AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Lying by omission is still lying.
I’m the guilty party here.
“I did and I’m sorry,” I choke out.
He notches his knee between mine. That and his hold on my hip are what supports most of my weight. His hand around my throat tightens to a painful degree, but it feels familiar, and my body isn’t the least bit afraid. “What am I supposed to do with words?” he growls, bumping his cheek against mine. “Huh, sweetheart?”
“Please, let me explain.” My eyes clench closed. I’m on the verge of having a breakdown. My chest rises and falls rapidly as I try to hold back the sob that rattles in my chest. “I can’t lose you, Atlas.”
“Lose me?” he murmurs, tilting his head to look down at me. “Oh, Ali. You’ll never be rid of me. I’m trying to hold myself back from ripping those fae-fucks limb from limb and fucking you next to their still bleeding corpses.”
“Yeah?” I choke. It’s a terrible sound between a cough and a laugh.
My vision is blurry with tears as I look up into his dark eyes. I think this feeling is hope. I haven’t felt it in a long time, so it’s difficult to be sure.
“I told you,” he growls. “You’re fucking mine.”
I nod like a lunatic, clutching at his shoulders. “I’m so sorry.”
“Enough,” he says, running his thumb over my jaw. “You don’t think I know you? I spent three years getting you to say more than five words to me at a time.” His soft smile is exceptionally dangerous to my aching heart. “I don’t have to know what they did, because I knowyou. You wouldn’t be so deep in hiding without good reason. I know who you are in here.” He blows out a heavy breath as he lays a hand over my heart. I’m still essentially hanging in the air while sitting on his knee. “It makes it almost fucking impossible not to slaughter them.”
I shake my head. “Please don’t. They’re connected. I couldn’t stand it if something happened to you.”
I chuck myself at his massive chest and whimper as he wraps his forearm around my head. He could’ve easily kept me in place, but Atlas is tender with me in a way no one has ever been.
“Let’s go.” He lifts me until my legs wrap around his back. “I’ll take you home and get you settled into bed.”
“Your bed?” I tilt my head. He’s not going to drop me off and leave me alone, right?
“We learned that lesson the hard way,” he says, nodding his agreement. “Your bed isn’t made for my kind.”
A ragged breath shutters out of my chest as he hikes me higher, aiming for the back door the staff uses.
“The council will be crawling around this place within minutes. We should go out the front. The back is littered with wolf corpses.”
Atlas squeezes my ass. “You’ve been hiding a lot more than your marital status. I expect the truth about your magic when I ask.”
I jolt, clutching at him even more tightly. No one looks at me the same once they know what I can do. I create abominations. Creatures outside the laws of nature. I have no idea if it’s a gift or curse, but based on the way it’s torn apart my life...well, I have opinions, none of them positive.
“So,” Lena says, stepping into our path. She’s one of the bartenders for Venom. She’s beautiful and stacked with curves like most female siren. “There are a couple of fae at the bar who say they know you?”
“They’re acquaintances from many years ago.”
“I think it’s safe to say they have no human money...” Lena glances over her shoulder, back down the hallway.
“Keep them busy,” I say, offering a tight smile. “Drinks, company, a room. Whatever they want, put it on my tab.”
“Okay, great.” Lena beams, bouncing on her toes. “The soothsayer is kind of hot, but in that spoiled, rich dick kind of way.”
“Lena—” Atlas starts.
“Have fun,” I say, cutting him off. “Let’s get out of here.”
My orc frowns for several seconds, but he eventually nods his agreement. Tension sits heavy in my gut as we make it out of the front of the building.
I thought they might follow, but it’s a good thing they aren’t.
I don’t need to learn that lesson again. They want nothing to do with me, and the feeling is mutual.
