Chapter 12 #2
“It’s why you and Emil were even picked for this job in the first place.
He had you marked from the beginning.” I ran my hands through my snarls, pinching my scalp in frustration.
I felt so stupid. “Istvan doesn’t do anything without a reason.
With Maja living under his roof, he had knowledge of your family, and he knew all he had to do was push down on a pressure point, and you would have to do everything he asked. ”
She glanced down with a dip of her head, as if she felt the burden of all of this.
“I owe you a lot, Brexley. However, my family comes first. Whatever I have to do, I will do.” It was a warning.
“What is happening?” Warwick snarled, his hands wrapping tighter around the bars. “Do you know?”
Her mouth tightened, a slight tremor in her jaw at his violent energy. “In my debt to you.” She faced me. “I came here to warn you, warn both of you. Tomorrow evening, the leaders from Bucharest, Prague, and I think Ukraine will be coming here.”
“Why?” My voice strangled out, trepidation souring the food lumping in my stomach.
“Because.” She inhaled, her hands twisting together.
“Tomorrow night is a presentation. A show . . .” She gulped.
“It isn’t just Caden he plans to show as proof, changing him to fae with your essence and blood.
” Her gaze darted to Warwick and back to me.
“Istvan plans to do the experiment on himself, live in front of them.”
Cold ice poured down my lungs.
Fuck.
Of course, Istvan hadn’t taken the pills or done the essence exchange yet. He would let others be the guinea pigs. Let them die. But now he thought he had the perfect formula in Warwick and me.
But that girl had died today.
“When—when did he plan this?” I gripped onto the bars.
Lena frowned, perplexed by my question.
“As far as I know, the night you were brought in.”
Before the testing was done on the girl. Was that why Dr. Karl had freaked out so much? If he didn’t provide the perfect results, his life was on the line too.
Istvan was too narcissistic. He had already declared this event, had spoken with cockiness instead of waiting for results.
“That’s not all. There’s something else you should know. He has someone locked up—” A bang echoed down the hall, making her jump, her head darting back at a sound. She pushed away from the cells. “I have to go.”
“No. Wait!”
“You can’t tell us anything else?”
Warwick and I spoke at the same time, and she looked between us, sorrow in her eyes.
“I’m so sorry. I wish I could do more,” she uttered before darting away, vanishing into the dark shadows.
“Fuck.” Warwick grunted under his breath, tension infusing the stuffy air.
Leaning my head on the bars, I ground my teeth so tight together my jaw cracked.
“The girl today,” I started, coming out in barely a whisper. “She died. My blood killed her.” I squeezed my lashes together. “Violently.”
“Then it might do the same to Istvan.” The bars on his cell rattled as he leaned against them. “Problem solved.”
“And Caden?” My voice shot up with anger, terror, and helplessness. “What about him? He’d be worth sacrificing for Istvan, am I right? You’re probably happy to get him out of the way.”
He stayed quiet, not taking the bait, which only made me lose it more.
There was no winning. At every turn, we were pounded with more grief, pain, and loss. The moment we thought we climbed out of one pit; we were tossed into another.
“Well, I’m sorry. I won’t kill my best friend because of your ego. Do you care about anything other than yourself?” I spat. I was lashing out, saying things I didn’t mean. I didn’t care. Pain was a ticking bomb inside me, ready to collide and knock down everything in its path.
“What do you think, princess?” His shade growled angrily in my ear, stronger than before. The feel of his breath, the heat of his form, sent shivers down my body. Desire clenched my thighs. I was vulnerable to him. Needy for him. Dependent on him.
The bomb detonated inside.
“Fuck off!” I batted away at his shade, striking a firmer physique than I was thinking would be there. Whipping around, my gaze fell on his enormous frame behind me, aqua eyes blazing into me. He was far from completely solid, but it was a lot stronger than it had been earlier.
I was noticing when my emotions pitched—in terror, fury, or desire—it shot energy through me, bubbling the magic between us to the surface and knocking it out of its slumber.
Fight or fuck.
Love or hate.
We walked the line between.
“You think I’d even be here if I only cared about myself?
” His shoulders expanded, anger flaring his nose.
“You’re right, I might not give a shit about Caden, but you do.
If I didn’t give a shit about anybody, I’d be with a dozen women right now, letting them fuck my brains out instead of being tortured and used as a science experiment. ”
“Then go! I’m sure the mighty Legend could rip the hinges off the wall and walk right out.” I waved my arms to the doors. “I wouldn’t dare try to keep you away from your thirsty harem.”
“My harem? That’s rich.” He scoffed, his head dipping, prowling for me. “You’re the one with a fucking harem, princess. How many boyfriends are you up to now?”
“Jealous?” I sneered, my feet retreating as he strode for me, my spine slamming into the wall.
His boots tapped mine, his frame looming over me, glaring down with fire and fury.
“No.” He gripped my jaw, leaning closer, growling in my ear. “Because I know who your pussy belongs to.”
The power of his words never ceased to rip the air from my lungs. My body reacted as though he owned the rest of me as well. My nipples hardened, skin flushing with need, my core pulsing. How easily he had me panting. An obedient puppy. It was me on the leash. He tugged, and I came running.
“Stop.” He tugged on my chin, forcing me to look up.
“Mad at the world, take it out on me. You’re hurting, hit me.
Want to cry and scream? I will be here through it all.
I can take whatever you dish out, princess.
” He pressed in closer, making me feel the outline of his hardness, which I knew still couldn’t compete with the real thing.
“But don’t for one moment say I don’t care.
I can see through your bullshit. There are no walls between us.
