AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She falls to her knees in front of me, her body spent of anger. Her momentary display of weakness calls to a part inside of me that wants to soothe her. I want to reach out and pull her to me. To grab that beautiful face between the palms of my hands and kiss her. My arms ache to hold her, my body pressed against her warmth, soaking up her strength, but my body resists what my heart is asking of it. The thought of her possibly touching me makes a cold sweat break along my back.
I’m disgusted with myself and the irrational fear flowing through me. I know Mia is not going to hurt me, that my brothers are not here to hurt me either. Who the other two fuckers are that grabbed me, I don’t have a clue, but I know Finn and Mateo wouldn’t have let them near me if they meant me harm.
I peek from underneath my lashes, watching Mia clench her fists; she’s fighting the need to grab onto me, probably to shake or bloody me. My little queen does like to respond with violence first. If I weren’t so battered and broken, that thought would typically give me a hard-on.
I can’t believe I fucking survived everything my psychotic father did to me only to be this miserable, weak shell of myself. I can see pity and concern in my brothers and Raegan’s eyes. The other three strangers in the room are watchful, assessing whether I’m going to lash out like a deranged animal. They have reason to worry about my mental state; I feel more animal than human now. It seems I am no longer the predator but the weak prey.
Carter moves closer to me, and my body tenses, my fists clenching and fight or flight kicking in.Stop it; it’s Carter, and he’s not going to hurt you. We are safe!My mind screams at me. I force myself to unclench my fists and raise my eyes to his. I take a good look at the shape he’s in. When I awoke on the hard floor of that alcove, he was there, bloody and beaten, next to me. I couldn’t believe this fool disobeyed me and came for me. I wanted to thrash him for disobeying me. I also wanted to pull him into a fierce hug for the same reason, but my body refused to obey my mind’s wishes, and I did neither.
“Theo, I am so glad you’re alive, that we are alive.” Carter raises his hand towards my arm, but I flinch away from his touch, and his arm drops at the last second, pain and concern etching across his features. He’s still all bruised up, and his arm and shoulder are in a sling. Dark purple shadows stain the space below his piercing blue-gray eyes, and his face is haggard with strain. I guess no one is sleeping in this house.
“My father?” The words tumble from my dry lips, a deep ache filling my chest.
“Gone. In fucking hiding at the moment. The mansion is gone, burnt to the ground, and most of his men are dead.” Finn answers me in a clipped tone from his place up against the wall. I raise my head to look at him as he slides his large frame down the wall, bringing his knees up and watching me with a sorrowful expression.
I turn my glare to the two males I don’t know. They are watching me intently. One looks a little like Mateo with the same green eyes, dark cropped hair, broader shoulders, and a fresh scar down the side of his face. His eyes are hard and cold; he’s definitely seen some shit. I don’t get the sense that he’s judging me or pitying me, just waiting to see what I’ll do. The other fucker is the complete opposite; he’s pale everywhere, his blonde hair so light it might as well be white. Dark gray eyes the color of flint watch my every move. He’s built, muscle stacked between his torn shirt and a wary expression across his face. I watch as his eyes drift from me to Mia and back.I sure as fuck don’t like the look he’s giving her.Anger instantly fills me, and I want to put his head through the nearest wall.
“Who are they?” I direct my question to Carter and nod towards the two strangers who dragged my ass forcibly out of the room.
Carter glances from me to Mia, a sigh escaping his lips. “The prick with the scar is Diego, Mateo’s cousin, and the other one is Raven, Mia’s ex from Manhattan.”
“I’m also Mia’s future husband, prick.” Diego throws out with a smirk.
WHAT. THE. FUCK. I don’t even think my brain is registering that my body is moving. I rush Diego with my shoulder, striking him in the stomach and taking him to the ground with me. My body is on fire as pain radiates from my broken ribs. The air whooshes out of his mouth, and I take the opportunity to swing my fist, still in a damn cast, repeatedly at his jaw. Various hands are pulling on my arms and shoulders, trying to pry me off of him. An animalistic snarl leaves my throat, and I snap my teeth at him.I will fucking end this fool if he thinks he’s going to take my Mia.
“Theo! Theo, stop!” Mia’s screams are coming from my right side. Two different tight grips tighten on my battered body and pull me off a bleeding and prone Diego.
“Jesus, Mary & Joseph!” Raegan screams from next to Mia, trying to pull her away from getting too close to me.
