15. Drystan
Chapter Fifteen
DRYSTAN
The car roars as I merge onto the interstate, devouring the dark miles toward Hellebore.
Why the fuck is he there?
I had one rule. One single rule while I rotted in that cage: No one enters Hellebore. And he broke it. I don’t care if he’s my father. He never cared that I was twenty-one when he forced me to take the fall for him.
Five fucking hours of black road stretch ahead. I keep one eye on the live feed and the other on the empty highway.
On the screen, Briar stirs.
She’s still on the floor, naked, legs slightly parted. Her hand drifts between her thighs as she watches the video of me devouring her. A soft, broken moan slips from her lips. My grip tightens on the steering wheel until the leather creaks.
“Not now, baby,” I growl under my breath. “Fuck me.”
My cock hardens instantly, straining painfully against my pants. I lower the music, turn up the volume on the feed, and let her desperate little sounds fill the car. I can’t drive three hours like this.
I yank my zipper down and pull my thick, pierced cock free. The silver bar at the head is already slick with precum. I wrap my fist around the base, stroking slowly at first, feeling all the piercings, matching the rhythm of her fingers circling her clit on the screen.
“Oh God—” she whimpers.
I snap my head back against the seat, jaw clenched, stroking harder. My abs tighten. Veins bulge along my forearm as I pump my cock in time with her frantic movements. The wet sounds of her fingers sliding through her soaked pussy mix with her soft, needy moans and nearly make me lose control.
On the screen her back arches, thighs trembling. I hear myself in the video growling “Fuck” and she comes undone hearing it.
That’s all it takes.
“Fuck, Briar—” I snarl, stroking myself brutally fast. My balls draw up tight, muscles locking, and I come hard with a guttural groan. Thick ropes of cum splatter across the steering wheel and my fist, pulse after pulse, until I’m breathing like a beast.
I slow the car, pull onto the shoulder for a moment, and grab a clean cloth from the glove compartment. I wipe myself and the wheel clean, chest still heaving.
She’s lying on the floor now, flushed and dazed, eyes closed, lips parted.
Beautiful.
I start driving again, speeding up, the dark road blurring beneath me.
On the feed she finally stands, pulling on an oversized shirt. Then she begins tearing her apartment apart, searching frantically for the cameras. She finds the decoys, the one in the couch, above the TV, in the bedroom lamp. She misses the real ones completely.
I smile behind the wheel, slow and dark, watching her frustration build with every empty corner she checks.
Good girl.
Keep looking.
You’ll never find them all.
I keep my eyes locked on the road, three long hours still stretching between me and Hellebore. Briar is still tearing her apartment apart, searching for the cameras like a stubborn little prey animal who doesn’t understand she’s already caught.
Another feed pings. The camera outside her door.
My heart slams to a violent stop.
The blond ponytail fucker is there, crouched, listening at her door, scanning the hallway.
“Fuck!” The roar tears out of me. I yank the wheel hard, tires screaming as I take the exit at dangerous speed. The car behind me slams on its brakes. I don’t care. I shift gears violently and spin the car around, accelerating like the devil himself is chasing me.
The world blurs into streaks of black and red. Trees whip past. Horns blare. I weave between the cars.
“Stay inside, Briar,” I growl at the screen, voice raw. “Don’t you fucking open that door.”
I try to text her. Call her. Nothing goes through. The signal is jammed.
That piece of shit brought a jammer.
My vision tunnels red. My hands grip the steering wheel so hard the leather groans and cracks under my fingers.
If anything happens to her, if he so much as lays one filthy finger on her, I will burn this entire fucking city to ash.
I will rip my father’s throat out with my teeth and paint Hellebore’s walls with his blood before putting a bullet through my own skull just to follow her into whatever hell awaits beyond this one.
On the feed she finally stops searching. She stands there for a long moment, looking lost, then walks toward the bathroom. She takes a shower, gets dressed and I can see the decision forming in her eyes, she’s going out.
The blond fucker is no longer visible on any of the outside cameras I placed. He’s a ghost now, probably waiting. Hunting.
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” I slam my fist into the steering wheel again and again, the pain barely registering over the feral roar in my chest.
She steps out of the building.
I push the BMW harder, the engine screaming, devouring the miles between us.
Hold on, my love.
I’m coming.
I wasn’t able to track her phone because of whatever jammer that piece of shit was using, but now the signal is back. Maybe the fucker’s battery died or he left it in the car. The red dot of her phone blinks at the local bar just one block from her apartment. I text her. No reply.
Fuck me.
Briar, you are going to pay for this stunt, putting yourself in danger like I’m the only monster lurking in the shadows after you.
Thirty more minutes and I’ll be there. Don’t you fucking leave that bar.
