*Gemini POV* I groan, pushing myself up from the ground slowly to my hands and knees. My face stings, my nose throbbing and eyes watering from slamming down into the grass. One second I’m walking, the next I am eating grass. I don’t recall seeing a hole in the ground, and I didn’t trip over my foot. “Don’t come any closer rogue,” I hear a familiar voice, and my stomach rolls. Shit. “A rogue? Come on, I know you know who I am." Roscoe says, sounding amused. "You killed those you swore to protect. If anyone is a rogue here it's you” The familiar deep voice says, rumbling through the trees. “That’s how you want to play this, Alpha Bentley?” Roscoe asks. I furrow my brows as I spin to look at the Alpha I know as Alpha Gage. Why the hell is he calling him by his last name and not his alpha title? “It's Alpha Gage." He grits out. "No. Your name is Alpha Bentley, your whole line of alphas are weak and you don't deserve a unique name title.” Roscoe says, making it known as the Alpha Kin
Bentley tosses me to the ground, my palms aching from catching my fall. Then he squats in front of me. Tearing my shirt off of me, he yanks free three strips then hands the fabric off to the three warriors.“Give me your shirt,” He demands from one of the ones I recognize. He does as commanded, and Bentley catches it before he slams it down over my head.“You are wrong.” I grit out, trying to convince him to let me go, that he doesn’t know shit about the Lycans and their situation. Bentley shrugs. “I am confident enough to test that theory,” He says before turning to the warriors he handed my shirt to. “Run in opposite directions with that. Rub it on trees, tear small pieces and stick them in bushes.”“I refuse to walk.” I tell him. “No way I am budging a fucking inch.”He furrows his brow, looking at me like I’ve grown a second head.“It’s not even been two full days. Where the fuck did you find this attitude?” He questions, reaching out and trying to yank me up. “Amazing what a li
*Roscoe POV* My skin tingles as I scan her body, my lycan begging for another round with the assholes who made her bleed. I know the mate bond will eventually spark to life again after some time. But this is different. This is a deeper, hungrier need to keep her safe from everyone. To keep her with me. “You don’t understand,” Bentley says, the fear weaving through his voice as it quivers. “We need her.” I smirk, taking slow, measured steps toward him, watching as his false bravado falls away with each one. His once cocky, ‘I take what is mine’ demeanor is gone, replaced by a frightened old man who just can’t let go. “What for?” I ask, glancing over at Gemini, making sure she is far enough away from Bentley that whatever I do to him doesn’t transfer to her. “We need her, my pack needs her,” He stutters. I can’t help the way my eyes roll, tired of the lies. What this asshole needs is death, and I am only too happy to give him exactly that. I sigh, finally close enough that he take
*Gemini* I keep my eyes forward, my hand tight in Rocky’s as he stalks behind me. My stomach feels like it is rolling. The scent of blood in the shrouded forest is intense and takes over my senses. Blood has never made me queasy before but watching how he fought, what the very hands that are gripping mine so gingerly have done with such ease. It makes my chest ache knowing how many lives were taken. Not that I blame Rocky. No, I blame the selfish asshole Bentley. How the hell he managed to raise someone like Athena? I’m not sure I will know. All I know is whether she intended to get me out because she cared about me or get me out because she wanted me gone, she got me out and I am forever grateful for that gift from her. “You do not have to rush,” Rocky says, giving my hand a soft tug, but I refuse to stop.I can’t let anyone else get killed because of me. Bentley may have been the asshole that led everyone out here, but it was me he was after. My freedom came at a price, and that
Rocky’s hands cradle me close, tucking safely into his body as a scream tears from my lips the moment we tumble off the cliff. I try to look, but he doesn’t budge an inch. It feels like we are falling forever until we slam back into the water. It swirls around me, tearing at me, my hair yanking and pulling in various directions as Rocky remains still, the two of us sinking to the bottom like a boulder. My chest burns, my lungs beg for air as panic takes hold and I realize I’m going to die here. There was no good gulp of air before we went under and my wolf whines in my head, trying to keep us alive with whatever she is capable of doing to give me more time.My muscles slowly contract and convulse, fighting against the lack of oxygen. I thrash, trying to break free from him. Shit, I need air! I need to get to the top now. What the fuck is taking him so long? His massive hands move from the back of my head and my lower back to frame my face, then he presses his lips to mine, making me
*ROCKY* As I close in on the shoreline, I keep my eyes focused on the bodies that are left after the fight with the rogues, looking for any movement and hoping they are dead. My feet touch the rocky bottom beneath us as I walk, our bodies rising from the water until I stop. I reach up, gripping her hands and removing them from me, trying to ignore the way her breasts press against me as she slides down my back. Gemini whimpers for a moment, her dainty hands clinging to my sides before she lets out an adorable, surprised sound. I bite back a smile before turning to speak to her. The water comes low on my waist but is high enough to keep me covered from her wandering eyes. I arch a brow, trying not to laugh as she covers her breast with her arm. “I will go and see what I can find clothing wise.” I tell her and she nods, her hands firmly in place, hiding her body. There is no helping the chuckle as I shake my head and turn, walking toward the shore warily. “Wait,” she hisses in a lou
“His Beta.” She says the two words slowly, like she is trying to digest them. Like she is trying to understand what he means, but she knows the definition.Maybe she is in shock? Or maybe she is coming to the realization that her brother is truly a true alpha. There is knowing the truth and then there is believing it. Maybe she is starting to believe it.“I am Alder,” he says, locking eyes with her, taking a step forward. My lycan doesn’t like that and neither do I as I growl, the sound rumbling through my chest just louder than the roar of the waterfalls behind us.“What did you mean by he wasn’t lying? Lying about what?” Gemini asks. The kid frowns. “He wasn’t lying about your gift. Alpha told me about his older sister and her gift of healing. I thought he was exaggerating, but the way you took all of my pain healed me…”“I thought you only helped him escape.” I narrow my eyes, cutting in. “Did you have a heart to heart showing him out?”“He was in our dungeon. I was told to watch
*Gemini* The blood on my hand is long dry now, the feel of it restricting and flaky. I tried to clean it off as we walked, hoping to not carry the stain of his injury with me, but Rocky has been hell bent on moving. We have stopped once, but that was only because there were rogues in the area. Thankfully, dried blood has a much more muted scent, otherwise we would have had another issue. “Do we have a destination, or are we just walking for the fun of it?” Alder asks. Rocky slides an annoyed look in his direction before just continuing to walk. I fight the urge to repeat the question in hopes of an answer. It has been yet another eventful day, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hungry and exhausted and in need of a nice shower. “Are you okay?” Rocky asks, slowing down to be at my side. I give him a tight-lipped smile. “I’m fine.” I tell him and he frowns, his brows pulling together like he is in deep thought. “Fine?” he asks. “Yes…” “What do you mean by that?” he asks and I