All Chapters of The Monster's Protégé: Chapter 81 - Chapter 83

MARCOPain was the first thing I noticed when I woke up, even before I opened my eyes. The incessant beeping of the machines was far too familiar, and that pungent smell of sanitiser was even more disturbing. I groaned, trying to move my body a little when a sharp ache settled somewhere beneath my ribs, spreading through my chest and down my side every time I breathed.I grunted, breathing through my nose as slowly as possible. The last thing I remembered—or thought I did—was Viktor’s arrogant face sneering down at me. Dominic was there, maybe Sammy too, though my brain was too fried to be sure. Through the haze, I caught the sound of someone crying and overheard faint muttering about bad timing and gunshots. Or maybe that was just the morphine playing tricks on my mind. God, I hated this. It was driving me completely out of my head.I squeezed my eyes shut, praying for the agony to dull even a little, but it didn't do a damn thing. Every inch of my body, my arms, legs, every single j

The fight had drained out of me somewhere between the last punch I threw and the last word I didn't say.Marco had come back from Dominic's place looking like a man who'd lost a war he refused to name. There was blood on his knuckles and a storm sitting behind his eyes that he thought he'd hidden well enough, but he hadn't. I had spent years learning that man's face the way soldiers learn maps. Every line and every crack."You're bleeding," I said."I'm fine.""You're bleeding, Marco.""It's fine, Aurora."And God help me, instead of walking away, instead of doing the smart thing, the thing I'd