AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Esther’s mate,” he says. “It was supposed to be me. My daddy was Gideon’s right hand out here on the Rig, and we were gonna come up as royalty.”
I smirk, more to piss him off than anything else. “Guess she didn’t want you.”
Abel scoffs.
“She used to fawn over me like a lovesick little bitch,” Abel continues. “Those secret smiles and sweet blushes she does…does she blush like that on her tits too? Her pussy? Did she turn red when you spanked her?”
I grit my teeth. “That’s none of your business, Abel.”
He settles back in his chair, then leans over like he’s got a secret for me.
And what he says makes my stomach drop.
“We all know you didn’t fuck her,” Abel whispers in my ear, “and we’re wondering why you pussied out.”
I try to fend him off with intimidation alone, baring my teeth.
“You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,” I growl.
“Don’t I?” Abel laughs. “Your scent is only on the one spot. And you know we canallsmell her…still unclaimed. Still innocent. Bet she’ll cry when someone finally pops her cherry.”
I grip my glass, squeezing until I’m afraid it will shatter. “You’ll shut up if you know what’s good for you.”
“She smells so good,” Abel says. “Ready to be fucked and bred by arealalpha.”
I’m up in a split second, my chair clattering behind me as I loom over Abel. He cowers, eyes wide.
“You’ll leave it alone or, so help me, I willend you,” I snarl.
Gideon laughs from across the table and we both snap our gazes up to focus on him. He’s swirling his drink like a spectator, his scarred eye trained on me like he can see right into my soul.
“Better be careful, Abel,” Gideon says. “The stories Mr. Boyd told me! You’d go white as a sheet if you knew who you were fucking with.”
I glare back at Abel, slicing through his swagger with the force of fear alone. “I don’t mind you hearing those stories.”
“Tell him, son,” Gideon says. “You have my permission.”
I lean over Abel until he’s fully in my shadow. “I was the top fighter in the Miami Pit,” I say. “I’ve torn Infernal Legion warriors apart piece by piece—antlers and all—and impaled them on their own horns. You think you’re shit to me?”
Defiance and terror war in Abel’s eyes, but I guess he decides to give in—because he nods his head.
“No, sir,” he says.
I grab my chair and sink back into it, trying to find Peaches in the kitchen again. She’s watching from the other side of the room, her arms wrapped around herself, the other omegas looking in as well. Seeing me watching her seems to trigger her into action, though, and she walks meekly into the room with a plate of pastries.
All this horror…and she’s making goddamn cupcakes.
She doesn’t say a word as she puts them down on the table, leaning over Abel to reach. He casts a glance over at me and inhales deeply, pretending like he’s smelling her. I think he might touch her, and my heart pounds at the prospect of having a good reason to snap his fucking spine…but he stays still.
Instead, he just grabs a cupcake and brings it to his mouth. He keeps his eyes on me as he bites into it, savoring this thingshemade, and I know exactly what he’s trying to tell me.
If you don’t take her, I will.
“So Javier,” Gideon says. “Tomorrow I’m putting you to work. I want you out on one of the fishing boats, assuming you’ve fished before.”
“I’m not leaving her behind,” I say.
“Well, you’re gonna have to,” he smiles. He leans forward and rests his elbows on the table like we’re in some kind of negotiation, even though he knows he has all the leverage here. All I have on my side is brute force and stubbornness—and those can only go so far. “Look, I understand that you’re protective of your mate. Truly, I do.ButI can personally assure you that my daughter is safe in my home. She’s the future of this pack and I won’t let anything happen to her. This place is guarded 24/7.”
