you had told me this morning when I was stealing a Harley that I would die a few hours later, I would have shot you in the fucking face.
I was Revy. I didn’t die. I did the killing.
Well, apparently, I had made a mistake.
This wasn’t the plan. All I wanted was to have a little fun before revealing myself to Adara.
She was the reason I was here. The bitch had disappeared but popped back on the radar a few weeks ago. When I had heard she had been Turned into a Dragon Queen, well I had come it see for myself.
I was always a risk taker and what was a bigger risk than taunting a fucking dragon?
Real smart, Revy. You should have just stayed where you were.
Fire coursed through my veins and I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for the gray wolf to snap my neck. Instead, he pulled back and began to lick my wound.
Oooo, kinky!
Out of nowhere, a naked man sailed through the trees and laid himself on top of the wolf and me. Seconds later, another roar shook the ground, and heavy winds blew down a tree a few feet from us.
The man was screaming at the wolf, but I couldn’t make out any of the words over the loud growling in my ears.
This wasn’t what I wanted.
I wanted to see Adara.
I wanted to make sure she was okay.
I wanted to make a few more memories before I slipped back into the darkness that shrouded my life.
I just wanted to reconnect with my older sister.
Now, it felt like I would die before I was even able to see her. Tears fell from my closed eyes as regret washed through me.
Opening my eyes, my gaze locked on a beautiful green dragon flying overhead. Her eyes caught mine and she paused. Shifting her line of sight, she trained her stare on the wolf, and a death screech left her lips.
I won’t even get to say goodbye
Closing my eyes, I resigned myself to my death.
And then there was fire.
The Life, Love, and Death of Adara Marshall Page 11