Chapter 11
She Should Have Been Mine
Griffin
Fourteen Years – Six Months Ago – Violencia
Griffin tossed and turned on the thin cot in his room. It had been six months since he had arrived in Violencia, and he had begun to hate it. Every time he was invited to a new facility, he found someone from his country or Luscinia. Always in parts of the Government as Officials.
And they all had one characteristic in common.
Greed.
Second sons. Lower royalty.
It was as if they stayed here to become the worst versions of themselves, to dance into every sick fantasy they could encounter.
It disgusted Griffin. Each Facility he went to opened a new window of horrors into the day-to-day lives of the citizens here.
This country had access to one thing theirs didn’t.
Women.
Except here, they weren’t considered cherished.
“Are you up?” Viktor’s knock came at his door. “Your brother is calling. It must be important.”
And then there was the technology. This country had somehow managed to surpass his own. Devices, better vehicles, everything felt new and fresh.
Griffin got up, stretching and rubbing his eyes.
He looked at the empty space in his cot. Since meeting Ivan and truly understanding the depravity of Violencia, he hadn’t fucked anyone. The encounter had effectively taken every good piece of this country and sucked it into a wormhole.
Viktor couldn’t wait any longer. Pushing the door open, he rammed a square metal tablet into Griffin’s hands.
“Hey brother,” Griffin greeted Drago, most of his face filling the screen. But then he took him in, his haggard appearance, his sunken eyes.
“I tried to stop it. I’m so sorry,” Drago cried, the device in his hand moving down to show where he was.
Griffin took in the image. Of his brother sitting on…the thrown?
“Where is father?” Griffin bit out.
“Brother, you cannot return here. It will not be safe. Our father—he—”
The tablet fell in Drago’s lap, but Griffin didn’t think he meant for it to.
Drago picked it back up, and it was enough for Griffin to see the crown Drago wore.
“Our father is dead. Martha is dead. The King of Luscinia has claimed his Sacred Cherished.”
Our father is dead.
Our father is dead.
Griffin let the sentence cycle a few times, but it didn’t gain any traction. His mind unwilling to believe it true. “Claimed who?”
“With his death, there is no one to contest it.” Drago screwed his eyes shut.
“Who did he take?” Griffin needed him to say it.
“Your mother.”
The reality of everything fell around him. A bucket of acid pouring onto every piece of himself. The truth being uncovered in a moment of suffering.
The reason he was sent here was becoming clearer.
“I was never meant to come home.”
“No, brother. You weren’t. You were to stay there and gather an army. To take down the corruption that feasts on us in the form of a truce. A Sacred Trinity brought together through force. But that has changed. You must return, but not yet. Find your footing, choose your allies. Survive.”
There was a loud crashing and the tablet fell from Drago’s hands, bouncing a few times along the marble ground before shattering.
The device went black.
“Brother!”
But the screen was blank, and his brother was gone.
“Boss?” Viktor asked.
Griffin’s eyes flashed up to him, he steeled his nerves and hardened his shoulders.
“We must gather an army on this side.” He was beginning to understand it all.
From what he gathered, Violencia once was a beautiful place filled with happiness and joy. But no longer. Grypheem. Luscinia. They had come and robbed that bliss.
Planted their seeds. And stolen their freedoms. Hoarded their money. And hurt their innocents.
Cuckoo birds intent to do none of the work but cause as much pain as they could.
A month later, his mother would marry the King of Luscinia.
It would also be the day the games began.
Present Day – Catastro Sea
Griffin anxiously held the dress and robe in his arms as he fell back into the present. He knew Raven wasn’t going to be happy with it, that she was going to be even less enthused with the plan. And he wondered how Julian would react.
But they didn’t have a choice. He already heard the news.
The High Priestess was awaiting their arrival on the shores of Grypheem. It wouldn’t be long before Luscinia caught wind. They already knew of Raven, the live stream from the games had ensured that, but it would be solidified.
