Page 59 of Fastlander Fealty

“It’ll be a miracle if your man comes home in one piece. Want to bone?”

She pulled a face at him. “Gross.”

“Gross?” he asked as she closed the door behind her. “What do you mean? It would be awesome!”

She shook her head and looked around Owen’s house. Clearly Captain was still going to try and get under Owen’s skin by using her.

She hooked her hands on her hips and looked around the little home. This place was really cute, and homey, and comfortable.

Her apartment in the Pride was a small studio above Rook’s garage that had a mold problem and plumbing issues she had to fix all the time. She had been able to afford something nicer, but he insisted that his Queens live on his property so he could access them easily.

Barf.

Bright side, once he’d brought her back from her escape, he had withheld physical affection from her. She pursed her lips against a smile at the thought. She’d had to act like it was some kind of punishment, but it was actually the best part of her being dragged back into the Pride. He just told her she was ugly all the time, and that he wasn’t attracted to her, and bla, bla, bla. It had hurt her feelings for a while, and then it didn’t. She wasn’t attracted to him either. Ever.

Things were so, so different with Owen.

She missed him already.

Her phone vibrated in her back pocket, and she lifted it up, hopeful.

I don’t trust you anymore. A text from Rook.

She clenched her teeth and typed out, When did you ever? Send.

Her phone vibrated with an incoming call, and it was him—Rook. Her heart sank. She knew she had to pick it up, she couldn’t avoid him forever if she wanted him to stay with the Pride, and far away from her and the Fastlanders.

The door creaked open behind her, and it was Hallie. She showed her the phone screen with Rook Holland’s ID on there, and then pressed her finger to her lips.

She was not about to lose trust with Hallie.

Hallie got quiet and still as Silver connected the call and put him on speaker. “I can’t talk right now,” she said low.

“Where are you?” he demanded, a snarl in his voice.

Hallie’s eyebrows arched up, and her face morphed to an expression that said she didn’t like the way Rook talked to Silver. That made two of them.

“Why are you asking me that? You have my location. I have to go.”

“What are you doing, Silver?”

She couldn’t say, ‘my job’ because he would hear the lie, so instead, she said, “I’m doing my best, Rook.”

“You haven’t given me anything on the Fastlanders,” he gritted out. “I’ve been sitting here waiting on information you were supposed to provide, so no, Silver, you clearly aren’t doing your best. It’s easy. Text me anything you think I could use, like I’ve been asking you to do this entire fucking time.”

“You are not just sitting around. You took on a new Queen. You’re busy doing you, and I’m busy doing me—”

“Don’t you fuckin’ talk to me like that—”

“Enough!” Something snapped inside of Silver. Something just completely broke, and she lost all patience, and she didn’t want to play this game for a second longer. Not if it allowed this asshole to talk to her in a way that none of the Fastlanders would ever talk to their females. “Listen to me, Rook. Here is all the information you need to know about the Fastlanders. Are you listening? I’m making sure, because you are a fucking horrible listener. The Fastlanders are going to kill you. They’re going to gut you, Rook, and your only chance at living your miserably-ever-after is if you forget about whatever dumb vengeance you and your family have been planning. Coming after Ace won’t make you a better King. You’ll be a dead King. There are creatures in these mountains that will stay hidden until the exact moment you think you’ve won, and then they will eat you alive. Do you understand? Eat. You. While you are still living, and I know you can hear the truth in my voice.”

Rook didn’t answer.

“There’s the intel. You don’t stand a fuckin’ shot. If, by some miracle, you work your way through the Fastlanders, you will have the Warlanders, the Ashe Crew, the Boarlanders, the Grey Backs, all of the shifters from Kane’s Mountains, all of the shifters from Harper’s Mountains, all the Sons of Beasts, all the Daughters of Beasts, every fucking dragon with fealty to these mountains, every fucking one of them will hunt every last one of our people to the ends of the earth. We, as a species, will not survive. You will go down as a legend, sure, but not the way you think. You will be infamous for getting every one of your people killed. Generations of shifters will remember the stupid King who thought he could take on Damon’s Mountains. You bring war to the Fastlanders, you bring war to all of them. And from where I’m standing?” she asked, still feeling the burn of Wreck tingling under her skin. “They’re ready.”

Hallie was pacing, pointing up in the air, nodding, like Silver was nailing every word to her favorite karaoke song. I know that’s right, she whispered.

She was doing this. Silver was really doing this. Hallie and Corey, and most importantly Owen had given her the confidence to stand up to someone who had caused her so much turmoil.

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