We’re done with that.” He slid a hand up my jaw, cupping the back of my head with a tug.
“Though we can fight like hell in the bed and outside.” He yanked my head back, forcing my mouth to open as his crashed down on mine, devouring me with hunger, feeling much more solid than I expected.
Flames scorched my skin, burning me alive.
His tongue flicked and tangled around mine, sucking until a low groan pushed from my lungs.
With every lick, bite, and attack of his mouth, he felt more and more concrete.
Weaving inside me, scraping through my soul, forcing a gasp from my lips as my nerves trembled under the intense sensation.
“Oh, gods,” I groaned, an orgasm hinting just from that.
“Been called worse.” Warwick slid his mouth down my neck, tugging my prison uniform top and sports bra over my head and tossing them on the ground, his mouth claiming my breast, flicking the nipple with his tongue.
“Warwick . . .” My back arched.
His hands dragged down the curves of my body as he went to his knees, tugging at my stained pants.
“No.” I grabbed his hand with a whisper. “I feel so disgusting and dirty. I’m covered in sweat, dirt, and blood.”
“I don’t care.” His penetrating gaze lifted to mine with a feral lift of his lip.
“I need to fucking taste you now.” He yanked down my pants, along with my underwear.
He didn’t need to, but it made him feel even more real as he blew against my folds.
A low growl vibrated against my inner thigh as he tugged my leg over his shoulder.
“Fuck, Brexley . . .”
My lungs faltered, my body sparking and tingling as I felt his mouth slide up my inner thigh. My nails dug into the wall, my breath shallow, my hips already pushing toward him, begging for him.
His tongue sliced through me, my body practically convulsing at the onslaught, a cry tearing from my chest. I no longer cared where we were or who could hear us. Pleasure was so fleeting and rare; you took it where you could in this world.
Plus, the more we “bonded,” the stronger it became.
“Fuuucck.” He groaned loudly against me, only making me whimper and claw at the back of his head, pushing him harder into me. “Fuck, I forgot how good you taste.” He spread me wider, his fingers rubbing through me.
Energy danced around us, the flutter of ghosts, the shifting of people, soft groans of pleasure, the bulbs flickering down the passage.
Heat was already racing through my veins, my hips rocking against him while his lips, teeth, and tongue devoured me.
“Fuckfuckfuck.” I was already hurtling toward the ledge. Maybe I was strung so tight, it wouldn’t have taken much to get me off.
Nope. It was all Warwick.
He didn’t kiss; he consumed.
He didn’t fuck; he claimed like a mythological warrior.
He fought, killed, pillaged, and declared ownership of anything he desired.
“Warwick.” I threaded my fingers through his hair, yanking his head back. He growled, looking up at me, his mouth glistening and puffy.
“Now.” I dug my nails deeper into his head, making his eyes spark. He rose to his feet, yanking down his pants.
Fuck.
Seeing his massive cock, pulsing and hard, had me dripping. He grabbed my leg, propping it up on the bars and opening my hips. Clutching my thigh, he dragged himself through me, hinting at my opening.
Whimpering, I bit down on my lip until I tasted blood.
Warwick’s chest vibrated, one hand grabbing my head, his mouth taking mine as he thrust inside me.
I moaned so loudly it echoed down the hall, feeling myself stretching, trying to adjust to his size.
A string of curse words came from Warwick’s cell, reminding me this wasn’t even the real thing.
I seemed to always forget how authentic this felt.
To an outsider, we were alone, in two different cells.
But the man in front of me was becoming more vivid.
I could feel the vein in his cock rubbing against my walls, causing my toes to curl and my head to spin.
Warwick’s shade drove in again, rough and needy. His hand grabbed mine, threading it through the bars until I felt Warwick’s real hand grasp mine.
“Oh, shit!” I cried. His touch multiplied everything until my body was trembling.
I was suddenly in his cell, my spine grating against the stone as he fucked me deeper.
“Fucking hell, Brexley . . .” Warwick grunted, his hips crashing against me, pounding and unrelenting, the grip between our hands so tight the bones in my fingers popped. But nothing mattered.
Gasps and moans filled the cells, everyone feeling our energy, taking away all pain and trauma for a moment.
A spark of white light.
A gust of wind.
A rumble of thunder.
His thumb rolled over my core, hurling me completely over, ripping my vision from me.
“Warwick!” I heard myself scream.
“Sotet démonom,” he hissed, pounding harder, as I felt his hot cum explode inside me, tearing me from the present.
Fire crackled; wind howled. I was hit with a vision of us at night on a field of bodies, our boots saturated with blood, gore and wounds covering us as we walked together, like we were death itself.
The Grey.
The Wolf.
The flash was only for a moment before I was flung back to earth, gasping and wheezing for air, my bones shaking vehemently.
Our fingers still locked together, we both took a while to speak or move. His shadow kissed me deep, then he was gone. The bond between us was now strong, and the energy we created together thrummed in my ears and wound around me like a web.
I heard someone sigh dreamily from a few cells down. “What the hell was that?”
“Yeah, you’re welcome,” Warwick mumbled, causing me to laugh.
We let go of each other, my fingers aching and bruised, but damn, it was worth it.
“Did it help, Kovacs?” He exhaled deeply, sliding down the wall.
“Is that how you keep me from flipping out?” I frowned at the disgusting clothes I had to pull back on again.
“Whatever I have to do. Just keeping the world safe.”
“Aren’t you the hero.”
I heard him chuckle darkly. Warwick was anything but.
He was no hero. He was a terrifying, deadly legend.
One who fucked like one too.
“And that was without even touching you, Kovacs.”