Page 3 of Her Dark Past

“West’s first name is Austin. Now that you’re awakening, maybe he won’t get mad at me for telling you. He can’t exactly be all job and duty now.”

I turned to look at him, a grin spreading across my face. “Austin? Really? Now I can torment him a bit more.”

Jack topped up my coffee cup and then his own. “Where exactly is he?” he questioned, looking over at Zayn.

“He went to organise the flight home and to pick up some supplies.”

I looked over at him. “Home?”

“Well, yes, you did say we could take you home now that you had your little adventure,” Jack explained, nudging me with his shoulder.

“Well, yes, but... it’s not going to be like before, is it?”

Like he had supernatural hearing, the door to the suite suddenly opened and West stepped through, carrying shopping bags. I raised my eyebrows at him as I noted the high-end names on the bags. He nodded at the guys then walked over and set the bags down next to my chair.

“I thought you might want some more appropriate clothes for travelling home.”

I reached into one of the bags and drew out a neutral-coloured pencil skirt and a white silk shirt. The second bag contained a shoe box, and the third had beauty products in it. I ran my hand over the silk blouse. It was definitely designer and expensive. It was what I normally wore at home in my old life. I felt strange, sad, and wary, almost like I was willingly walking into a trap, and it bothered me. My cotton trousers and shirt were no longer good enough for West. He wanted me back in my old identity. I looked up at him. His face was expressionless, but he watched me closely.

“So, you were serious about going home?”

West frowned. “Yes, of course. That was always the plan.”

“That was always your plan,” I countered quietly. “It was never mine.”

West gave a frustrated sigh. “Nothing has changed, Lady Victoria. We are returning home to bring you back to your parents.”

And again, I wasn’t being given a choice. Although I was actually keen to go home and see my parents and reassure them I was safe, I resented the fact that I was yet again being told what to do. Realisation dawned that nothing was going to change. I glared up at him. “So that’s it? Even with all these revelations about how I’m some sort of goddess, you’re still going to take me home and lock me back up?”

“You’re exaggerating the situation,” West replied coldly.

“Which part? The goddess part or the cage part? Because I assure you, I am certainly not exaggerating the cage part!”

“You’re being childish,” West remarked, turning away from me.

I stood up and grabbed his arm, pissed off that he was actually going to walk away from me. “If you want me to act like an adult, maybe you should start treating me like one. Are you really telling me you’re going to take me back to that life I had? Even now?”

West turned his head to look down at me. “The risk to your safety has not changed. In fact, it has changed. It has significantly increased. Your awakening will call thehatayto you wherever you are on Earth. They will sense your divine power and wish to feed from it. Now more than ever, you need to be kept safe.”

Fury built within me. What fucking right did he have to control my life, especially now? “West, I don’t need you to protect me anymore. I can change into a fucking lion. I think I’m good.”

In a flash, West moved. He had his hand around my throat, and I felt the impact as he pinned me against the wall a few feet behind where I had been standing. In pure instinct, my hands flew up to grab his wrists, and panic flared inside me as I felt how strong he was.

Jack was at his side immediately, his hand on West’s arm. “West, mate, back down.”

West ignored him, his eyes fixed on mine, sky blue and ice cold. “I could snap your neck in a heartbeat, my lady, and don’t you ever forget it. It would have taken a moment, and yet you didn’t shift, didn’t protect yourself. You wouldn’t last five minutes out there without me.” The threat hit me hard, and fear sparked inside of me, but also something else. I saw something new in him, saw the killer my father had hired when his daughter had been taken from him, saw the ruthlessness and the violence in him, and fucking hell, it was hot. Desire flared up inside of me, and my eyes flicked from his face to his throat where I could see his artery just below the skin. I forced my gaze back to his, my tongue running over my lips, and he released me instantly, stepping backwards.

“Not cool, West,” Wesley muttered.

I took a shaky breath, adrenaline and lust still fighting for dominance inside me. I could feel my teeth and nails sharpening and realised I was close to shifting. My memory flashed back to the cave, and I realised when West had said all those cutting things to me, he’d been trying to rile me up to get me to shift. We’d needed it, and I knew that deep down, but right now, I felt like it was yet another time he’d manipulated and controlled me, and my fury blazed. I wanted to hurt him so fucking badly, but the man was immune.

“So much for being the one to protect me,” I taunted, stepping closer and glaring up at him. “You’re an arsehole, you know that?”

“I’m an arsehole who keeps you safe, my lady,” West replied, his voice tight.

“You keep me caged,” I argued, pushing past him. I was so done with this conversation.

“Sometimes the person I have to protect you from the most is yourself, Lady Victoria. If that means I have to play the bad guy, then I delight in informing you that it’s a role I have no problem playing.” I turned back to him, heat searing through my body, and not the lustful kind this time.

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