Page 3 of Broken By the Battleship

“I was ten when you killed everyone I knew. It would’ve been kinder to ensure I was dead, too, but I suppose you’ve always been sloppy.”

The insult breaks my father’s composure.

I grunt as I hit the floor, discarded in my father’s rage as he charges.

I scramble back into the kitchen and throw the chairs into the walkway before sweeping my arms over the table, knocking the small, pointy metal shards we use to practice counting across the floor.

It won’t deter The Battleship, especially with the thick soles of his boots protecting his feet, but I have to do everything I can to protect my brothers.

I stand with my back to the hideaway and square my shoulders with the living room doorway. My fingers ache, but I can’t loosen my grip on the knife.

Snarls and blows ring through the air. I fight for breath as alpha aggression clogs my sinuses.

Across the kitchen and through the doorway, I meet shimmering green orbs.

Evil shouldn’t lurk within such beauty. Green represents things of the past. Things I’ve never seen before, except in the faded children’s books my mother left behind. Fields of grass. Flowers. Trees. Little bugs hopping from leaf to leaf.

Crimson spurts from my father’s nose as The Battleship buries his fist into his face again.

I don’t need to see the rest of the fight to know who wins, but I can’t peel my gaze from the brutal display.

The Battleship straddles my father’s shoulders and punches him several more times before lifting him by the collar.

Vicious satisfaction flows through me as the male who terrorized me from birth coughs weakly and whimpers underneath the enemy he created with his own folly.

The warped sense of vindication morphs to horror as the mountain of an alpha rumbles out the worst words I’ve ever heard.

“I won’t kill you, Gordon. Not yet. Not until I’ve gotten my revenge.” He leans down and shakes my father, ensuring he has his full attention. “I’m going to take everything from you, starting with that daughter you’re so eager to boast about.” His voice drops impossibly deeper as he looks up and captures my eyes with his again. “I’ll make her my plaything. My broken toy. When I finally decide to throw her away, then I might allow you to die.”

With my stomach in knots and ice forming around my heart, I watch as he punches my father one last time before standing and throwing him across the room. Other men filter in through the front door, but I keep my eyes glued on the biggest threat.

The Battleship steps over the kitchen threshold and kicks the chairs off to the side with a single sweep of his leg, never breaking my stare.

Dread builds as he looms closer. I shift my grip on my knife and fight the sense of futility washing over me.

He pauses as Sail shuffles deeper into the cubby. Possessive fury wakes in my soul.

When his green eyes shift to the panel behind me, I lose myself in omega instincts for the first time in my life.

His size and power mean nothing.

I will protect my brothers.

He can’t have them.

They’re mine.

Chapter 2

Aft

My mouth waters as her pheromones punch into my nostrils. The hints of her perfume wafting off her father were nothing compared to the sweetness emanating from her pores. Even through the pungent alpha blood coating my knuckles, lust grips me so fiercely every thought drains from my mind.

Shuffling sounds from the wall behind her. I shift my gaze.

Sky blue irises disappear as her pupils blow. The omega launches herself at me. With her shoulder-length raven hair streaming behind her and her red lips twisted in a snarl, she’s the most gorgeous female I’ve ever seen.

Her curves crash against my front. I wrap my arms around her, caging her to me, but hiss as fiery pain spears into my side.

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