Page 17 of Wicked Vengeance

Three fucking days!

God only knows what Raena has endured with King. I wish I could drown myself in this bottle of whiskey, but that won’t help her– or any of us.

My mind is out of control, spinning in exhaustion and anxiety. I need my Angel back. Now. I need her to be safe. Back in my arms. Home.

King has to know by now we’ve taken Em. And since we haven’t heard a word from him, I have a feeling he has been taking that anger out on Raena.

Pain shoots into my palm as the glass breaks under the strain of my fears, but I don’t feel it– not really. Blood pours out around the shards I’m still clutching in my grasp, dripping onto the concrete floor. I stare blankly, mesmerized by the sight. My head swims– muffled voices getting closer to me, but I can’t make out any words. Just the questions screaming in my head. More questions and no answers. This is too heavy. I can’t breathe with the weight of my failure sitting on my chest like a boulder.

“Snap the fuck out of it.”

My head jerks to the side, heat spreading over my cheek, snapping me out of my trance. I look up to see Alek’s worried face as he grabs my injured hand, pulling the bloody shards out and wrapping it in his shirt he must have pulled from his body since his tattooed chest is now on display.

“What the fuck were you thinking? You almost cut your hand off, Royal. Pull it together. She needs us to keep it together. For her– and Em.”

“I don’t know…” I trail off, unable to focus on anything beyond the pressure building in my chest. “I can’t breathe without her, Alek. I. Can’t. Fucking. Breathe.”

I beat my good hand against my chest as I try to catch my breath. Maddox stands behind him, still pulling on his hair as his wild eyes bore into mine, begging me to help him. He’s losing it too. But I can’t help him when I can’t even control my own fucking breaths. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to keep my family safe. I don’t–

“Enough!” Alek shouts, his deep voice ricocheting off the walls in echoed waves. It shatters through the flood of emotions drowning me– dragging me back to the surface. He secures the shirt around my hand with a knot, then grips my hair from the root.

“Look at me,” he growls, and my head darts up to stare into his golden-brown eyes. “You’re both spiraling. And Raena needs us. Em needs us. We can’t save anyone if we lose ourselves.”

He lets go of my hair, my chin hits my chest, and he steps back, running his hand down his face. Maddox moves around him to kneel next to my chair. I don’t know what the fuck is happening, and right now, with my mind fractured, I don’t have the willpower to ask. So, I relinquish all of my control and dominance to Alek.

“I can’t… I don’t…” I whisper through my heaving breaths, trying to speak, and I don’t even know what I’m trying to say.

“Let me help you,” he whispers, stepping closer and pulling my hair again. It’s not a question or a plea. It’s a command. Pain prickles along my scalp, and the sensation shoots straight to my cock as he stares straight into my eyes. A groan slips between my lips.

“Fuck.” Alek groans, kicking the glass away from my feet.

I’ve never submitted to anyone in my life. Somewhere, buried deep beyond the weight suffocating me, I want to protest. But I can’t move the boulder enough to find it.

Maddox crawls in front of me and kneels at my feet, laying his head on my lap. I’ve never seen this side of him seeking comfort from me like this. He’s hurting just as bad as I am.

My unwrapped hand moves to his messy hair, the strands filtering through my fingers as I rub his head, soothing both of us. It’s easier to breathe with his hands caressing my leg.

“I need her,” Maddox whispers.

“I know,” I tell him. “So do I.”

“Help me, Sir. Please.”

Maddox’s broken plea does me in, my cock twitching in my sweats as he reaches for my waistband. My hands tighten in his hair. This is what I need right now to calm my racing thoughts and ease the hopelessness. We both do.

“You need my cock, Maddie Baby?”

“Please. Make it stop. I need both of you.”

My eyes lift to Alek’s, and a silent question passes through the air. His jaw ticks as he makes up his mind.

With a single nod, the energy in the basement shifts, like static crackling, before everything comes into focus. My hand tightens in his hair, and my lips meet his ear as I pull him up by his hair, and he groans, enjoying the bite of pain.

“Get on the mat,” I growl.

Maddox scrambles to his feet, moving with my hand fisting his long curls until his knees hit the training mat, and I move to stand in front of him, Alek coming to my side. Looking down at our broken brother, chaos raging in his eyes. Maddox reaches for my waistband once more, but I slap his hand away.

“You’re not in charge here,” I say, circling him. That familiar control snaps into place as I grip his throat from behind and kick his legs apart. My cuts press into the makeshift wrap as I squeeze his airway. “You’re going to do exactly as I say. Do you understand?

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