Page 45 of Dust to Dust

"Exactly." Dante grinned.

"I've been playing others games my whole life. Now you want me to be a puppet for someone else?" Anders spewed. Anders was always the hardest to reign in. I didn't blame him, we all had hellish childhoods, but at least my father boasted about me, his son and heir, in public. Anders's father was a different story, and he publicly referred to Anders as his bastard.

I went through hell, no doubt, but Anders went through years of purgatory that involved torture. Under all his tattoos were the scars his father marked him with. If you got close enough to look beyond the ink, you'd see a mess of pain that made my hardened heart feel. Nothing had been off the table, from burning to cutting to even a gunshot here and there. Anders had endured it all.

Dante leaned forward, closer to the camera, "We need to play smart, Anders."

Anders raised a brow. His blonde hair was so long he had it tied back into a bun. Only he could pull off such a look. The feminine hair juxtaposed all his muscles and tattoos, "Or we go in guns a blazing."

"We're up against a power we don't know," Damian voiced, "What we do know is they seem to know a shit ton about us. I agree with Dante. We play their game and see where the game board leads us." Damian agreed.

"Let's put it to a vote," Dante suggested. "All in favor of playing the game?"

"Fuck it, Aye," Cillian said.

Leo was next, "I agree."

Anders scoffed. "Fine, I'll play, but I'm making my own rules."

Dante grinned, "I agree."

All eyes looked to me and my cousins, Dash and Damian, nodded. I looked into the camera lens, "Let's play, brothers."

Chapter 34

By the time I entered my room, it was the following morning. I expected Nova to be in bed. Instead, I found her in the bathroom, sitting on my counter. Legs crossed in a meditative stance as her eyes looked lifelessly into her reflection. Her long black hair was hanging loose around her face. Under her grey eyes were dark circles, and the whites of her eyes were stained red. "Were you crying?" I stalked forward with concern. Nova didn't answer but remained unconscious, looking in the mirror. Hesitantly, I outreached my hand and touched her hip, "babygirl?"

"I don't cry." She sneered as she lied. She had an emotional breakdown in the basement. She wanted to cause pain, even if that meant hurting herself. When Dash held her, I grabbed her soul and dragged her back to me.

"It's ok to feel, babygirl. The emotions are motivation, and they can give us strength and make us stronger."

She fought an inner battle. She often did. It was like she was having a private conversation inside her mind, one she never wanted to share with the outside world.

"I feel like a pawn in a game of God versus God," she spoke. Her voice was merely a whisper. "Everything I thought I knew was a lie. I was being played and didn't even know I was on the game board, Titan." Her eyes remained locked on her own reflection in the mirror. I stepped closer, hugging her from behind. She finally moved and reached up to grab a lock of her raven hair, "What is real Ti? I had a purpose," She looked back to her black hair. I knew she was referring to her goal to kill me. "This," she twisted the black hair around her fingers until it fell loose, "was who I was now. Nova, not Elsa. Not the weak girl who died with her parents. I had a mission, and then you altered my trajectory. You stole my heart when I meant to kill yours." Finally, her eyes left as she looked into mine through the mirror, "You're all I have now." Her grey eyes darkened, and I didn't like what I saw. It was dangerous and reckless, "I'm not going to let anyone take you from me."

Those words shouldn't be coming from her mouth; they should be pouring out from mine. I grabbed her by the neck and forced her to look at our reflection. "You're mine to protect." I was losing her again. "We are husband and wife." I lowered my head and kissed her neck. Fuck this! I scooped her up from the counter and carried her to my bed. Gently, I sat her on the edge as I undressed her. I started with her boots which she loved. Then her pants and shirt until I unclasped her lace bra. I kissed each nipple until they grew hard under my tongue. I wanted Nova to feel but could not bear to see her hurt. I would take away all the confusion, lies, and pain.

I kissed her neck, feeling her body heat under my touch. I scooted her back till she rested in the middle of the bed. She was perfection, laying on my bed naked and waiting for me. As I crawled over her, she attacked. Nova surrendered at that moment. I knew any sliver of anger she held against me had been dismantled. I won, but so did she; she would be my queen, and I'd be her shield.

I cupped her face as she wrapped her legs painfully around me. Her heat pressed into my hardness. She shifted up and down, side to side, until I started to push in. "No matter what stands in our way, babygirl, we're all a team now. We fight side by side, and we cover each other's backs. I will bow only to you, Nova King." I loved the sound of her new name, King. She was mine.

Nova kissed me as she raised her hips, allowing me to sink fully inside her. "Fuck," I hissed. She was so perfect, like a drug. I could never get enough of being inside of her. As tender as I tried to be, it could not last. A primal beast within me took over, thrusting into her deep until she fell apart, clawing, marking, and crying out my name.

I pushed into her one more time before we both came together. She took everything from me. My body wanted to collapse. I rolled over, pulling her onto me, so I didn't crush her under my weight. My hands slipped down her naked back, which was now covered with the dusting of sweat. "I love you," I'd repeat this a hundred times a day until she believed me. Until she stopped running and hiding in the dark corners of her mind.

I never wanted to see her hands painted in blood. That lifeless look that had stained her eyes would haunt me. My wife needed stability and safety; she needed a place to drop her walls and recover. I was determined to be her safe place. I was going to make her addicted to my touch.

Nova King, my wife, and love. I'd protect her with everything in my arsenal. If that meant playing the game, The Rites of Passage wanted me to play, I would. If I had to burn down the world, I'd find a spark big enough to ignite it. And, if I needed to join The Rites of Passage to keep her safe by my side, then so be it. There was no limit on what I'd do to protect my wife.

Chapter 35

The grand finale or the beginning to the end, or is it the end to the beginning? The Rites of Passage should be proud I remembered their tagline. There was only one thing left to do, for me, that is. I had to put on my big girl panties and protect what was mine.

Don't do anything stupid,Ghost urged me.

Is saving the one you love stupid, Ghost?She didn't answer. Deep down, there was only one option, and Ghost knew it.

The smell of burning pan scramble filled the kitchen. Once again, I tried making pancakes, only to get impatient and frustrated. I took the spatula and scrambled them into one giant mess of pancakes. Then I started to experiment, so I cracked a dozen eggs into the massive frying pan and continued to mix it all.

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