Page 48 of The Hidden Falling
“Why does it matter?” I whisper eventually, looking into his eyes and searching for those flecks of glass, needing to watch them float around in his eyes as they darken.
“I want to know. I haven’t heard it before, and I have heard many languages. The writing of your tattoo is old. Is that the language you speak?” I grit my teeth and move to look away from his penetrating stare. He doesn’t let me though, moving that hand from my throat to grip my jaw, leaving a trail of goosebumps in its wake. “You seem to think you have any say here. The least you can do is answer me after what you did in The Deadlands,” he growls low, his fingers digging into my jaw to keep my eyes on him. “Tell me.”
He releases more dominance, and it crashes into me at full force, drawing a whimper from me. It wraps around me, swirling around my legs, over my hips and eventually rests against my chest. The pressure builds, like a weight pressing into my skin. I know he won’t let up until I tell him, and I don’t think a lie, or a half truth is going to cut it.
“It’s my family language. It’s of the old Gods, or so I was taught,” I say begrudgingly, answering him this while the guilt of The Deadlands hits me. His reminder that I killed some of his trainees deepening the stain in my soul.
“Your mother and father spoke it?” At my nod, he continues. “I thought you didn’t have any family apart from the one you chose?”
”Ihada family. They were stolen from me,“ I tell him. “Kade and Josh are my only family now. They have been for a long time.” They are the closest thing to me, the closest anyone will ever get, and even then I still don’t give them all of me.
The ugliness within me, the grime of black on my soul, of the things that I have done… They don’t need that. They don’t need that burden. And I don’t need to make them uncomfortable in trying to comfort me when no one can.
The burden is mine to bear, mine to shoulder. I keep those vines of thorns squeezing my heart all to myself as I feel their damage day in and day out.
“Is the pup yours?” Darius questions, and it brings me out of my own head to see those flecks of silver beginning to float from the edges of his irises.
My gaze follows those flecks, captivated by them as I answer. “He is mine in every way that counts. I did not birth him, but that does not make him any less mine.” I feel my pupils dilate, my protectiveness over Kade showing in my eyes. “You will not take him from me.” I don’t care what I have to do, he will not take him to the Highers.
We stare at each other, sharing the same air as it feels like the earth stills around us. I watch those flecks, and he watches the darkness that has undoubtedly creeped into my eyes before I manage to pull it back. He stares at me so deeply, so intensely with a look I can’t place. But I’m not scared. It feels like a caress on my soul. My forearm begins to tingle, the sensation causing my body to tremble before his eyes turn hard once again, a layer of indifference coating them as he blinks away whatever emotion was just there.
“I won’t take him from you,” he agrees, and my shoulders drop their tension. “But I will take you from him.” I jolt at his unexpected words, glaring at him. “You will be coming back to Fenrikar with me where you will be put on trial and then your punishment will be passed over to me.” He moves closer, our noses softly brushing against each other, and it’s such a contrast to his harsh words. “What the punishment will be has yet to be decided. I may be inclined to change the type of punishment you receive if you’re a good little wolf.”
Heat fills his eyes, and I suck in a breath at the sight, the space between my thighs warming. He moves his hand from my jaw, picking up a piece of my hair that’s fallen on my face before rubbing it between his fingers thoughtfully. He hums, watching his movements as he feels its softness, twirling it around one of his fingers.
“You don’t need to remind me about going to the Highers.” I swallow. “I already told you I accept that. But you can’t tell them about Eridian.”
Anger flashes through his eyes, the green losing their heat before he drops my hair and takes a step back. “Why should you and your pack have this safe haven all to yourself? Stop being a selfish bitch.”
I stand straighter at the insult, looking him dead in the eyes and giving him some truth. “All I have ever done is protect my pack, my family. Anyone knowing about this place is bad Darius. Really bad.” I bring a hand up and rub the back of my neck. “We...they...cannot be taken to the Highers, and the Highers cannot come here. Why can’t you understand that? Why can’t youseethat?“ He’s not stupid.
