Page 129 of The Dark Rising
“You will not go near any of my fucking men whether they are sparing or not,” Darius growls in my face, holding me by my arms so I’m practically dangling where he has me lifted off the ground.
“Why not?” I ask him, and his eyes flare, a deep, rumbling growl coming from him as he throws me over his shoulder. “Darius!” I screech. “You need to stop shoving me up here, I can walk on my own and you can’t keep throwing me around like a rag doll.” I punch his ass and scowl when he doesn’t even miss a step.
A smack on my own ass makes me jolt. “You will not look at my men, and my men will not look at you all flustered. They will not eye every curve of this fucking body of yours, and you will not see them wanting to fuck you then and there. You dare spar with them and I’ll fuck you in front of them all, and then they can see what they will never fucking get.” His arm tightens over my thighs. “Do you fucking hear me, Rhea?”
No, no I fucking don’t because my panties are suddenly wet, my thighs are squeezing together and my breaths are coming out faster at his possessiveness.
“Rhea,” he demands.
“Okay,” I say a lot more breathlessly than I thought I would. I may have agreed, but a part of me wants to push him to see how far he really would go. “Maybe—“
“Rogures!” Our heads snap toward the shout, seeing Damian rushing toward us through the branches. We scramble to our feet, rushing out to meet him.
“Where?” Darius demands, making his way across the willow field and toward the keep.
“West, heading straight for us,” Damian tells him. “Darius, there are many, I haven’t seen this many together before. Leo is calling to arms, the Elites should be ready soon.”
Darius nods and he opens the door to the keep, rushing up the stairs with Damian and I on his trail. “Get archers on the battlements, have a quarter of men go wolf, and the rest to be equipped with weapons. I’ll be there soon.”
Damian speeds off down a hallway and I follow Darius back to his room. He starts undressing, reaching into another small room and starts donning his armor. I rush ahead and grab his black wrist guards and begin tying them to his forearms. He pauses and watches me, curiosity in his eyes.
“The least I can do is help. My pack is here, you will protect them whether you mean to or not. I will help.”
“I will protect everyone within this keep and no, you will not help,” he growls harshly.
“Dar,” I start.
“No,” he repeats, putting on the rest of his armor. The red and gold straps across his chest are a stark reminder of his status as Alpha of the Elites. “No one knows you are here, if you do help, they will find out and we haven’t confirmed all the Elites who are loyal to me.”
“I’ll wear a hooded piece of armor and a face mask, they won’t even realize it’s me.”
“They will if you use your Heir power,” he argues.
“Then I won’t,” I compromise.
“And what? Risk yourself getting killed? Not a fucking chance, Rhea.”
“I cannot just stay cooped up in a room and do nothing, Darius.”
“You can and you will!” he roars, and I flinch. His eyes flicker in regret for a brief moment before he turns sharply.
“Don’t you dare,” I rush after him as he heads for the door. “Don’t you dare lock me in this room again!” He slams the door shut and I scream out my frustrations, banging on the impenetrable wood. “I can help, you cannot expect me to stay here.”
“You need to be safe, Rhea, you are not at your best right now, you are still recovering,” Darius says from the other side of the door. “I cannot do what I do best if I’m worrying about you out there.”
“And what do you do best?” I ask.
“Destroy.”
Forty Eight
Darius
Rheacursesandbangsfrom the other side of my bedroom door as I turn and walk away. I know she doesn’t like being trapped in there, but it’s the safest place for her. I won’t risk her being seen by others or worse, getting hurt.
Her power is a liability and if something goes wrong, she could not only harm my men, but herself in the process. I would rather take her wrath than have that happen, and the thought of her eyes alight with anger excites me for later.
I round the hallway and head down the stairs, my brothers by bond and not blood, waiting for me at the bottom. “Are we ready?” I ask Leo as I walk ahead of them, heading to the west entrance of the keep.
