Page 42 of When Roses Burn

Seth stepped closer…. No! Not Seth!

I had to start acknowledging him as Knox, because if I kept thinking of him as Seth, he’d only hurt me over and over again. Not to mention, while I was completely confident Seth would have killed himself before ever harming me, I wasn’t so sure about this man… this Knox.

“Knox—” Pierce started.

“I’m not going to kill her,” he vowed. “Not yet… anyway.”

It was probably a stupid thing to do, but I rolled my eyes and folded my arms over my chest. “I’ve dealt with my mother for my whole life; if you think you scare me, you’re sadly mistaken. You’re an amateur compared to her.”

His mouth curved into a cruel smile before his hand shot past me and slammed into the tree behind my head. Unable to control my instincts, I jumped.

That awful smile spread as he leaned so close his warm breath caressed my lips. “You’re not as brave as you think you are, and I do scare you, mea perfidas eveto.”

I frowned at him as I tried to place the word. While I learned some history of the demigods while I was young, I’d been taught nothing and denied any access to books since my very public fall from grace.

“My treacherous or faithless everything,” he stated. “Both descriptions fit you perfectly.”

I never should have given him the satisfaction of seeing me jump, and I was certain that, with his superior hearing, he heard the riotous beat of my heart.

“Leave us, Pierce,” Knox commanded.

This time, Pierce bowed his head and vanished into the woods. When I first met him, Seth wanted nothing to do with being an alpha. He was against being like his father, but that had clearly changed as he was the alpha of these three.

Seth didn’t want to be an alpha, but Knox clearly was one. It was one more difference between this beast of a man and the gentle-hearted boy I’d always love.

“We’re finally alone,” he said.

Even though this man enraged me, my heart gave a little lurch as his warmth eased away; I had to fist my fingers to keep from grabbing him back. My mind knew he was dangerous and far different from the man I once knew, but my heart had ached for him for ten years, and it still did.

“Next time, when I tell you to do something, you do it,” he stated.

“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not a shifter, and you’re not my alpha. I don’t obey your commands.”

When tree bark fell on my shoulder, I realized his claws had extended to bite into the tree. “You are my prisoner and, as such, you will do as I say or you’ll find yourself in chains.”

I laughed bitterly. “Go ahead. I’ve been my mother’s prisoner for my whole life, and especially these last ten years. You can’t do anything worse to me.”

“Is that a challenge?”

I knew better than to challenge an alpha. Everyone in the kingdoms knew better. They didn’t back down, and it was rare when they lost, but he wanted me alive, and I was certain he couldn’t do anything worse than my mother.

Besides, was there anything worse than discovering Seth had become this?

“It’s not a challenge,” I stated. “It’s a simple fact.”

The cruel smile twisted his lips again as his eyes darkened. “No, I’m sure there’s plenty worse I can do to you. I spent seven years locked in that harem, at the hands of your mother and the rest of your kind. I learned how to make others suffer from the best and all because of you.”

“I didn’t betray you,” I bit out from between my gritted teeth.

“Liar.”

Don’t say anything. Keep your mouth shut. You’ve spent the past twenty-seven years keeping your mouth shut. Just do it again now.

It was sound, rational advice. I should take it, but I was tired of being called a liar. Tired of being pushed around, tormented, and broken by eternals who were supposed to love me.

“Fuck you!” I spat. “And all the other shifters too!”

His eyes glinted with malice as his head tipped to the side. “You know, I used to think your name was completely wrong, and you were the single rose amongst the thorns of your kind, but I was wrong. You’re not the rose amongst the thorns; you’re the whole fucking briar patch. You fucked me years ago, and now it’s my turn.”