Page 32 of Wicked Revenge

“I want nothing from you, Monster,” I state, detaching myself from the anger his presence induces.

I hear a sharp crack and my head snaps to the side, before the sting from his hand even registers. Hatred burns so hot inside me, fire could shoot out of my eyes if I’m not careful. I carefully reign in the rage, before turning my eyes back to the ceiling.

I would rather he beat me to death than give him another fucking piece of me.

His hands softly brush my hair out of my face, the gentleness a direct contradiction to how he just slapped the shit out of me.

“Okay, Little Wolf.”

He moves away from me, and I hear his footsteps retreating back towards the door. I don’t move an inch. If now is the time he decides to give me a goddamn break, I’ll fucking take it. But of course, that's not the case at all.

“Bring it in.” He says to someone once he opens the door.

My mind reels with all the possibilities of what fresh hell he could unleash on me as punishment, but I don’t move my eyes from their fixed position on the ceiling.

“Put it in the corner.”

I hear feet shuffling and something scraping against the floor, before the footsteps disappear out of the door again.

“Consider this a gesture of good faith.” he says, stepping back towards the bed. Confusion blankets me, but I hold steadfast, refusing to give in to the urge to look. His hands tangle in my curls as he lowers his face to mine. His gentle demeanor glitches to the Monster, the falsity falling away like a broken mask.

“You only bleed for me, Little Wolf. At my hand and my command. Try that shit again. Anything I’ve done before now… will feel like simple childsplay.”

Chapter 18

Quiet.

For years, there has been a constant buzz beneath my skin, racing thoughts and mania fueling my body every single day. Cherry quiets that.

I don’t know how, but my head is clear and my body is still. With her in my arms, I no longer feel the incessant need to climb out of my own skin or go downstairs to gut the doctor.

The moment her tiny little body clung to me when I lifted her to lie down, she made everything go still. The buzz beneath my skin is gone, and in its place, is peace. Well, peace and a little pain. Now that I'm not raging out in my own head, my body is realizing the alcohol has long worn off, and getting stabbed hurts like a bitch. I don’t mind pain, though– it keeps me grounded.

Her shirt has ridden up her back, revealing her mangled scars that set my blood on fire.

Who the fuck would do something like that to her?

My hand absentmindedly runs along the raised flesh between her shirt and the top of her leggings. They will die for this. But not before I peel their skin from their flesh, inch by agonizing inch.

I’m going to teach my Cherry how to leave her marks on them before we bleed them dry. I will make damn sure she gets her wicked revenge.

Royal must see my thoughts playing out on my face, turning more murderous by the second because he grabs my hand that's on her back, gives it a light squeeze, and brings his eyes to my face.

“It was King,” he whispers, his eyes darting to her exposed back so I know what he is referring to. My entire body tenses at the realization.

“What. The. Fuck?” I say, louder than I should. Raena starts to stir against my chest.

After a moment, she settles back into me, her sweet breath tickling across my bare skin. He must see the murderous rage amp up even more in my eyes.

“We can’t do anything stupid. He will die for everything he has done to us. To Em. And now what he has done to her. Trust me. But Maddox, we have to find Em first. We have to deal with this hunter and find our sister,” he pleads with me, begging me not to do anything that could get us killed.

With a heavy sigh, I bury my nose into my Cherry’s hair, searching for the peace I had moments ago. Her beautiful curls tickle my face, her scent grounding me like the pain does.

“Whatever it takes, brother,” I tell him, holding Raena a little bit tighter to my chest. I hope he knows whatever talk he wants to have is happening right here because now that she is in my arms, clinging to me for security, I can’t let her go.

Alek walks out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, steam billowing in behind him. “Let’s talk. I’m exhausted. I just want to lay down next to her and sleep for a week.”

He lets the towel at his waist drop to the floor, as he bends down to grab his sweats from the bottom drawer, giving us a full view of his decadent ass.