Page 39 of Pucked Around and Found Out

“You may want to kill our baby, but I don't!”

The words land with the weight of a ton of bricks on my chest. The ultrasound image in my pocket burns like fire against my skin.

I shut down that train of thought and refuse to give in to her manipulation.

“Get the fuck out of the car, Tink,” I snap, then push my door open and step out onto the road.

The same road where my sister and best friends died.

It's dark except for the pale light of the moon and the harsh glare of the headlights. A memorial for the lost lives sits at the edge of the pavement, cheap crosses and faded flowers marking the spot.

I've lost count of how many times I've destroyed those crosses every time I've traveled this road.

Why people think marking the spot someone died is a way of paying respect is fucking stupid. They're dead. They don't give a shit about a cross. Marking the place they took their last breath isn't symbolic, it's fucking disrespectful.

No one should have the place they died marked. It's not something to be remembered or gawked at. It's a place of... sadness and⁠—

Fuck.

I turn away from the memorial and look over the hood at Toren. She stands there staring at me with a hard look on her face, all sharp edges and barely contained fury.

Her anger and rage are welcomed by the beast inside me. He wants her to fight.

This is what I live for. Her pain. Her misery. Her endless anguish.

“Why are we here?” Her voice cuts through the night.

“Got other plans?”

Her eyes narrow dangerously. “No. Why are we here, Xaden?”

I stalk around the car and don't stop until I'm standing directly in front of her. I can feel her heat through my clothes and it's redirecting all my blood flow south.

I need to remain focused, need to not think about how good her pussy feels wrapped around my cock.

She's a fucking leech. She sucks the life out of everything she touches.

She's my enemy!

“If you had grown a backbone that night and stopped your piece of shit brother, you and I would never have met.”

I reach out and cup her cheek, offering her the illusion of tenderness and she takes the bait, softening into my touch despite everything.

“Xaden—”

“You changed my destiny, and now I'll rewrite yours.” My voice drops to something dark and devastating. “I'll ruin everything you love. Destroy your family and wipe their existence from the face of the earth. Everyone will forget about them and you.”

Her breath hitches, a small, wounded sound.

“No more fairy dust, Tink. You won't fly away from me again. This war was over before it even began. I know your moves. I know theirs. And you'll never best me.”

She reaches out and grips the front of my shirt with both hands, holding on like I'm the only thing keeping her grounded.

“Besting you was never part of my plan.” Her voice cracks with emotion I don't want to acknowledge. “All I wanted was for you to see me as me. Not as a Kellar or Masen's sister. Just... Toren.”

“I see exactly who you are,” I grit out through clenched teeth.

“No.” Tears gather in her eyes but don't fall. “You see me as the person you force yourself to believe I am, not the girl who fell in love with a monster that promised her nothing but pain and misery.”