Page 37 of Desecrated Reign

Last night, after Rohan and I finally emerged from behind the waterfall, Brodie and Shannon had already turned in. Then this morning, while we were packing up everything to continue towards our destination, things were a little… tense. I’m pretty sure something went down between them, but I don’t know either of them well enough to pry, so I keep it to myself, silently observing from a safe distance.

Finally, once we’re all safely up the waterfall, we follow the trail on the map for a few kilometres, weaving through the forest and ignoring the tension in the air.

Purposely putting some distance between us and the others, Rohan hitches his shoulder off mine, and whispers, “What do you think happened there?”

“Who knows, but they’ve been shooting daggers at each other for the past hour, so I’d say there’s definitely something we don’t know about.”

Suddenly, Shannon trips over a fallen tree stump with a grunt, and Rohan and I snap our gazes towards her as Brodie wraps his arm around her waist, quick to steady her on her feet. Their eyes lock for a few moments until Shannon pulls away and swipes at her shirt with her hands. “Eh, thanks,” she mutters before turning away and stomping ahead.

“He definitely fucked her. And if he didn’t, she wanted him to,” Rohan mutters beneath his breath, making me slap his chest.

“Please don’t,” I warn. “The last thing we need is for those two to be at each other’s throats. We have a trial to complete.”

Holding his palms up, he shoots me a devious wink that makes me roll my eyes. “I mean it, Rohan.”

* * *

“Do you hear that?” Brodie halts, throwing his arm out to stop us all in our tracks. His brows furrow as he strains his ears and stares off to his right. “There’s definitely people close by.”

Following his lead, we veer to the right, cutting through the thick terrain. The further into the foliage we go, the clearer the voices become, one of which I’d recognise anywhere.

“I swear to fuck, if you don’t shut your mouth, I will ram my foot down your throat.”

“Ah, Bevy, is that any way to speak to your fiancé?”

Silence billows through the trees, but it’s fleeting. “Listen here, you pig-faced egomaniac, the day I’m forced to become your wife is the day you’d better start running. Because trust me when I say I will make your miserable existence seem like a fairy tale, then when you least expect it, I will burn your castle to the fucking ground.”

Shit!

I take off running, forging my way through the bushes, not caring when the briars tear into my skin. Finally, a few of Cadden’s group come into view, and when I push through the two initiates, Lucas and Dillon, I screech to a halt.

Cadden is lying flat on his back, face turning blue as Beibhinn stands over him, the sole of her Doc Marten wedged against his Adam’s apple, cutting off his air supply.

Rohan rushes towards her, instantly wrapping his arms around her waist. Then, using all his strength, he lifts her off her feet and pries her away from Cadden before she can do any more damage.

Arms flying in every direction, she thrashes against his hold. “Put. Me. Down.”

“Not until you calm the fuck down.”

“I am calm!” Finally, when the fight leaves her body, he eases her to her feet but doesn’t relinquish his hold on her.

Next to me, Brodie reaches a hand out to his friend, helping him off the ground as he struggles to fill his lungs with a breath. Then, once Brodie is happy Cadden has composed himself, he turns his chocolate eyes on me. “Get control of your initiate, Ryan. She could’ve killed him.”

Even though Beibhinn is locked against Rohan’s chest, she somehow manages to lunge forward, kicking her legs as Rohan pulls her back. “And I should have. He deserves to rot in fucking hell for what he did to my brother.”

Wiping his hands off his track bottoms, Cadden’s piercing eyes latch onto Beibhinn as he prowls toward her. “I don’t know how many times I need to reiterate this, snowflake. But I had nothing to do with Liam’s death. I was with you the whole fucking night.”

Beibhinn’s face warps into a scowl. “Stop lying. Your daddy had you lure me away from that party, knowing damn well what was about to go down. What other reason did you have to distract me?”

Throwing his hands up, he shakes his head. “I don’t fucking know, B. You tell me?”

Everyone stands by as Cadden turns on his heel and strides off in the opposite direction. Before long, Brodie thrusts our map towards me. “Here, take that. I’ll grab him and catch up.”

Nodding my head, I glance towards Beibhinn as she swipes the angry tears that have mascara staining her cheeks. Closing the distance between us, Rohan finally lets her go, and I wrap my arms around her as she buries her head in my shoulders.

“Are you okay?” I comfort her.

“Yeah,” she mutters against my jumper before she finally steps back and draws in a calming breath. “It’s been a long twenty-four, and no, I don’t want to talk about it.”

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