And then there were the Creators to contend with. Their trial, he doubted, would be an easy affair.
Walking down the passageway, his anger increased with every step. At the fact that his future wife had spent the night away from him. With another man. Other men.
Levi was outside her room, leveling out some of his rage, but when Griffin went to open the door, Levi attempted to stop him.
“I wouldn’t—”
Griffin ignored him, shouldering past.
And there she was.
His future wife.
In bed with another man.
Naked.
Their limbs tangled, the evidence of their actions clear as day.
His rage clouded his vision for several beats, and he had to force it out. His upbringing had convoluted his mindset, enforcing the belief that if he found a woman, he must claim her before another could or she would be pilfered away.
It tore into him at that moment, stole his breath, clouded his judgment.
“Griffin, get out,” Raven snapped, covering herself in the blanket.
But it was too little.
Griffin’s cock was hard as steel. His two heads at war with what he wanted.
Too late.
The loudest part of him implored him to march into that room, to fill her with his cum, to imprint into her that she would be his.
To claim her.
That thought was not his own, but one placed there from years of indoctrination and he shook it free. It was what brought him out of his spiraling.
“You need to wear this. Both of you. Be ready in thirty minutes on deck. We are landing.” He threw the clothes on the bed and then turned on his heel, marching away.
Each step felt as if he were stomping through thick mud.
As if it weren’t mud at all, but quick sand that didn’t want him to escape.
He did not stop until he was leaning out over the banister, watching his country get bigger and bigger.
Except it didn’t feel like his country.
Violencia had become his home long ago, and now he was a practical stranger to where he grew up.
This time he heard his brother’s approach.
“Player 32, Amelia, she’s awake, but she can’t appear to speak.
The acid damaged her face further than originally estimated.
They’re keeping it mostly covered in bandages for the next month while it heals.
But she won’t allow the doctor near her to do much else. Felix is still on guard as requested.”
Griffin inclined his head. “That will ensure her safety, especially if she is to remain by Raven’s side.”
The bitter cold that seeped into his clothes, that pierced his skin, was familiar. It was much colder here than Violencia had ever been.
“Nightingale has sent word that she has put into action the next steps. Raven will be able to return to Violencia just after the wedding. You will have my full support, and together, we will rid the country of its evil. I have already sent word to the people of Grypheem that they are no longer permitted to journey there. Unless they wish to join our just cause.”
“And then what?” Griffin turned to face his brother. “Will Nightingale take over Violencia? Put her own people in charge?”
Drago was in a large thick sienna coat lined in gold trim, the emblem of a griffin covering his heart. It was similar to the outfit Griffin wore, except where Griffin’s was gold in color alone, Drago’s appeared to actually have gold on it.
“Of course not. We are offering her our help, our troops. And when all is said and done, it will become another piece of Grypheem.”
Griffin forced himself not to react. To not scream in his brother’s face.
The last thing Violencia needed was another leader they didn’t choose. From what he learned, it hadn’t begun to spiral until their people had infiltrated. Percolated in, like poison.
But Griffin remained silent, instead keeping the information stored away in a cove inside his mind. A problem he would worry about on another day.
“You want Anadil as your wife,” he said instead. Watching his brother closely, attempting to see if his estimates were correct.
Drago’s jaw ticked as he clenched his fists and scrunched his eyes shut.
“She should have been mine. But I was too late. Just as our father was.” Releasing a breath, he relaxed, plastering a neutral expression on his face.
“Which is why it is so important that you are not. Once you are married, Raven will not be able to escape you. She will be yours and no one can take her from you. Even in your death she will remain by your side.”
Griffin did not let his anger fill him, he kept it at bay. His brother’s ignorance was especially present, but he knew better than to fight him on it. He had learned early on that ignorance was oftentimes only dispelled when it directly affected the perpetrator.
Movement over his brother’s shoulder was where he focused instead.
On Raven.
