Page 22 of Reign By Wrath

“In my mom’s head, she was making us—me—stronger. Preparing us for what it meant to be a Rogue and live a life where you always had to stay ahead of your enemy. One mistake can cost your life. So,” Wilder said, “the winner was given a reward... and the loser was punished.”

I didn’t ask him what the punishment was. The look on his face screamed it loud and clear.

Wilder’s light eyes gazed down at me without seeing. “I don’t blame Wolf for never letting me win. But I do hate him for how much he enjoyed it when I lost.”

“Oh, baby.” I kissed him slow and deep, sending waves of comfort. “On a psychopath scale of hamsters to Everleigh, what are we dealing with?”

“Wolf is Everleigh’s soul mate.”

“Then him coming here is bad for us,” I confirmed.

“He’ll fuck with me just because he can. He’ll ruin everything I touch just for the laugh,” Wilder gritted. “It’s bad, Luna.”

“But you said you have a plan,” Rafael spoke up. “Hopefully one that doesn’t rely on hacking or computers.”

“I have a plan. Not sure if it’s a good one yet. Don’t know if it’ll work. But I do know it’ll cause Everleigh Starling the maximum amount of pain nonstop until one of us is taken out permanently. I’ll make sure that one is her.”

“Lay it on us,” Wilder said. “All my shit is in a charred pile—again. And I’ve got the cops threatening to put me on a terror watch list because of the stuff in my second room. The maximum amount of pain is too little.”

“The first step is simple...”

Chapter Three

The bell chimed, welcomingme into a pine-scented lobby. My purple wedges sank into the memory foam mat, drawing my brow up. Between the cucumber and orange slices floating in the water cooler, antiquey chairs in the waiting area, and a plate of cookies with a “Take one!” sign by the receptionist, I could honestly say this was the nicest police station in America.

“Hello.” The receptionist waved. “How can we help you, ma’am?”

“My name is Luna Sinclair.” I closed the distance and helped myself to that cookie. “I’m here to report an attempted murder. Mine.”

***

TAP. TAP. TAP.

I followed the rapid rise and fall of her pen while sipping on my cucumber water. If I thought the lobby was nice, it had nothing on the captain’s office. Ornate desk, upholstered seats, and photos of the captain beaming alongside every important person in Regalia.

“This is quite an allegation, Miss Sinclair.”

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