Page 2 of Broken By the Battleship

“Stop testing me. Shut your filthy mouth and follow me.”

I dig my heels into the floor and attack his arm, but he pulls me toward the door.

“No! I won’t leave them,” I cry.

“I should’ve killed those stupid brats years ago,” he snarls.

I grab the doorframe and kick at his shins.

My father’s beta guards turn the corner. Bloody and bruised, they barrel toward us as though fleeing from a monster.

“You fucking cowards. Get ba—”

I slam my knee into my father’s groin, taking advantage of the distraction, and dart back into the room. Skidding in my haste, I snatch the knife off the floor and lunge into the kitchen before he catches me.

I scream and buck as he bear hugs me from behind, lifting me off my feet and trapping my arms at my sides. Pain lances up my leg as I kick a chair over, but he spins around and heads back into the living room.

He stops in his tracks. My heart lurches in my chest.

Bright green eyes shine down from an alpha so tall the doorframe blocks his forehead. Freckles pepper his nose and cheekbones while thin white scars trail over his face and neck and even further down to disappear under his collar. Blood splatters cover him from head to toe. His full lips twist into a smile but it doesn’t reach his eyes.

A low vibration flows from his chest.

My stomach clenches and heat arrows through my midsection.

“Isn’t this a sweet surprise?” says the giant as he ducks through the doorway. I stare at the shock of red hair on his head, unable to look away.

The stories must be true. This flame-haired demon, known as The Battleship, is the most feared alpha in the entire ocean. He kills without scruples and tortures those who go against him without mercy. He’s evil and rumored to be crueler than my father.

Terror joins the warmth swirling in my belly.

He steps closer. My father’s growl vibrates into my back, erasing the sweet sensations caused by the newcomer. Vomit climbs up my throat.

Denial roars through me as cold metal rests against my throat.

“Don’t come any closer,” my father snarls.

A humorless chuckle leaves the demon’s throat.

“You knew I was coming. I left you so many clues. Is this really the best you could do?”

I wince as the tip of my father’s blade nicks my skin. A warm line of blood trails over my collarbone and burning pain pulses through my throat.

The Battleship’s vibrant emerald orbs narrow on my neck. His nostrils flare. Warmth pulses through my veins, but my father’s stench turns my stomach.

“Stop using your scrawny offspring as a shield and fight me like a man,” the gigantic alpha challenges.

“Why would I do that? Aren’t you here for her?” my father growls.

“No, old man. I’m here for you.”

The calm emanating from the devil fills me with dread as I sense the storm raging within his soul.

“Liar. She’s an omega.”

“And you’re the alpha who murdered my family.” He cocks his head as my father stiffens. “Don’t tell me you don’t remember me. Twenty years ago. I might have been a bit smaller back then.”

My father presses the knife harder against my throat. I dare not swallow and force myself to breathe evenly so the blade doesn’t sink deeper into my skin.

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