∞∞∞
The next two weeks were more of the same.During our morning meetings, I felt like an idiot.No, an imposter.I was being stubborn by not asking King for help.Deep down, I wanted him to take this back.If I did a horrible job, maybe he’d reconsider.It was a ridiculous plan, but it was all I had to get myself out of this mess.
The biggest news came from Axel, who had managed to replicate the whistles.“Their frequency makes it impossible for the human ear to hear.It also has little to no effect on Shadow Warriors besides annoyance,” he explained, looking at me with a smile.“Frequency was too much for poor Labyrinth’s brain to handle.”He added a friendly smirk for Labyrinth.
The Goliath only grunted.
For reasons I couldn’t explain, his smirk irritated me, but I pushed it aside and focused on the good news.“Is it possible to give one to every human on the island?”I asked, hopeful.
“We should have more than enough within ninety days,” he replied.
“What about the outposts?”I pressed.They needed them just as much as we did.
“I sent the prototype, and they’re making their own.”
He kept looking at me, and I placed my hands in front of me as though warding him off.“What?”I grumbled.He was acting weird.
Axel looked away, but I caught the grin tugging at his lips.
“What is this about?”I demanded, looking around the table.“You don’t get to pretend something isn’t up.”
The men were pointedly staring.At me.They wanted to laugh.I could see it in their barely contained lip twitches.I’d had just about enough.
Kill, Ms.Beast whispered in my mind, louder than ever.It felt like the Nova transformation had put her on steroids.
Maybe, I told her.
Beck leaned forward, his eyes intense, and that’s when I lost it.It felt strange too.Ms.Beast pushed the K-5, forcing my shift.It was a stronger dose than she’d ever used.If I completely lost control, someone would die.These were my friends.Okay, irritating friends.I shoved back against the K-5 and forced Ms.Beast into her hidey hole somewhere deep inside me.But that didn’t stop my rage.
I glared at Beck.“If I were you, I would lower your eyes.”
He blinked, unmoving.
“Now!”I shouted.My hands clenched, and I wanted nothing more than to wrap them around his throat.No, better yet, I wanted to tear it out.
All eyes at the table, including King’s, dropped.
Why was he doing this?King hadn’t made me look away from him after we mated.It was hard not to grab him and shake him until he conceded and took this crap back.If I stayed in that room a second longer, I was going to remove someone’s head.They were driving me insane.Without saying another word, I stormed out.
I was waiting for King in our room when he finally decided to make an appearance.He walked in calmly, kissed my cheek, and sat at the table where we ate.I stayed on the bed, facing him.
“Would you like to talk about it?”he asked calmly.
For once, there wasn’t a hint of a grin or teasing in his expression.His tone didn’t ruffle my feathers, and that alone caught me off guard.
My main problem was that I’d refused to ask King questions about what was expected of me, and we’d barely spoken at all.The weight on my shoulders seemed to pile higher each day.I wasn’t sleeping, and I knew there were things I should have been doing.King always stayed busy, constantly putting out fires.For fuck sake, the island ran smoothly under his leadership, and he should be the one in charge.Right now, I felt like a complete failure.
More than anything, I wanted to curl into a ball and cry.“I have no idea what I’m doing,” I said, barely holding back the tears.
His soft smile calmed me.“You’re doing great.”
That ridiculous response made me angry again.He didn’t get to brush this off so easily.“Bull.And what’s with the eye thing?Why were they all staring at me?”
“They’re trying to force alpha tendencies on you,” he said matter-of-factly.
“What?Why?”
“It’s something about being the strongest.It took me nine or ten days to feel it.I went berserk at one point, and several men had to pull me off Beck.”