Page 2 of Wild Wolf

“Try it, stronzo,” I said in a vicious tone. “See how far you get.”

Cain looked from me to Plunger, Esme, Pudding, Ethan and Sin before finally finding Hastings who was skulking at the edge of the trees. Cain jerked his chin, glancing to Sin once more in a clear command, but Hastings shook his head, backing up a step.

“I’m done, Mason,” he said in a shaky voice. “I’m fucking done trying to control those animals. You don’t know what I saw in that place. They…ate Officer Kato’s brain. They bound me and tortured me and I witnessed so many fucked up things. I saw potatoes endure a fate worse than death…”

“What the fuck are you talking about, potatoes?” Cain demanded while Hastings’ eyes flicked to Plunger then away again as he cringed back into the foliage looking haunted.

“Oh, is it time for them to be used, Ma’am?” Plunger asked me, drawing my eyes to him where he stood butt naked, covered in smooth, grey hair, fists on his hips as he dropped into a squat.

“That’s savage,” Sin muttered, fascination lacing his words as his gaze remained on Plunger.

I wrinkled my nose and looked back to Cain, not needing to see any more of that fucked up nonsense.

“Looks like you’re fresh out of friends,” I hissed, taking a step closer to him and peering into his grey eyes with nothing but threat in my expression. “And you also seem to be in need of a dose of reality, so I’m going to lay it out for you. You’re not Officer anything anymore, Mason. You aided in our escape, ran with us across that fucking minefield and leapt onto the back of the Storm Dragon just like the convicts you so despise. You killed to get us out of there. You plucked me up into your arms and used your speed to ensure I escaped. You and Hastings aren’t going to be able to just swan back to Darkmore and say ‘oh hey guys, sorry about that – we got caught up in the idea of running for our lives and forgot that, in doing so, we were aiding and abetting.’ What do you think they’ll do, stronzo? Give you a pat on the back and a medal of valour for trying so hard to stop us that you accidentally ended up helping us instead?”

“That’s not how it was. You’re twisting it from the truth,” Cain growled, stepping up to me, fury burning in his expression. “I would never help this band of miscreants gain access to the outside world. I can prove it. I’ll offer myself up for Cyclops interrogation and-”

“And let them watch you hunt me, lie for me, kill for me and fuck me before finally hurling me on to the back of my cousin and ensuring I escaped? Good luck explaining that to the FIB,” I taunted and Cain’s face paled.

Dante chuckled darkly while Leon spluttered in surprise, pointing between me and the asshole guard like he couldn’t see it. But my poor, sweet choir boy stole the show by stumbling towards us and pointing his finger straight in Cain’s face.

“You?” he gasped, any lingering remnants of his belief in good and bad fading away before my eyes as I watched his hero topple from his pedestal in a crushing blow that shattered his little choir boy heart with a dose of brutal reality. “You and her?”

My gut twisted guiltily at the pain I found in his eyes as he took in the truth of what had been going on right under his nose this entire time, perhaps seeing me clearly for the first time since we’d met. And seeing Cain for what he was too.

“It…I…” he spluttered.

I moved to him and took his hand in mine, squeezing softly as I looked up into his horror-struck eyes. The innocence which had been so present in them before had dimmed, a hardness blazing in those rings of blue which spoke of all he’d witnessed and survived. I’d done that to him. I’d dragged him into this.

“I’m not good enough for you, ragazzo del coro,” I told him softly. “I’m all sharp thorns stained in blood beneath these pretty petals. You deserve a far sweeter flower than me.”

He frowned, swallowing thickly, words building between us, but Sin got there first.

“And she fucks like a demon too, bro,” he said seriously. “All the holes. Over and over. She likes to dominate, be dominated, get rough, get violent, choke on one cock while taking another in the ass, and you, my friend, daydream about pretty little good girls gasping your name between soft thrusts in dim lighting. Don’t get me wrong – I ain’t yucking your yum, but you never could have handled our wild girl.”

He patted Hastings on the shoulder consolingly while looping his other arm over my shoulders. Hastings had turned beetroot and my cousin was shaking his head and making a show of covering his ears while Leon loudly announced that it clearly ran in the family.

“Enough,” I snapped, shoving Sin’s arm off of me.

“You were in on this,” Hastings accused Cain and my hard-hearted guard seemed to soften a touch.

“It wasn’t meant to happen. I just…” Cain looked at me and my throat thickened from the raw anguish in his eyes, then he tore his gaze from mine and shook his head at Hastings. “I’m sorry I’m not what you thought I was, kid.”

“I don’t think anything is what I thought it was anymore,” Hastings whispered, anxiously pushing a hand into his soft blonde hair. “I think the stars are telling me something about myself too. Something deep and dark and ominous.”

“Hastings…Jack,” I said, moving towards him again and taking his arm so he was forced to look at me. “You could go back. You didn’t do anything to help us. You were just trying to survive. I’m pretty sure that if you return to Darkmore you could-”

“No,” he rasped. “I’m not going back there. Not now. Not ever.”

I glanced at Dante who shrugged at me. He’d pulled on a pair of sweatpants so at least he wasn’t naked now and he’d taken Luca from Leon’s arms.

I sighed, looking between the rest of our group. The plan from here had been to dole out stardust then let everyone go on their way and try to keep hold of this chance at freedom. But we’d lost so many of our group. And I needed Sin to appease Jerome who would be waiting to see that his efforts in getting the Incubus released had paid off. Ethan had made it clear he planned on sticking with us anyway. Esme was looking at me like a wounded puppy, still wearing the leaf bra I’d forged for her while we ran and nothing else. That left Pudding, Plunger and the guards.

I didn’t know what to do with all of them and my head was too full of everything that had happened to Roary to be able to come up with a plan at the moment.

“We’re sticking together a little longer,” I said decisively, not looking to anyone else for their opinion on this. “Let’s head back home.”

Dante glanced at the assembled convicts and guards, arching a brow at me which said ‘seriously?’ but he made no further complaint as Leon took a pouch of stardust from his back pocket.

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