All the armed men glance at one another as if they know my name and I stand taller.
“I order you to kill Ivan Petrov.”
Ivan chuckles loudly through the silence before he aims his gun more strongly at me, ready to release a bullet.
“Nice try, Swan. They would never disobey me.”
Just as he is going to pull the trigger, gunfire erupts, bullets tearing holes into him. My heart pounds in my chest as I lower and shield Chaos with my body from any more potential harm, feeling the tremors of each impact vibrating through the ground and blood splatting over exposed skin.
When the wrath of bullets subsides, I cautiously lift my head, my breath catching as soon as I see Ivan still standing, an eerie stillness in the air, his eyes and mouth wide open. Then, like a gust of wind has moved him, he falls back with a heavy thud, his gun falling from his grasp.
It is in that moment that I become acutely aware of who I really am and my power. The men before me, once aiming their guns at me, now bow their heads in submission, acknowledging their queen, but during this realization, my focus is drawn back to Chaos. He is lying beneath me, his eyes closed and with a surge of panic, I slide my arm beneath his head, urging him to wake as I scream.
“Please help him!”
The men rush over, trying their best to attend to Chaos's wounds as I draw him closer to me, sobbing uncontrollably. With trembling hands, I urge him to hold on, clinging to the hope thathe will wake. In a desperate voice, filled with pain and anguish, I wail, my body shaking as I feel him slipping away from me with every precious second going by.
“Chaos? Chaos?”
When I do not get a response, I press my brow against his, my tears cascading upon his bloodied face.
“Please don’t leave us. We love you so much."
As I pull up to my parents I point the fob at my four wheeled drive, locking it before heading for the door of the huge mansion.
My mom called me this morning, urging me to visit her, and with Chaos and Charley spending the day together, I reluctantly agreed. I haven’t seen her in weeks, possibly months because of my father, and she said he wouldn’t be here since he is out of the city.
I push open the door, inviting myself into my childhood home until I am entering the foyer. When I notice the stillness in the mansion, I call out, my booming voice echoing throughout.
“Ma?”
I instantly see her rushing down the stairs toward me and I raise an eyebrow as she closes the gap between us. She pulls me into an embrace and as I lean down, she kisses both of my cheeks as she always does, but with my hand on her back, I notice her body trembling. I pull my head back, confused and I peer into her eyes, scanning them.
“Why the fuck are you shaking?”
She swallows, her eyes widening until she scoffs and glances aside.
«??????? ????? ???????».(Too much caffeine.)
As I rise tall, I eye her suspiciously before she hesitantly looks at me, a faint smile on her lips.
“How have you been, son? I have missed you.”
I give a small nod before raising my chin, a niggling feeling in my gut suddenly.
“Yeah, I’m good, but I can’t be here long.”
She grabs my hand, pulling me in the direction of the kitchen.
“That’s fine, Reign. I will not keep much of your time.”
After I listen to my mom's endless chatter about her recent girls' weekend in Vegas, I head out of the house and slide into my car. After closing the door behind me, I settle into the soft leather, noticing I left my phone on the passenger seat. I roar the car to life, a strange feeling settling in my stomach as it has since I first saw my mom, and I reach over for it.
As I see missed calls from Charley and Arlo Hayes, a frown furrows my brow and I quickly dial her number, but it only rings without an answer. My heart rate quickens, a sense of unease settling over me. Then, I swipe to Chaos's number and dial again, but I get the same result echoing through the car. Panic starts to swell within me as I speed toward home, desperately hoping to find them there and safe and with each unansweredcall, my anxiety only grows stronger, my palms sweating around the steering wheel.
As soon as I pull outside of our home, I leap out of the car, noticing Chaos’s bike was still not there. While rushing toward the mansion, I find Arlo’s number on my phone before swinging the front door open and shouting as I slam it behind me.
“Chaos? Charley?”
