Page 168 of Nicky and the Night Owls, Part One

“I don’t know whether to be proud or furious that my instincts about you were right. You’ve been spreading your legs for a whole pack. I heard you in there. Moaning like a fucking whore. You used to be sogood, Nicky. A shame.”

He set a gun on the kitchen table and looked at me pointedly.

Fuck.

“What do youwant?” Panic climbed up to lodge in my throat. I couldn’t stop shaking. I only hoped I was far enough away that he wasn’t able to see it.

“I want you to fall into line. Or, at least, that's what I wanted before you went and ruined yourself. You used to be soagreeable, Nicky. What happened?”

“I found people who give a shit about me, that's what. We’re not together, Alphonse. We haven’t been together for years! I don’t understand why you even care about what I do with my life.”

I swallowed my distressed whine, eyes flicking between Alphonse and the gun. If I screamed, would the pack even hear me? HowcouldI scream without knowing what he might do when they came down the stairs unprepared, just as I’d been to see him?

None of Hana's lessons had included what to do in this type of situation.

“Because you’remine, you ungrateful bitch. That doesn’t change because you got it in your head that you weren’t. You belong tome. Come here,” he ordered. “We’re leaving.”

“Where are we going?”

Getting closer was the last thing I wanted to do—but I really didn’t want to get shot either. I didn’t trust him to be rational. Maybe I could delay him, distract him, until someone noticed I was gone for too long or the police arrived. Hopefully, they were actually on the way.

“Away. I don’t fucking know, Nicky. You had cops all over my fucking house, so I can’t take you there. I’ve been couch surfing with college buddies since you pulled that bullshit. I have friends all over the country. We’ll find somewhere.”

I squeezed my phone to anchor myself.

That seemed to draw Alphonse's attention to it for the first time. “Drop it.”

I set it on the hardwood so the microphone wouldn’t be muffled.

I took a step towards him. Then another. I didn’t really have a plan, but I had to do something.

“Now, you’re going to get on your knees and apologize for debasing yourself. Forruiningyour body when you were supposed to take care of it so I could enjoy it.”

Nausea churned in my gut, and I rooted to the spot. “Please don’t do this.”

“Move,” he snapped.

Alphonse picked up the gun, and my eyes flickered instead to the withering bouquet of roses on the kitchen table. I kept my steps as steady as possible, one foot in front of the other, even though it felt like I was walking up to the gallows. I stopped and fisted my hands to hide their shaking, bracing myself on the table. He seemed almost amused.

“Did they use you too hard, little whore? You’ll have so much repenting to do when we’re finally together, without these people standing in our way.”

I made a big show of leaning on the table, breathing heavily and letting myself shake so he wouldn’t view me as a threat. Hopefully, all the work Hana had put into training me meant that I was actually strong enough to pull this off…

Alphonse reached for me, and I snapped my hand out, my fingers catching the edge of the vase, and I brought it straight onto his face with all the force I could muster. Alphonse bellowed as water, glass, and flowers struck him. He dropped the gun and it went off, a bullet whizzing past me and embedding itself in the wall. I scrambled to grab it and took off.

I had almost reached the stairs when he barrelled into my back and we came crashing to the hardwood. My whole body erupted with pain, and I screamed at the impact. Alphonse flipped me over, slapping me across the face so hard I saw stars. I threw the gun as hard as I could, cracking one of the living room windows, and I screamed as loud as possible until his hand clamped down over my mouth, pressing my lips against my teeth so that I tasted blood.

“Shut the fuck up or I’ll go find that gun, walk upstairs, and kill every single one of this fucking pack that's brainwashed you against me.”

It was getting hard to breathe, and panic pounded through my body, demanding I dosomething.

I grabbed at his face, raking my nails over his skin and shoving my thumbs into his eyes until he shrieked and threw me to the side. His weight crushed me, his knee pressing into my spine until I couldn’t draw a breath.

Footsteps thundered down the stairs.

Alphonse's weight disappeared, and I looked over to hazily see Hana grab a fistful of his hair and throw him away from me. She barreled straight into him, giving him no chance to steady himself. More footsteps followed, and Tony dropped to my side, gathering me into his arms.

The alphas wouldn’t be feeling as worn down as I was, but this was like a fresh fighter being pit against an opponent who had already gone a dozen rounds.

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