I watch the dot move and my heart sinks straight into hell.
“No, baby. Don’t leave. Stay there. Stay inside.”
I take the exit into town and drive, cars blurring into streaks of light and metal. Red lights flash past as I run them, horns screaming behind me. My knuckles are bone-white on the steering wheel, jaw clenched so tight it aches.
I need to get to her.
I screech to a stop at the back alley of the bar and kill the engine. A muffled crash followed by a low, pained moan cuts through the night air.
I rip the mask up and the hoodie down and run.
There he is, the blond bastard, all over her. My Briar. Pinning her against the cold brick wall, hands groping, body grinding into hers.
Red floods my vision.
I slam into him with every ounce of pent-up violence.
The impact is sickening, I feel his ribs crack under my shoulder like dry branches.
He flies backward and crashes into the ground.
I’m on him instantly, fists raining down in a brutal storm.
Blood sprays hot across my gloves and face with every punch.
He grunts something wet and broken, but all I see is red. All I feel is rage.
“Mine!” I snarl between blows, voice barely human. “You touched what belongs to me!”
I only stop when I hear a soft, broken whimper behind me.
I turn.
Briar is frozen against the wall, eyes wide and empty, tears streaming silently down her pale cheeks. She’s looking at me but she’s not really seeing me. She’s somewhere far away, trapped in whatever nightmare this triggered.
“Go home. Now, Briar!” I growl, stepping closer.
She doesn’t move. More tears fall, but her body stays locked in place.
I close the distance and grab her shoulders, shaking her firmly. “I need you to move!” I snarl, giving her a harder shake. “Run. Don’t stop!”
She finally blinks. A raw, painful cry tears from her throat. She shoves me off with surprising strength and runs, boots slapping against the wet pavement until the fog swallows her whole.
I watch her disappear to make sure no one follows, then turn back to the bloody pulp on the ground. His face is a ruined mess but he’s still breathing, barely.
I rifle through his pockets and find his phone. A text is open on the screen:
“Do you have her?”
I memorize the number, then haul his limp body over my shoulder and carry him to the car. I shove him into the trunk with a heavy thud.
“I hope you die in there,” I mutter, slamming it shut.
If he survives the drive to Hellebore, I will enjoy making his death last for days.
I toss the bloody gloves into a bag, clean my hands, and drive the short distance to her apartment. Her lights are off.
I walk upstairs, unlock her door with my key, and step inside.
She’s standing in the middle of the living room, knife pressed to her own stomach, eyes wild with terror.
The sight nearly undoes me.
I try to stay calm, but the second she lies to my face, telling me she has no idea who’s after her, the last thread of my restraint snaps.
I move fast. The cloth soaked in the sweet floral sedative presses over her mouth and nose before she can scream. She struggles for only a few seconds before going limp in my arms.
I catch her gently, cradling her unconscious body against my chest. She looks so beautiful—serene, unharmed, completely mine.
I quickly pack a bag with her clothes, carry it downstairs to the car, then return for her. I lift her carefully and hold her close as I lock the door behind us.
“Let’s go home,” I murmur against her hair, carrying her into the night.
Hellebore is waiting.
I place her carefully in the passenger seat, buckle the seatbelt across her chest, and gently tilt her head to rest against the side. She looks peaceful.
I start the car and drive slowly out of town, the engine a low, predatory purr beneath us. The night swallows the road ahead, fog curling like smoke through the trees.
Excitement coils dark and hot in my chest. She’s mine now. Truly mine. The only way she will ever leave me is if I’m dead and buried six feet under the hellebore garden.
Now to deal with another problem.
I dial my father’s number and put it on speaker.
“Drystan.” His voice instantly floods me with rage.
“Leave Hellebore,” I warn, voice low and lethal.
“What?” He sounds genuinely confused.
“I have nothing to say to you. We had a deal. Hellebore is off limits. If I want to see you, I will tell you when and where.” My grip tightens on the wheel. “I promise you, Father… if you step foot on my property again, they will never find your body.”
A long, heavy silence stretches between us.
“Son… I just wanted to see you.” His voice cracks slightly. He’s nervous.
“Leave.”
I hang up.
I check the cameras at the mansion. He’s standing outside the gates with his two bodyguards, gesturing wildly, throwing a pathetic tantrum.
What the fuck did he expect? He ignored me for six years while I rotted in that cage. Sent money through strangers. That was it. Part of me always believed he hoped I would die in there.
But I didn’t, I became something worse. Stronger. Smarter. Hungrier.
I adapted, and I knew the only thing I would need when I finally walked out of those gates was her.
I glance to my right, Briar, sleeping peacefully in the seat beside me, black hair spilling across her shoulder, chest rising and falling in slow breaths.
My darkness.
My queen.
Mine.