Page 18 of His To Claim

“Look what the cat dragged in, or in this case dear old dad,” he snickers, causing the group around us, which has now doubled in size, to laugh.

I look around and notice the rest of the kings are spread out behind Ace, each one with a queen behind them. I notice Kinsley isn’t behind Sebastian, but Wynter is. Looking around, I notice how the kids standing here look up to them. Everyone is ecstatic to see their kings and their show of power, and well, these guys thrive from their followers’ admiration. It’s all pathetic.

“Look, dude,” I say, stepping into his face. “Like I told your skank over there, I don’t care who you think you are to these pathetic admirers, but you’re nothing to us. You’re pissed about us coming here, take that up with your old man. Leave us the fuck alone or you’re gonna regret it.” My remarks only cause him to smirk, slightly tilting his face to the right and my heart nearly stops.

This asshole is hot as fuck, and he knows it. His body covered in tattoos is on full display in his black board shorts and unbuttoned shirt. His face looks like the gods themselves carved it, with eyes a clear ocean blue and his lips nice and thick as he licks them. He steps closer, his chest nearly at eye level with me, causing me to tilt my head up to keep eye contact.

“You must be the one and only Scarlett Steele. My uncle hasmentioned you,” he says with a wink, causing me to falter slightly. He notices my slight shift and laughs. Fuck me if it doesn’t send a shiver through me. I hear Drake grunt once again and feel him step up to me, his chest at my back.

“This must be your pet, Damon Drake,” he says, as he steps back and rounds us until he can clearly see the rest of my group. “Malachi Saint, Jaxon Wylde, Jade Wolfe, and you, my love, must be Ruby Drake.” At his movements, his boys step forward, and the girls fall back in line.

“So, you heard we were coming, dug a little dirt, and now you think you know us,” I say, causing him to turn his attention back to me.

“Perceptive one, aren’t you?” he says with a sly grin.

“You heard what she said. Just turn around, walk back the way you came and there won’t be any trouble,” Drake says, only causing Ace to laugh maniacally.

“You think a couple of fucked up shits like you guys can scare me off. In case you haven’t realized it, we run shit around here. Not sure how things were in the fucked up, rat infested, piece of shit house you lived in, but here, we call the shots. We’re the Four Horsemen and you, son, are gonna feel the reckoning.”

At that, Drake throws the first punch landing his fist right against Ace’s temple, but Ace quickly straightens up and lands one against Drake’s jaw making Drake falter slightly. The Horsemen quickly step up as do Kai and Jax, but not before I grab Drake and step in front of him. Ace’s fist stops right before his hand comes into contact with my cheek. I can feel the rough graze of his knuckles against my skin. He stops and looks at me, surprised to see I’ve gotten in between their brawl.

“Enough, both of you,” I shout, turning to Ace, using his name for the first time. “Look, Ace,” I say, and he turns to me questioningly. “I get it, you don’t want us here anymore than we wanna be here, but it is what it is. They didn’t give us the choice to come or stay, so take that up with your dad but leave us alone. We’re nothere to cause any trouble, but I can assure you we won’t step back or fall in line if you insult us again.” I turn to walk away from him, but he stops me before I can move.

“Not so fast, Red,” he says, grabbing my arm. I turn and throw a punch in his direction, but he catches my hand before it reaches his face. His grip on my arm tightens as he holds my fist in his other hand. “I’m not done with you. You’re coming with me, sweetheart,” he says, and it’s my turn to laugh maniacally. He scowls, clearly pissed off by my laughter as his grip on my arm tightens causing Jade to step forward.

“Let go of her or you’ll regret it,” she says, stepping right up to us.

“Back down, Little Wolf, or you’ll regret it,” Sebastian says, stepping into her and causing her to take a step back. Sebastian towers over Ace, who is clearly at least six foot two. Where Ace is lean, toned, and muscular, Sebastian is broad, ripped and clearly on steroids. His dark hair and gray eyes give him this eerie intensity, somewhat like the hotter of those two vampire brothers.

“The Little Wolf defending Little Red, how sweet,” Ace mocks thinking his childish nicknames are so clever.

Again, everyone has taken steps forward at his dig. This is gonna be a never-ending standoff if I don’t go with Ace.

“Fine. I’ll go with you. But you need to get your dogs to stand down.”

“The fuck you call us?” the blond, thinner of the four that stands to the right of Ace says as he steps closer. Aleksander Smoak, I believe. Ace whistles, causing Alek to stop in his tracks, and I chuckle and wink at him.That’s right, down doggy.

“Follow me,” Ace says and I step forward but am halted when Drake grabs my arm.

“Scar,” he growls deeply when I turn to face him, placing my hand on his chest. I hear Ace groan behind me in response and something makes me step closer to Drake.

“I won’t let you go with him,” Drake snarls, scowling, his brows meeting in the middle of his forehead.

“Let me?” I ask, raising a brow with a bewildered expression.

“You know what I mean, Scar, I don’t trust him,” he adds, glaring behind me at where Ace stands. And there it is, Drake’s need to be in control, thinking he can be in control of what I do.

“Neither do I, Drake, but I have some questions about his uncle that he might give me answers to,” I say.

“I’ll go with you,” he says, but Ace steps forward.

“No can-do, Dragon Boy, I only want Little Red,” he says with a smirk.

“I’ll be quick. Come on, Drake, you really think I can’t take this prick?” I turn to find Ace scowling at my words.

Drake reluctantly steps back as I turn to follow Ace through the crowd that has now scattered away. I hear Carrington snicker something to Ace, but he ignores her just the same. Turning back, I notice the other Horsemen following us as well and can see Jade and Kai arguing with Drake, while everyone else seems to have gone back to partying.

I follow Ace across the sand to the large white three-story house with the floor length glass windows that sits at the farthest end along with a deck leading out to the ocean. Great. They’re gonna throw me in, probably with weights tied to my feet. I was right to believe this one belongs to the Servites.

---