Page 8 of Poisonous Savage

Sheturned, beckoning me to follow with a jerk of her head, commanding yet silent.Itrailed behind her like a shadow, unsure if she was someoneIcould trust.

"Watch.Learn."Thewords were a mantra, holy writ in the gospel, according toSofia.Asshe began to knead andshape bread,Iwatched with genuine curiosity.Cookingand baking weren't really thingsIwas taught growing up.Wehad our own version ofSofiato do everything for us.

Sofia'slesson wasn't in her words; it was in the steel of her spine, the scars that mapped her flesh, the unwavering gaze that had seen too much and flinched at nothing.Shedid without words, showing me what to do.Puttingmeat into a sizzling pan, she seasoned it with expert precision, smacking my hand whenIreached for the wrong spices or made a wrong move.

"Come.Iwill show you the rest of the house.Thebread needs to proof.Thatasshole surely hasn't shown you your new kingdom."

ItrailedSofiathrough the corridors of the mansion, the heavy scent of her musky perfume almost choking me.Theclink of her sturdy shoes echoed loudly in the silence.

"Girl,"Sofia'svoice was gravel, her eyes twin drills boring into me. "Loyalty, it ain't just a pretty word here.It'sthe blood in our veins, the air we breathe.Youcross us, you bleed out, alone and forgotten."

Myheart stuttered, fear lanced with the harsh truth of her words.Marcoleaned against the wall, his inked arms crossed, as he watched us.Hisface gave nothing away.Noacknowledgment of her words, no nods... nothing.Hewas, for all intents and purposes, a void.

"Understandthis," she continued, slicing a hand through the air, "Inour world, betrayal is a bullet waiting to be fired.You'reeither with us, or you're a target."

Themix of terror and wonder twisted my gut like barbed wire.Ihad intentionally stayed out of my father's affairs.Ifound most of what he did despicable and tried not to involve myself.Yet, hereIwas.TheoldRosalindwould have recoiled and sought the sunlit paths and clear waters.Butshe was gone, swallowed by the abyss of theCinderCrew.

"Adapt, or die.Hemade you queen, but crowns are earned, not given.Proveyourself, or you will die with the scum on the streets."

Marcocracked his neck, the sound a grotesque punctuation toSofia'ssermon.Myskin crawled, but a perverse fascination took root beneath the revulsion.

"Survive," she said, her voice a caress and a curse. "That'swhat we do.Wesurvive and thrive, even when the world burns around us."

Iclenched my jaw, determination coiling tight within me.Thislife wouldn't break me.I'drise from sunshine to shadow and reign alongsideHunteras his dark queen.Becausein the end, it wasn't just about surviving—it was about ruling the ashes left behind.

BeforeIcould open my mouth to say something, she paused, nodding towards the cells we were in front of.Inside, a brutally beaten man was strung up.Icouldn’t even make out his face. "Thisman was a traitor.Hetried to crossHunter, and now he will pay the price.Thisis your fate if you do not evolve.AndIsuggest you evolve quickly.Come.Thebread will be done by now.Weneed to put it in the oven."

Iperched on the edge of a steel stool in the dimly lit kitchen, the cold metal biting into my thighs through the fabric of my sweatpants.Sofia'shands moved deftly over the array of ingredients sprawled across the counter.Ithink she was making some kind of meat pie.Itsmelled divine.

"Motherfuckersat the top don't got a heart,Rosalind," she said, not looking up from her task of dicing tomatoes, her blade slamming down with conviction. "Theygot a throne, and thrones need asses that don't flinch at gutting traitors."

"Thenhow do you know who to trust?"Iasked, my voice steady despite the storm brewing within me.

"Trust?That'sa luxury."Shescoffed, chucking the mutilated tomato into a pot. "Yourely on fear and fuckin' loyalty.Youkeep your eyes open, your wits sharp, and your hand ready to strike."

"Tellme aboutHunter,"Idemanded, the name like gravel on my tongue. "Whyis he... the way he is?"

Sofiapaused, her gaze lifting to meet mine.Fora moment, the hardened lines of her face softened, and it was as ifIglimpsed another woman entirely—one who had known love and loss in equal measure.

"Lifedealt him a fucked-up hand," she began, her voice carrying the weight of unspoken stories. "Hesaw his old man take a bullet between the eyes when he was just a kid.Hedeserved it.Kidfucker was a monster, and no one had the balls to put him down untilHunter.Theboy was fifteen years old.YoungestCinderCrewDonin the history of the company.Sincethen, he's been fighting to stay on top, making damn sure no one can pull that trigger on him."

"Evenif it means becoming the monster himself?"Iprobed, my pulse racing with an odd mix of dread and admiration.

"Especiallythen," she replied, turning back to her cutting board. "Inour world, you're either the predator or the goddamn prey.Hunterchose to be the biggest, baddest son of a bitch out there."

Thebrutality of her words should have repelled me, but they didn't.Instead, they struck a chord deep inside,resonating with a part of meIdidn't know existed—my own hunger for dominance.

"Survivalain't pretty, and it sure as hell ain't kind,"Sofiacontinued, seasoning the bubbling pot with a heavy hand. "Butit's the game we play.Andif you wanna sit beside him on that throne,Rosalind, you gotta be willing to get your hands dirty."

Myfingers curled into fists, nails digging into my palms until they ached.Iwas no stranger to dirt.Butthis... this was a lot.

"Teachme,"Isaid, the words slicing through the quiet. "Teachme how to survive, how to thrive.Teachme to rule."

AndasSofianodded, her lips curling into a knowing smile,IrealizedIwas already learning.Learningthat sometimes, even the sun has to set to let the darkness reign.

Theshadows crept longer across the marble floor.Istood at the vast window, my reflection hauntingly pale in the glass—a ghost of the girlIonce was.Thelandscape outside lay tranquil, a contrast to the turmoil churning within me.

Sofia'swords echoed in my mind, a litany of survival and power.Theyseared into my consciousness, igniting a spark that flared with the waning daylight.Theuncertainty that once flooded my veins now simmered with an ember of resolve.

---