All Chapters of Running Wild : The Cruel Alpha Kings: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

There is nothing worse than the deep, bone-hollow exhaustion that comes from prolonged exposure to freezing cold. And that was coming from someone who grew up believing my father’s and every other syndicate’s torture methods were the pinnacle of suffering.Having a finger chopped off to extract information, for instance, sucked. I was only ten years old when I accidentally walked into the estate kitchen, completely oblivious, and found a grown man sobbing like a child while clutching a bloody hand to his chest. It took my young brain a few seconds to process the scene. Then, I spotted the severed digit resting casually on the polished marble table.My mother tried her best to spin the situation afterward, painting the man as pure evil, but the sight never left me. That was the exact day I realized I was entirely too soft for the brutal world my parents had dragged me into. From then on, losing a finger became my ultimate psychological horror.Until Jace locked me under a bulletproof gl

I instantly snapped my head toward the locked door, a heavy, cold sense of unease settling deep inside my chest. I stood up, my muscles tightening. “I should go check on her.”“What’s the matter, worried she got hurt?” Hunter eyed me from the corner, his gaze sharp and entirely mocking. “Relax, Romeo. The chicken apocalypse was your brilliant idea.”He didn’t need to remind me. When I had hauled her shivering, half-conscious body out of that freezing pool and carried her up the stairs myself, I thought a harmless prank would be the perfect way to break her elite pride. I wanted her to wake up annoyed, not injured. While I was dumping her into the tub, Harris had been hovering over my shoulder the entire time, looking like he was about to have a stroke, snapping that she was a delicate lady and calling us all kinds of names under his breath. I had told the old man to relax and that I’d ensure she was comfortable, but now, doubt was settling like an ugly, clawing monster in my gut.Fuck.

A fierce flush crept up my neck, hot enough to rival the steam. “Go fuck yourself!”He didn’t reply. He just offered one last, infuriatingly slow grin, turning his back to me and walking out. The second the heavy wooden door shut behind him, I bolted out of the stream, gripped the brass lock on the bathroom door, and twisted it until it clicked.Finally secure, I began the long, strenuous process of peeling the soaking, muddy clothes from my body. The worst part was removing the skin-tight jeans, which felt like they had been superglued to my calves by the chicken gunk. I seriously contemplated looking around for a pair of scissors to just cut the denim off, but after a few minutes of aggressive tugging and cursing Jace entire bloodline, I managed to kick them free without extra tools.I would have easily spent the next three hours standing under that delicious, hot water if it weren’t for my stomach’s sudden, violent protests. The room was starting to spin slightly, a definitive warni

Hunter scooped up a heavy dollop of the peanut brittle-flavored ice cream and stuck it in his mouth. His ice-blue eyes regarded me curiously through the kitchen’s dim lighting, tracking the movement of my pink feathered pen as if he expected something specific to happen. What that might be was anyone’s guess. But when he slowly lowered the spoon from his lips, stuck it back into the tub, and leaned forward against the table, the silent challenge became perfectly clear.It was in the way he stared at me—completely unsmiling, heavy, and carrying that cold, dark aura you only ever expected to find in a rogue. I bet he was entirely used to people fearing him, fleeing his presence with their tails tucked in tight the moment he walked into a room.But I was not leaving this kitchen first, even if I had to sit here until dawn. I had been here before him, and I refused to let him intimidate me out of my own space.“Just like you, I felt like a snack,” he drawled, his voice a low vibration in t

A split second of dead silence fell over the kitchen. My pulse thundered violently against my eardrums, but everything else, from the faint hum of the refrigerator to the ticking clock on the wall, faded into a distant blur.My gaze locked hard on Hunter, waiting for the impact to register. His icy eyes remained inscrutable, staring down into mine without a single flicker of pain.For a horrifying second, a cold prickle of panic flared at the edges of my mind. Had I miscalculated? Had my knee struck his inner thigh instead of the intended target?I glanced down just enough to verify the positioning. My knee hovered mere inches from his crotch. My aim had been absolutely flawless.Then why the fuck was he just standing there, holding my gaze with a terrifying, absolute stillness that made my stomach twist? His unblinking stare felt unnatural, like a predator locking onto its prey right before the strike.The tension suddenly snapped when a low, vibrating sound rumbled in his chest, erup