Vowed to a Vicious King (BLP Breeds #7)

Prologue

“Boy, look at ’em go.” Haze whistled as he watched a gang of motorcycles pass them by. He whooped before he resumed tossing rocks on the boardwalk and watching them scatter.

Gideon didn’t much like the sound of the rumbling engines and how the noise seemed to vibrate his entire body.

At ten years old, he was shaping up to be a giant.

He was already five feet, ten inches tall and growing every day, so the fact that those loud bikes could shake his whole body never sat right with him.

“Man, come on. We ’posed to be back home by now,” Gideon said as he threw his own rock. It scattered down the boardwalk and dipped off the dock and into the water several yards away.

The boardwalk in Desmore Bay was normally busy this time of night, especially for a Friday night, but because it was closed for renovations, Haze and Gideon were the only two walking on the deserted street.

Those motorcycles were the only vehicles to pass by the boardwalk in the past hour that they had been there.

Haze sucked his teeth and dipped under some construction tape. “You always follow the rules.”

Gideon shrugged. “Ain’t that what they’re there for? To follow them? Plus, yo’ people are cool, man. You should want to listen to them.”

“Rules are meant to be broken,” Haze said with a wicked smile.

He and Gideon were polar opposites. Haze loved the thrill of getting in trouble and lived for getting into shit.

Gideon was quiet and preferred to play chess or read a book.

He wasn’t a punk though. Oftentimes Haze got into some trouble with other neighborhood boys, and Gideon didn’t hesitate to finish it.

Haze was the only friend he had. He was more like a brother than anything.

If it wasn’t for him and his family, Gideon would have to spend a lot more time with his grandmother, who was mean as hell.

She was his guardian since his father died two years ago.

He never knew his mother. She left him when he was only a baby.

When Gideon moved to Desmore Bay from Ellwood, he’d been nervous of the new environment.

Haze and his family took to him right away, though, and they made him feel right at home.

Since they lived down the street from his grandmother, who lived in the rich part of town, he could easily stay with them as often as he wanted—their words, not his.

He did make himself at home, though, respectfully, of course.

Living with his rich grandmother who was stingy with her money and mean as hell to him wasn’t his idea of living good.

With the Laurent family, he finally got to see what it was like to be a part of a family. Haze had no idea how good he really had it. Gideon would much rather be at home with them than out there trespassing at the boardwalk.

Gideon stood back and watched as Haze spotted an abandoned forklift from the construction crew earlier that day. Like Gideon knew Haze would, he took off toward the machinery.

“Aw, man.” Gideon groaned as he reluctantly followed his best friend begrudgingly.

Haze had already climbed up on the large machine and was trying to figure out how it turned on.

“Man, the keys aren’t in here.” He kicked the metal from where he sat. “Come on. Let’s go home. Nothin’ to do out here anyway.”

Gideon nodded and watched protectively as Haze jumped down. One thing Gideon was going to do was make sure his people were good.

The ten-minute walk home was pretty much in silence. The boys had a long day at school, and even though Haze would never admit it, he knew they were both tired as hell and ready to eat something and get into bed.

When they finally walked into the Laurent home, Henry Senior was there with a mug on his face.

“And where the hell y’all been?”

“Aw, come on, Dad. We were just walkin’ around,” Haze said, trying to lighten the mood with his charming grin.

Henry had a rolled-up newspaper in his hand. He used it to reach out and pop Haze on the back of the head. Though Gideon hadn’t been hit, he flinched right along with his friend.

“You was ’posed to be home at seven. You’re fifty-three minutes late.

” His gaze landed on Gideon, who instantly looked at the floor with guilt written all over his face.

He knew they should have been back by now.

He tried to get Haze to get there on time, but he was impossible to deal with most times.

Plus, Haze was his best friend, so if he was rocking, Gideon was rolling . . .

His thoughts ran wild as Henry gazed at him. Gideon chanced a glance up, and he saw Henry fighting to keep a smile off his face. Finally, he shook his head and put his arm around Gideon’s neck. The boy was tall, but Henry was still taller and able to easily put him in a playful headlock.

“I don’t know why you hang around this troublemaker. You a good boy. Don’t let him tarnish you.”

