Page 29 of Poisonous Savage

Hisworld was violent, unrestrained chaos, and asIwatched him dispatch another enemy with grim resolve, something within me shifted and solidified.Myfather was right all those years ago.Ibelonged in this world.Ijust hadn’t realized it untilIwas sandwiched between two giants for men, guarding their backs as they shielded mefrom the front.Marcotook out the last two men and then there were none.

Ahush descended, sudden and eerie, as my father emerged from the shadows like a specter of my former life.Hiseyes, so like mine, were hard chips of ice as they metHunter's—two alphas, circling, calculating.Muchto my surprise,Hunterdidn’t put one between his eyes.Though,Isuppose he had a more… beautiful ending in store.Marcostood tense beside me, shifting me behind him.Myfather didn’t miss the motion as he laughed.

"Desmond.Isee you’re already passing my daughter around," my father laughed.

"Thorn,"Hunter'sretort was a guttural snarl.Thespace between them crackled with an electric current of hatred and unspoken threats.

"Mydaughter's blood will be on your hands,"Vittohissed, his gaze flicking to me briefly, a twisted sneer distorting his features. “Killingme won’t killTheBlackHands.”

Hunter'slaugh was a dark rumble, a sound that set my heart racing for reasonsIcouldn't name. "She'sno longer your concern, old man.RosalindDesmondisCinderCrewnow."

Mychest tightened, fear and anger waging war within me.Thatname, my name on his lips, was claiming in andof itself.Myfather's actions, his willingness to spill my blood for his cause, seared away any remaining illusion of paternal affection.

Istepped forward, the decision crystallizing in my mind.Thisman before me, who had given me life only to use me as a pawn, had pushed me beyond the brink.EachstepItook towards him was a step away from the girl who once wished he’d care about me.

"Enough,"Ibreathed out, my voice steady despite the storm raging inside.Myfinger caressed the trigger of the piece, hanging loosely at my side.

Hunter'sgaze swung to me, black eyes wide with something akin to respect—or was it recognition?Hesaw the change, the fall from grace that mirrored his own descent into darkness.

Istood there, not as sunshine but as storm clouds gathering on the horizon, ready to unleash the fury of my newfound power.Andin that moment,Iknew there was no going back.

Vitto'seyes found mine, the cruel glint within them slicing through the fog of war.Myfather—the man who'd bartered me away without a second thought, his love a twisted, demented thing that had left deep scars upon my soul.

"Rosalind," he spat my name like a curse, and with it, any lingering bond shattered.Istepped forward, the distance between us closing.Theworld narrowed to the space where we stood: a daughter betrayed and a father who'd forsaken his right to the title.

"Fuckyou,"Igrowled, voice low and laced with venom.Therewas no room for hesitation here, not in the darkness that had claimed me and shaped me into something fierce and unyielding.Hunter'sgaze burned into me, butIdidn't waver, didn't falter.

Theroom fell eerily silent, the moans of the wounded dimming as if they were waiting.Waitingon me.Myhand trembled, pulse pounding in my ears, a drumbeat heralding the end.Thiswas the moment of reckoning, the crossroads where destiny awaited my command.

Andthen, clarity blossomed amidst the chaos, stark and merciless.Thegirl who had once frolicked in the light was gone, her innocence a casualty of the brutality that had forged her anew.

Isqueezed the trigger, the gunshot a thunderclap that echoed through the stillness.Vittocrumpled, his eyes wide with shock, a crimson bloom spreading across his chest like a rose unfurling its petals.

Istood over him, breaths coming in ragged gasps, the gun in my hand a leaden weight.Hislife leaked away ontothe marble floor, a river flowing from the shell of a man who'd ultimately been my maker and my destroyer.

Inthat single, defining heartbeat,Ibecame whatIhad never dreamed nor desired to be—a queen crowned in blood, ruling beside a dark monarch in a realm where mercy was a foreign concept.

Assilence reclaimed the halls,IfeltHunter'spresence behind me, a looming shadow that promised both refuge and damnation.Histouch would come next.Butfor now,Iremained motionless, staring down at the ruin of my father.

Hunter’sshock at my action flickered across those nearly black eyes, quickly replaced by something darker, more intense.Admiration?Respect?Itwas a heady thing, being seen not as an afterthought but as his wife.Hisequal.

"Fuck,"Marcobreathed. “Thatwas damn sexy, sunshine.”

"Marco!"Hunterbarked, no longer the quiet observer. "Debriefthe boys, double down on the fucking security."

"Gotit, boss."Marcoacknowledged with a nod, his baby blues sharpening with purpose.

"Scouts, move out.Weneed intel on who's taking the reins now,"Huntercommanded, voice edged with steel.

Rosalindwas nothing but a name now, a remnant of whoIused to be.Istood amidst the destruction, my sensesraw with the scent of death.Oncesoft and unmarred, my hands were stained with my creator's lifeblood.

"Comehere,"Huntermurmured, wrapping an arm around me.Histouch was surprisingly gentle.Heguided me away from the scene, from the body that used to be my father.

Thefortress that had been my prison, then my sanctuary, was now a tomb.Menlay crumpled, their lives extinguished in the name of loyalty and power.Istepped over them, numb to the brutalityI'dbecome a part of.

Ourroom was so different from the battlefield that had raged only a few minutes prior—quiet, private.Hedidn't speak; he simply held me close and whispered to me, even thoughIcouldn’t make out the words.Thedamaged pieces within me curled around the comfort he offered.

"Areyou okay?"Hisquestion was a whisper against my hair, his breath hot on my skin.

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