AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My gaze catches on the brass plaque that is the only decoration in this hallway of gloom. It looks newish and is glinting in the low emergency lights. There’s also a soft glow coming from underneath the door, which is curious given that the power to the entire building should have been out.
“Cover me,” I order, walking past a couple of other doors and smiling when Aeron curses behind me. I always get to have all the fun.
Shoving the goggles up to my forehead, I squint in the low light to read ‘Soldiers Darling’ engraved on the surface, and I have to take several breaths to calm the red haze that’s threatening to take over. Pressing my ear to the door, I hear quiet murmurs from inside, one distinctly feminine, and a shiver runs down my spine as my gut tells me it’s her. Our bird.
Using hand gestures that we all learned years ago, I tell the others that she’s in here and they fan out behind me as I take a step back, getting ready to kick this door in. The wood splinters as my boot lands against it, the lock breaking as the door falls to the floor. A girlish scream fills the air, but I train my eyes on the young lad with dark hair and familiar blue eyes who has taken a step in front of her, shielding her behind him.
“I don’t give a shit if you’re her brother, but if you don’t move the fuck away from my bird right fucking now, I’ll shoot you,” I tell him, watching his wide eyes take note of the guys behind me.
“It’s okay, Rook. They’re with me.”
Her voice is like music to my ears, and I have to fight the urge to close my eyes when relief sweeps through me like a fucking tsunami as she slowly steps out from behind him, her eyes glinting in the low light of a battery-powered lamp that’s on the small table beside the bed.
“Little Bird,” I whisper, drinking her in as if I’m dying of thirst in the desert and she’s a cup of water. My brows furrow as I get a look at what the fuck she’s dressed in. “Why the fuck are you wearing lingerie with your brother in the room?”
Lark
“Elephant” by Freya Ridings
Several minutes before…
My heart rate doesn’t slow while I wait, even when I try desperately to practice some breathing exercises and affirmations that I learned years ago. There is no way to calm my body, it knows what is coming. My mind is a different matter though, I’m able to slip deeper and deeper into the numbness that I used to inhabit so often, and for that, I am beyond fucking grateful.
I barely even jump when the door opens, yet my heart stutters to a stop when I register the dark hair and bright blue eyes.
“Rook!” I yell, rushing over to him and wrapping my arms around him. Shit, he’s so much taller than me now, I barely come up to his shoulder, and his eighteen-year-old body has filled out, even though it’s only been a couple of months since I saw him last.
His arms come around me, reluctantly at first, then tighter as he buries his face into my neck.
“L–Lark,” he chokes out, hugging me close. Tears fill my eyes and my chest tense as we hold each other for a few moments.
“W–Why are you here? How come he let you see me?” I ask, trying to pull away, but he holds me firm, one of his hands sliding down my back. A slight chill crawls down my spine, my stomach quivering. “Rook?” His hand slides lower, cupping my ass through the material of this stupid teddy. “Rook!” I push roughly at him but he doesn’t let go, instead, he walks us back towards the bed. “Rook!” I shout again, bile filling my throat as the backs of my knees touch the mattress. He’s holding me too close against him to give me room to see his face, let alone fight him off, and my ribs flare in protest but it’s nothing compared to the fear that’s filling me up.
“I have to, Lark,” he whispers in my ear, his voice thick and full of regret, giving a final push so that we fall down. I cry out as he lands on me heavily, my ribs and all the bruises screaming, but my heart and soul screams louder as I try to fight him off. Despite my efforts, like so many men before him have proven to me, he’s just too strong. “H–he says that real men take w–what they w–want, and if I want to be a Soldier, a true Soldier, I need to take you.”
My breaths come in sharp pants as he captures both of my hands, pinning them above us. He’s not looking at me, his eyes on my breasts which are completely exposed with the sheer material, but unlike the Soldiers that have come before him, there’s no lust in his eyes. If anything, the slight curl of his upper lips speaks of revulsion and his wide eyes show horror in their blue depths.
“R–Rook! Just fucking look at me!” I scream, and finally, his eyes meet mine. Eyes so similar to my own that I want to vomit. “You don’t fucking want me. You’re not even hard.” My voice wobbles a little, and although I have to swallow more bile, I move my hips against his, demonstrating his lack of excitement to both of us. “You don’t want to do this.” My voice is soft, tears filling my eyes at the wild, lost look in his.
“I–I have no choice!” he all but shouts in my face, spittle flying from his mouth and landing on my cheeks. “He’ll know if I don’t, and then he’ll kill us both.” His grip on my hands loosen, his forehead dropping to mine, and a splash of moisture lands on my cheek. “I can’t let him kill you, Lark.”
My own tears spill over then as he sobs, and I want to make Rufus hurt so fucking badly for putting this all on my brother. For giving Rook an impossible decision that no brother should have to make.
“He won’t kill either of us, Rook,” I say gently as his cries quieten, and he pushes up, a pain-filled gasp leaving me as he rolls off me to one side.
“Shit, you’re hurt!” he exclaims, his eyes trailing over my body then his face grimaces. “Umm.” His face reddens as he looks away.
“See, there was no way you could fuck me, you idiot,” I say with a chuckle, grabbing the sheet to cover myself a little. It’s a testament to how fucked up my life has been that I can laugh after they sent in my brother to rape me. Guess we got to get our humor where we can. “And Rufus sent Dean to visit me not long after I arrived.”
Rook’s eyes widen, he knows how fucked up Dean’s tastes are. Everyone does, and it’s the reason he’s never been allowed a shot at me before. A shudder runs through me at the unwanted memories, and I snuggle the blanket around me tighter.
“Fuck.” He swallows hard, his brows dipping as tears fill his eyes.
“Don’t you pity me, Rook. It’s not the worst thing to have ever happened to me at the orders of our sperm donor,” I tell him, looking down, not able to face his sorrow. We need to sort this shit show out first. “Case in point.” I sweep an arm out, glancing back up and indicating the situation we have found ourselves in, and he wrinkles his nose again.
“What the fuck are we going to do, Lark? He’ll check, you know he will,” he sighs, his voice so small and the lost look back in those baby blues of his. I take a deep inhale, only needing a moment to debate with myself about telling him of our plan. He’s my brother, and regardless of the past few minutes, I still trust him completely.
“I have friends who’ve promised to come get us tonight,” I tell him quietly, and his eyes widen once more. “We just have to wait.”
