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I can’t believe I’m back.
How Ruby convinced me to leave the comfort of my bedroom and rejoin society for the night is beyond me. Only her constant nagging could do it. I begged her not to make me. I couldn’t bear the thought of running into anyone from school after the spectacle last week, so here we are, back in Pleasant Hills, at the place I can’t seem to stay away from.
The Jungle is the last place I ever thought I’d step foot in, but I’ve been here more in the last few months than I ever would have expected. Not to mention, I’ve yet to be humiliated and tormented by anyone here, so I don’t see a downside to making it my new permanent home.
“Well, hello there, Little Dove. Looks like you just can’t stay away.”
I recognize his voice before I see him, the authoritative yet tender tone I’ve heard here before. Surprised, I turn to face him. “You scared the hell out of me. I didn’t see you there.” Nor did I expect to see him again, but I guess it’s another upside to coming here.
He grins widely. “Looks like you should be more careful than. I could have been some monster coming to attack you and take you away.” Clearly, he must be joking, but his eyes tell another story. They’re focused on me and the piece of fabric I’m wearing that Ruby had the audacity to call a dress.
The look in his eyes makes something strange come over me, a sudden urge to keep this conversation going, and ensure he doesn’t walk away from me. Maybe it’s the idea of finally giving up on whatever I had with Kai. Enough is enough.
“I don’t believe in monsters, Prophet,” I murmur, remembering the name he gave me the first time we met. “And even if I did, you don’t seem the type of creature I’d be afraid of.”
Prophet heads my way, reaching for me once he slides in beside me. Calloused fingers glide down my cheek, twirling around a loose strand of hair and tucking it behind my ear. His palm cups my chin, lifting it up to meet his curious gaze. “What kind of creatures scare you, Little Dove?” he whispers, his voice low and raspy. This is definitely not how I expected the night to go, but I’m all for it.
Standing directly in front of me is a guy who sees me with none of the added biases. I don’t have to beg. I don’t have to make a fool of myself, nor compromise my dignity to be valued by him. He just simply sees me for who I want to be.
I close the remaining gap between us, biting my lip as I gaze into his hazel eyes. “The humankind,” I whisper, barely loud enough for him to hear. “The ones who look harmless yet are the cruelest beings ever to have walked the earth.” I bring my hand up to rest against his chest, the way I’ve observed Ruby do countless times when she’s flirting with a guy who’s hitting on her, trailing my fingers over the leather jacket he’s wearing. The Cobra MC cut.
For a second, a wave of fear comes over me, remembering the various times I saw Kai wearing the same one. Do they know each other? Are they friends? I highly doubt it since Kai has only a handful of friends and he’s seen me with Prophet in the past yet said nothing. The Cobras are a large group. I’m sure they don’t even run in the same circle.
I bring my attention back to him and find he’s staring down at my hand on his chest with a dark, unreadable expression. “You want to know what makes them so vile?” He doesn’t respond, but I catch a slight nod of his head in agreement. “The power they hold. The fact they convince you to believe you deserve every one of their punishments merely for existing. That’s who we all should be afraid of.”
Prophet’s firm hands wrap around my waist, pulling me closer, our lips now only an inch away. In that moment, he watches me with an expression so sincere it makes me unafraid. “Nothing scares me, Little Dove. Especially not the cowards who hurt little girls like you for fun. Tell me who he is, and I’ll make him pay.”
I can’t hold in the nervous laugh that escapes me. How naïve of him to think we can do anything to stop the all-powerful Stephan Silver, or in this case, even the contemptuous Malachi Saint. My uncle is a monster, a sharp toothed, green-eyed fiend who preys on the weak, while Kai is a beautiful one who played with my heart until he broke it to pieces and threw it away.
“There is nothing we can do to stop them. I learned that the hard way long ago. All there’s left to do is live with it.”
Turning away from him, I use his current distracted state as an opportunity to escape his hold and find Ruby watching us with a glowering stare. It’s a mix of confusion, pride, and fury. Her sharp green eyes scowl at Prophet and I, like she's trying to figure out what game we’re playing. It’s the same way she looked at him the first time we met, weeks ago when she first brought me to The Jungle. I knew then they'd probably met before. I mean, Ruby is originally from here and Prophet doesn’t look more than a few years older than us.
Though the look she’s giving him now makes me wonder if there is more to the story.
“Wait,” Prophet calls out after me, reaching out to grab my hand and tugging me back to him. “Come with me Little Dove. I’m not ready for you to walk away. Call me crazy, but I feel you could use the company tonight.”
I know I probably shouldn’t, but something about him makes me act out of character. It’s like I lower my guard when I’m near him and don’t feel the need to hide behind the carefully crafted disguise I constantly wear for everyone else.
It’s probably a dangerous thing to even consider, but in the little time since meeting Prophet, I don’t believe he’d be capable of ever hurting me. Call it a survival instinct, but he seems more a protector than a hunter.
Without a second thought, I take his hand, letting him guide me away from Ruby. I’m sure she’ll be able to keep entertained while I’m gone.
“Careful Stella,” Ruby calls out to me from the midst of the surrounding crowd, eyes laced with worry. “He may look innocent, but don’t ignore the snake on the cut he wears. No good ever comes from men who wear the devil's mark.”
“Thank you, Ruby,” I say as I take her hand in mine. “For being here for me. For getting me out of bed and reminding me there is more to life than pining for someone who wants nothing to do with me, but I’m a big girl. I can handle it from here. Besides, he can't be worse than the guys I usually surround myself with. Or the ones determined to break me.”
Ignoring Ruby’s warning, I let Prophet drag me out of the club and out onto the crowded sidewalk outside. A group of men standing by the exit, wearing the same jacket as him, watch us as we step out into the street and toward a dark green motorcycle parked on the edge of the curb.
“Do you trust me?” he asks, letting go of my hand and reaching for one of two helmets hanging on the handlebars. It’s beautiful, so shiny, and bold, yet completely terrifying.
My eyes go wide as I shake my head fervently. “No, no, oh god no. I am not getting on this thing.” I turn away from him and head back toward the club, but he reaches for me, catching me before I go.
“Stop Stella. Come on, take a risk, live a little. I promise I won’t let anything happen to you, Little Dove.”
Anger rises inside me. Everyone around me just loves reminding me how much of my life I’m wasting away and how much of my life isn’t mine.Live a little Stella, you can’t keep living like this Stella.It’s all the same message I seem to miss.
