Page 61 of Unmasked Legacy

The voice comes from beside me, and I see Knox. He isn’t someone I’m overly familiar with, so I’m surprised to see him sitting beside me on the old fallen tree in the compound. He passes me a joint, and I take it without hesitation. Something needs to make me feel better, and I’m willing to try anything at this point.

“Thanks,” I murmur, bringing the joint to my lips and inhaling. It’s strong, and I immediately cough as the smoke billows from my mouth.

Passing the joint back to him, I put a hand to my chest to steady my racing heart. My body isn’t used to this kind of high, and my head immediately begins spinning. Oh boy, well, it’s a distraction, that’s for sure. Knox brings the joint to his mouth, inhaling long and deep, not a single cough escaping him. Bloody bikers. Always got to do one better.

He exhales slowly into the cool night air, the gray smoke swirling into the darkness. I watch it vanish into the emptiness before turning my gaze back to him. Such a striking man, as they all are. It makes me wonder why they’re among the few in the club without partners. Is it because they’re younger, or does Wolfe prefer to gather the ones who are broken?

“You should let him explain.”

I frown, then shake my head. If he’s about to give me a lecture on how I should feel sorry for Wolfe and not be hurt, then I’ll get up and leave.

“Do you know who my father is, or have you all forgotten the hell he brought on this town?”

“Nobody has forgotten shit, but what you think Rook did, I promise you is different from the truth. Hear him out, you might be surprised at how you feel after.”

I shake my head, frustrated. “He lied to me, used me, and lord knows what else. He doesn’t give a single crap about me, and I have nothing to say to him.”

Knox mutters something under his breath. I turn to him. “Say it out loud, I know you want to.”

“You don’t want to mess with me, Red. I’m not the kind of man who pulls punches. I’ll tell you like it is, and trust me, you won’t fuckin’ like it.”

I blink, but I don’t look away.

I can take it. I’m done with people dancing around me.

“Say what you want to say.”

He inhales the joint again. “I think you’re so fucked up from your past that you’re not willing to truly see the good in anyone. You’re walking around with a victim complex, and you’re not going to even try and let that go. If you want the truth, you need the whole truth, not just the bits you feel like hearing.”

His words hit me right where it hurts, and I flinch.

“You can fight me, or you can take a hard look at yourself. I’m not justifying his actions, but he had his reasons. You’ll never understand them because you haven’t given him a chance to explain. And you, it’s time to carve out your own damn identity instead of hiding in your father’s shadow. Sometimes, I wonder if you’re too comfortable there.”

Ouch.

“Am I wrong?”

I bite my lip, not sure how to answer.

His words hurt, but they are somewhat true. I have lived in my father’s shadow for so long, I don’t know who I am outside of it. I don’t know who Mera Sloane really is, if not the Shadow Butcher’s daughter.

“I don’t know anymore,” I admit, honestly.

“Hear him out, Red.”

With that, he gets up, crushes the joint out on the dirt, and leaves. I don’t move, my head spinning in a blissful high that I’m wanting to enjoy for a second longer before I go and face reality. I’m not even sure what that reality is. This has changed everything, and I’m not sure where to go from here.

I don’t know who Wolfe really is, and if I’m truly honest with myself, I don’t know who I am, either.

Pushing to my feet, I go straight back to my room, closing and locking the door. My body aches, my heart hurts, and my head is spinning. Walking over to the bed, I fall down onto it, the flood of tears coming, even though I inwardly beg them not to. I roll to my side, sobbing until it hurts. I didn’t ask to be born into the life I was given, and I’m tired of trying to figure it out.

The pounding on my door has me swiping my tears away and lifting my head, but I don’t say anything.

“Open the door.”

It’s Wolfe.

I’m not sure I can face him right now. Each look into his eyes shatters my heart a bit more. I was a fool to let myself fall for him. I should have kept my distance, never set foot in this club. Honestly, I should never have come to this town at all.

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