On the thick dress she wore adorned in Grypheem’s colors. Oranges, reds, golds, and browns, all utilized to create a nearly feather-like appearance as it fluttered around her. His eyes made their way up slowly until they met hers.
She’s angry.
It was clear in her pinched brow and flat lips, but he couldn’t understand it. He was doing everything to protect her. Even as she fucked other men.
Speaking of.
Julian had his arm wrapped in her elbow, as he stared down at her in utter devotion. His outfit matched the one Griffin wore.
And Griffin fucking hated it. Hated that it wasn’t him by her side. That he hadn’t fucked her against a wall, in his bed, everywhere in sight. Staked his claim on the woman who was going to be his wife.
Hated that this was truly the best choice.
His conversation with Drago forgotten entirely, Griffin side-stepped him and made his way to Raven. He physically ripped her from Julian before he gathered what he was doing.
“Griffin,” Raven hissed out, staring up at him. “I’m wearing this ridiculous dress, I’m ready to play my part as your fake wife. Can you not be an asshole?”
Griffin smirked. “That is my part.” And then he bent forward, capturing her lips.
He expected her to rip away, but instead, she chose violence. Stomping on his shoe and biting onto his lip. It was the one Julian had busted already, and the pain was searing and sharp as she reopened the wound.
He smiled, pulling away, his tongue lashing out to catch the blood attempting to drip down. “That’s the Raven I remember.” Tearing his attention from her, he took in the rest of the men who were surrounding them now. He was surprised none of them intervened.
Straightening up, he took on his role. It was time to hash out their plans.
“Maverick, you and Enzo will be in the back caravan. Apologies, Levi, but you will be stuck in there with them. Your faces are plastered as criminals still. You are technically wanted for questioning, but it is a ruse. Be on the lookout for anyone who attempts to approach, you must keep your faces hidden until we make it to the castle.”
“Castle?” Raven’s sharp concern was evident.
“Yes, it is going to take a few hours to get there from shore.” Griffin knew that he wasn’t answering her question, but he didn’t care.
Maverick’s gaze was intense as Griffin took it on, but after several silent beats, he inclined his head. “Understood.”
“Is that alright with you darlin’?” Levi asked, checking in with Raven first.
She gave him a hug, allowing the much larger man to lift her into his arms. “Whatever to keep you safe.”
Griffin contained his growl. “Oleks, infiltrate the guard, same as before. Stay as close to us as you can.”
Oleks didn’t respond, instead slipping off and back below deck towards the guard’s quarters.
“And what about me, Griffin?” Julian taunted him.
Griffin didn’t like this part, but he accepted the necessity.
“In our country, the women are kept on the Isles of Sacerdos until after they have birthed their first child, sometimes even longer depending on external factors. While there, the women are oftentimes with more than one man. Each man who fucks her is able to stake their claim. The man with the highest nobility garners their claim, and if they both are equally ranked”—Griffin’s anger sky-rocketed as he spoke—“they must come to an agreement, or she remains on the Isles until that time.” He focused his attention on Raven.
“You have birthed your first child, and I have claimed you, thus they cannot take you.”
“So just as I thought, the Cherished don’t have a choice in the matter? What if no one chooses her? What if she doesn’t have a child?” Raven’s face turned red. A mixture of the cold and her rage as she rapid-fired the questions.
“Then she will remain on the Isles of Sacerdos until she dies,” Griffin stated.
It wasn’t a well-known fact; it was one he had discovered on his own.
The reason he was sent to Violencia in the first place.
“Julian, we will present a new option.” Griffin hated this part even more, he had come up with this idea and attempted to find an alternative.
But it was the best choice. To keep Raven safe.
To keep her men by her side. To weigh down on a scale that was already attempting to topple in the opposite direction.
No matter how much he desperately wanted to kill them all… He couldn’t.
“You will come in on her other side. We will be together. The three of us.” Griffin paused. Raven needed another protector to keep close to her. And he needed a loophole in case anyone else tried to claim her. In case anything happened to him. “Raven will marry us both.”