“Bro, please calm down. You’re gonna hurt yourself!” Finn grapples with trying to restrain my heaving frame from hitting Diego again.
My body goes slack in his and Mateo’s grip, and I allow them to pull me away from a bleeding Diego. “Explain right fucking now before I kill all of you!” I shout between clenched teeth. My head is throbbing, and a dull ache in my chest is starting at every word I’m hearing. The inclination to murder everyone in this room is so insistent it feels like a throbbing heartbeat in my mind. Their grip on my body makes my whole body seize up in disgust and fear. I shove away from their touch and shift myself away from their bodies.
“Fuck, where to even start with this mess.” Mateo sighs, backing up, pulling on his hair in agitation and leaning up against the nearest wall. It seems the weight of the world is on his shoulders. I watch him as he drags his hands down his elf-like features, those high cheekbones putting Legolas’ to shame. My stare is intense and filled with rage. The next words out of his mouth could have me attacking him next. I get a good look at him; he’s a damn disheveled mess, face unshaven, hair a rat’s nest, and dark circles around his green eyes, making him look like a trash panda. I don’t think I have ever seen Mateo so undone.
“We needed an army of men to go in and rescue you and Carter. Stella didn’t have the necessary men or weapons stationed close by in Casbury, so I went to my uncle.” I watch as he clenches both his hands tightly, his gaze refusing to meet mine. “We couldn’t wait for her to send what we needed; you two would have died. Manuel had the weapons and, more importantly, the manpower we needed to get you both out of there and fight Vincent. There was nothing we could have offered him that he wanted, Theo. My uncle is not a stupid man. The kings of Casbury didn’t have the power he craved.” The guilt is written all over his face.He has betrayed me, betrayed us.
“So, Mia.” I let the words escape my lips. It feels like giant balls of lead are making their way down my throat as dread claws at my chest.What have these fools done?
“He wanted the power the Stratfords could give him. Mia agreed to help them buy up the power grid in Columbia, but that’s not all my snake of an uncle wanted. He made a deal for your dad’s head in exchange for a Stratford princess as a bride for Diego.” Mateo spits with venom, his whole body locked up tight, and his jaw clenched. He’s shooting sharp daggers with his eyes in his cousin’s direction.
My gaze leaves Mateo and travels over Mia, who is sitting there mere feet away from me with pleading blue eyes.What is she asking me to forgive?That she just agreed to marry another man in exchange for my dad’s head and my freedom. Fury again fills my whole body, lighting it up like a bomb. I will fucking kill that conniving piece of shit and his dad. They should have just let me die. Again, the thoughts that have been my constant companions since I woke in that hospital bed slither across my mind.Death, I was almost free, and yet these fools saved me.
“I will fucking end you.” I turn my glare back to a groaning Diego, who’s rubbing the blood trickling from his busted lip off his face. He scowls back at me but doesn’t reply. One word out of his mouth will have me on him instantly.
“The terms are very specific, Theo. He only gets to marry a Stratford princess if he brings my sister your father’s head on a platter. So far, he hasn’t managed to do that.” A petite brunette moves up towards Mia, reaching for her hand and gently squeezing it. “I’m Mia’s sister, Isabella.” She nods in my direction, her eyes narrowed.
She watches me without any pity evident on her face. Isabella is small, delicate looking, and shorter than Mia by a few inches. Her porcelain doll-like features are beautiful. She has big crystal blue eyes and cascading dark hair, pretty pink lips in a pouty mouth that right now are tipped in displeasure. I can see why Mia feels the need to protect her; she looks like she could break with callous treatment. Her eyes tell a different story, though. They are filled with fire and rage. The fragility is a facade; this little princess has claws that she hides.
“It’s only a matter of time before we find him.” Diego spits out with fury.
“Shut up, Diego!” Rings out simultaneously throughout the room from Mia, Raegan, Isabella, Carter’s, and even Raven’s mouths. A smirk threatens my lips at their level of irritation with the prick, but I tamp it down.
“You. Why are you here?” I direct my question to Raven, whose eyes watch me like I’m likely to attack him next. He’s astute; I will tear him to pieces if the wrong words come out of his mouth.
“I came with Stella and Isabella to help Mia.” He rubs his large hand across his square jaw.
“Ex-Boyfriend?” I leave it as an open-ended question.