“I’ve seen your pack scared, yet I’m not entirely sure why,” he grinds out in irritation. “I’ve been here for over a week, and I have gotten nothing out of you or them. If you want them to stay out of the Highers’ eye, you’ll need to give me a fucking good reason for it.”
“Darius,” I growl. “I will not tell you their stories, their lives. I will not betray their trust like that.” I shake my head and put my hands on my hips. “Read between the lines, asshole. You know damn well why some of them are scared. You heard what Sam said at the gathering the other night. I know you did. I’m the one who wronged you, so punish me and leave everyone else out of it.”
He moves so fast I don’t see his hand reaching for me until he has my hair in his grip and my head tilts backwards. “I will punish you, but on my own terms, little wolf. I have already told you that you have no say in it.”
He glares down at me, and I’ve had enough of his manhandling for one day. I nudge Runa, and my knee shoots up, aiming for his balls. He moves to the side to avoid it, my knee hitting his thigh instead, but I’m already swinging my fist forward toward his face. He releases my hair and moves back, but not without me catching his jaw as he does.
He straightens to his full height, all six foot four inches of it, rubbing his jaw slightly. I preen at hitting him, feeling accomplished that after him shoving me around, I got a hit in. I ready myself for him to come at me, and he doesn’t disappoint. I smack away the hand that tries to grab me and aim a kick at his shin. He takes the hit, grunting at the force of it, and grabs my arm. Leaning back slightly, he pulls me toward him forcefully and moves to the side to throw me forward with the momentum. He lets go of my arm, and I stumble over my steps before I right myself. Growling, I reach down for my small blade in my boot. Hearing him coming for me, I grab hold of the hilt and slash out as I spin around to face him. Metal on metal clashes as his blade halts mine, the hit vibrating up my arm. I growl at him and kick out, aiming for his stomach as he chuckles coldly, deflecting me easily. I move backwards, holding my blade so it runs down my forearm while he twirls a similar sized black blade in his hand, tilting his head at me.
“If you wanted to play, little wolf, all you had to do was ask.” He licks his lips, and his smirk is downright wicked before he lunges.
His blade comes at me, aiming to slice at my neck and I bring my forearm up, stopping his blade with my own. I jump up and pull my left fist back, aiming for a hit to his temple with our blades still connected. He moves his head back, avoiding it as I snarl in anger. He grips my left wrist with his free hand and brings it down between us as I land back on my feet. I slide my blade down his before he takes my legs out from under me and lets go of my wrist. I fall hard to the ground, a grunt quickly turning into a snarl when he follows me down and straddles me.
“We have been here before, haven’t we?” he murmurs down at me. “It didn’t end well for you then either.” He drops his blade to the side and grabs my forearm, pinning it to the dirt beside my head so I can’t use my blade, and then he does the same with the other.
“How do you know this won’t end well for me this time?” I pant and twist beneath him, trying to dislodge the big fucker.
“Because if you don’t stop wriggling, you will have another problem to deal with,” he says in a low, gravelly voice.
“Fuck you.” I squirm more against him, and he shifts down slightly, giving me more of his weight. I push my hips up, aiming to buck him off, when I find the problem he mentioned.
My eyes fly to his, widening when I feel his hardness between us. He raises an eyebrow at me, smirking, then he moves his knees between my legs and pushes them until he’s resting between my thighs. His cock presses against my center and a ragged gasp leaves me. He runs his hands up my forearms, sending delicious shivers through me until he reaches my wrists and moves them to one big hand.
“What are you doing?” I whisper, and he just stares down at me, confliction in his eyes.
He moves his hips forward, and a moan escapes me before I can stop it. His eyes light up at the sound and any doubt he had vanishes as he does it again, but I’m ready this time and only expel a heavy breath. He growls low and heat fills me at the sound, but I make no outward reaction.
