Page 35 of Theirs to Rule

“It wasn’t us, man. It was?—”

“Fuck these guys, Bones. Let’s kick their asses.”

Bones scowled. “Shut up, Travis.”

But Travis didn’t listen. Instead, Travis lunged at Vance. Vance’s reaction was instant, a fist meeting the attacker halfway, and just like that, the bar erupted.

Chairs scraped, bottles shattered, and fists flew. I landed punches and deflected blows with ease. Then I found myself squared off with a Serpent, a wiry guy with too much confidence. He swung, I dodged, and then I countered with a right hook that connected with his jaw.

Around me, the chaos spread, patrons scrambling for cover, shouts and grunts filling the air alongside the sound of breaking glass and the thud of bodies hitting the floor.

As the brawl intensified, the air filled with the crack of fists meeting flesh. The thick, heavy scent of blood filled the air. A glint of metal caught my eye—a Serpent, his face twisted in rage, pulled a knife from his belt, aiming straight for Razor's unaware back.

Adrenaline surged through me as I lunged forward, my arm wrapping around the guy’s neck in a tight headlock. The surprise in his eyes was almost comical, but there was no time to savor it. I squeezed, the pressure forcing him to drop the knife with a clatter.

"Nice try, asshole," I hissed into his ear, right before shoving him. He stumbled, but I didn't give him a chance to recover. Two steps forward, and my fist connected with his face, once, twice, a third time, each hit with the intention of putting him down and keeping him there. He crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

Around me, the fight raged on. Razor was throwing punches like a man possessed, each one landing with a thud that echoed over the noise.

Slasher was in the thick of it too, his laughter almost manic as he dodged a swing and retaliated with a brutal uppercut that sent another Serpent staggering back. "Come on, you fuckers!" he bellowed, egging them on with a wild grin.

Talon moved through the fray with a calm that was almost eerie, his movements precise, each strike deliberate and effective. He didn't waste words, his actions speaking volumes as one rival after another fell.

As quickly as it had erupted, the fight began to wane, the Serpents' numbers dwindling as one by one we annihilated them. Finally, the final Serpent still standing hit the ground after I clocked him. I straddled his body and methodically pounded his face. In my mind, I saw not just the potential threat to my students but Rhianna’s lifeless body. I hit him again and again, his face becoming less recognizable with every punch. All I saw was red…until something made me freeze, my fist in the air. An image flashed in my mind, a memory of Camille’s face, the way she looked at me when I was the man she trusted, the man she thought was better than this.

I hesitated, my fist hovering above the Serpent’s bloodied face. I found my feet and staggered back, breathing hard, my knuckles raw and throbbing. The old Dante was a monster, a force of destruction that I’d barely managed to contain all these years. But he was still inside me, and tonight, he’d won.

Without a word, I turned to Razor. “Are you going to deliver them to where they came from and give the message that this is what will happen to anyone else who tries to sell their shit here?”

Razor grinned. “You know it.”

“Good. Then I’m done here.” I glanced at Vance and Talon, who were staring at me silently, their expressions blank. Iwalked out, ignoring the stares and the blood dripping from my hands.

As I got on my bike and rode off, I knew I’d fucked up. Not by defending this territory—the whole reason I sold drugs to the MC was to make sure CU kids didn’t get bad shit that killed them—but because of the pleasure I took in doing so. Camille deserved better than this, better than the man I’d just been. But as I rode through the night, the wind whipping past me, I couldn’t shake the feeling that no matter how hard I tried to change, the old Dante would always be lurking beneath the surface, waiting for a moment like this to drag me back down into the darkness.

And that was the scariest thing of all—because I wasn’t sure if I’d ever be able to keep him buried for good.

Chapter 17

Camille

Three days had passed since Kage had fucked me inside Dante’s house, and I’d been trying my best to keep myself busy. Classes, packing, avoiding thoughts about Kage and Ty—it was a pathetic attempt to regain some control over my spiraling life. But the packing part? That was goingreallyslow. Like,“maybe I don’t want to move on yet”slow. Yeah, there was definitely something wrong with me.

I’d bought a new phone and had been texting with Dante regularly, though I hadn’t seen him since he’d dropped me off at the chateau that night. We both used school or work as an excuse, but I knew the truth—having sex with Kage in Dante’s house had changed things, at least on his part. He hadn’t brought it up and he tried to pretend like it was business as usual, but I didn’t miss the growing divide between us.

Bianca and I were texting again, too, keeping our conversations short and vague. She’d slipped back into her student-life routine, but our coded messages still checked in onimportant things. “Hope your day was fine” translated to“Did you find any bugs or cameras?”and “It was” meant“Nope,nothing yet.”It was nice, but I wasn’t ready to fully reconnect. Kage’s betrayal had me on edge, doubting everyone—even my sister.

Thank God for Simone. She caught me between classes, practically bouncing with excitement.

“Camille! Guess what? We got picked to design rooms for the Halloween progressive party!” Her smile could’ve powered a small city.

“Seriously?” I blinked, feeling an unfamiliar twinge of enthusiasm. “That’s awesome! What theme are you thinking?”

“I’m torn between a haunted forest or an asylum escape room,” she said, tapping her chin dramatically. “What about you?”

I thought about it. “Maybe a witch’s lair? Potions, spell books, bubbling cauldron—something creepy but cool.”

Simone gasped like I’d just reinvented Halloween. “Yes! Dry ice for bubbling effects! And you could wear a robe, like this super-hot witch queen. I think I have some old costume stuff?—”

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