Gideon hated being in trouble. With a weight lifted off him, he playfully swatted at Henry to get him to let him go. When he was finally free, Gideon said, “I won’t, Mr. Laurent.”

Henry grinned and looked toward his son. “And you, Junior—”

“Come on, Dad. It’s Haze. Even Mommy calls me that.”

“I’m the one that gave you the nickname, boy. Only time you calm the fuck down is when I’m smokin’ that sticky and hotboxin’ ya ass.”

“I still don’t condone you doin’ that shit to my baby.” Haze’s mom walked around the corner. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed her husband’s cheek.

“Been doin’ it since birth, Charlene, and if I ain’t mistakin’, you was right there wit’ me doin’ it. Kid was restless unless we did that shit. It’s that ADHD in him.”

Charlene giggled. “Don’t do my baby.” She kissed his lips before her gaze landed on the boys. “You missed dinner. Where you been?”

“We was just walkin’ around, Mama. We lost track of time.” Haze looked at his mom with puppy dog eyes. It worked every damn time.

She melted at the sight of her only son and grabbed him up in her arms. She kissed all over his cheeks while he tried to escape. Gideon looked on longingly. He never knew what it was like to have a mother’s love.

Charlene wasn’t the type to leave anyone out, so once she felt Haze had enough, she turned her love on Gideon.

“And you.” She grabbed his cheeks, forcing him to bend so she could leave kisses all over his face. “You’re such a sweet boy, so I’m sorry to have to do this. You’re both grounded.”

“Aw, Ma! That’s not fair! Gideon ain’t even do nothin’. It was all me,” Haze argued.

Charlene smiled and patted Gideon’s cheek affectionately before turning to her son. “Until Gideon learns to start making his own decisions, he’ll be grounded right along with you every time.”

Henry chuckled as he watched on in amusement.

Gideon didn’t mind. He thought it was comical, too, honestly. He didn’t even technically live there, but he was there enough to get grounded for sure. He would take that, though, over being at his grandmother’s house.

“Y’all go on and grab your plates from the kitchen and then go to your rooms, your separate rooms. You’re grounded starting now,” Henry said before he turned to his wife. “The girls tucked in?”

Charlene beamed. “Tucked in, but I highly doubt they’re sleeping. You know how they get when they’re together.”

Gideon assumed they were talking about Kyomi, Haze’s little sister, and Deja, his little cousin. They were five years younger than them, and Gideon felt fiercely protective over them.

He tuned the parents out as he followed Haze into the kitchen. Haze grumbled the entire way while Gideon shook his head. What did he expect to happen? They were late for curfew, and he knew it, and still decided to stay out fooling around.

“Sorry, Gideon,” Haze mumbled as he pulled two stacked plates out of the microwave. They were covered in foil, and Gideon drooled at the smell of whatever was underneath.

“It’s all good,” he said as he wiped his mouth and took his plate. “Maybe next time you’ll listen to me.”

Haze shrugged. They both knew he wouldn’t.

They walked back through the house and toward the stairs.

At the top of the steps, Haze stuck his hand out, and they did their secret handshake before going their separate ways down the hall.

Gideon felt spoiled that he had his very own room here, but Charlene made it a point to decorate it for him a year ago, and he loved it.

On his way to his room, he had to pass Kyomi’s room.

He heard girls’ voices whispering and giggling.

He couldn’t help it. The instinct to make sure everyone was good before he went to his own room was always heavy on him.

He inched the door open and saw Kyomi and Deja sitting on Kyomi’s princess bed, with matching braids and pigtails.

Sitting with them was another little girl, giggling uncontrollably.

Kyomi held her hand over her mouth as she tried to stifle her giggles. “Glimmer, stop. Mama’s going to hear you.”

Deja laughed loudly, and the girl, Glimmer, bounced around like she couldn’t possibly stop.

Glimmer made a funny face, and Kyomi and Deja flopped back on the bed, red from laughter.

Gideon gently closed the door and chuckled before he went to his room a few more doors down.

The blue walls and Desmore Bay sports teams representing throughout made him smile.

He put his plate on the dresser. As much as he wanted to devour that food, he knew he needed to shower first. He appreciated being clean and feeling warm and cozy, so he prepared himself for his shower while mentally preparing for a week on punishment.