Chapter 27
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Briar
“What the fuck were you thinking?”
Seth’s words came out in a guttural growl that was more animal than man. Despite the fact he’d slaughtered a giant snake and could easily kill me, I bristled at his words. He was attacking me over something I’d had no control over.
“What do you mean?” I demanded. “It’s not like I called the giant, man-eating snake to me to play with it. It hunted a goblin through the woods, and they both stumbled across me.”
I didn’t bother telling him the goblin was chasing the creature tucked securely in my pocket. He didn’t have to know about it as the tiny critter remained unmoving and warm as it nestled against my leg.
“Why were you in these woods?” he demanded.
“Because I had to go to the bathroom, and I’d prefer not to do it in front of everyone.”
“I told you not to go too far into the forest.”
Okay, he had me a little there, but I’d enjoyed the small bit of freedom I’d discovered, and the rose had intrigued me. If I’d returned to where we’d camped instead of examining the flower, I might have avoided almost being eaten by a giant snake, but how was I to know that?
“I didn’t go that far,” I said defensively.
“Do you even know where the camp is, or were you planning to run?”
I planted my hands on my hips. “Believe me, I don’t want to be here any more than you want me here, but I’m not an idiot. If I run, you’ll hunt me down, and that’s only if something doesn’t eat me first.
“So, if you plan to continue being an asshole, then fine; I’ve dealt with a lot worse than you over the years.
” That wasn’t entirely true, as he was pretty bad, but my mother was a monster.
“I’m not going to stand here and let you yell at me because I had to pee.
If you were so concerned about it, maybe you should have gotten off your ass and gone with me. It’s not like you were sleeping.”
An eyebrow rose at the revelation he hadn’t fooled me into thinking he was asleep.
When he stalked toward me, both Pierce and Lyra stiffened like they were about to intervene.
It wasn’t because they were concerned about my safety; they were trying to keep him from killing me because they mistakenly believed I could break this mysterious curse.
Instead of doing anything, the shifters remained where they were as I glared at Seth. He hated me, fine, but I wasn’t going to be pushed around by him. I’d had enough of that throughout my life, and if I was going to die, I’d do it with dignity.
When he stopped before me, he handed the basilisk’s fangs out to Lyra. “Take these and leave us.”
Lyra took the fangs that would most likely be used for an antivenom and turned away, but Pierce remained. “We need her, Knox.”
“I’m not going to kill her,” he stated.
“I’m not afraid of you,” I told him.
Seth stepped closer…. No! Not Seth!
I had to start acknowledging him as Knox, because if I kept thinking of him as Seth, he’d only hurt me over and over again. Not to mention, while I was completely confident Seth would have killed himself before ever harming me, I wasn’t so sure about this man… this Knox.
“Knox—” Pierce started.
“I’m not going to kill her,” he vowed. “Not yet… anyway.”
It was probably a stupid thing to do, but I rolled my eyes and folded my arms over my chest. “I’ve dealt with my mother for my whole life; if you think you scare me, you’re sadly mistaken. You’re an amateur compared to her.”
His mouth curved into a cruel smile before his hand shot past me and slammed into the tree behind my head. Unable to control my instincts, I jumped.
That awful smile spread as he leaned so close his warm breath caressed my lips. “You’re not as brave as you think you are, and I do scare you, mea perfidas eveto.”
I frowned at him as I tried to place the word. While I learned some history of the demigods while I was young, I’d been taught nothing and denied any access to books since my very public fall from grace.
“My treacherous or faithless everything,” he stated. “Both descriptions fit you perfectly.”
I never should have given him the satisfaction of seeing me jump, and I was certain that, with his superior hearing, he heard the riotous beat of my heart.
“Leave us, Pierce,” Knox commanded.
This time, Pierce bowed his head and vanished into the woods. When I first met him, Seth wanted nothing to do with being an alpha. He was against being like his father, but that had clearly changed as he was the alpha of these three.
Seth didn’t want to be an alpha, but Knox clearly was one. It was one more difference between this beast of a man and the gentle-hearted boy I’d always love.
“We’re finally alone,” he said.
Even though this man enraged me, my heart gave a little lurch as his warmth eased away; I had to fist my fingers to keep from grabbing him back. My mind knew he was dangerous and far different from the man I once knew, but my heart had ached for him for ten years, and it still did.
“Next time, when I tell you to do something, you do it,” he stated.
“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not a shifter, and you’re not my alpha. I don’t obey your commands.”
When tree bark fell on my shoulder, I realized his claws had extended to bite into the tree. “You are my prisoner and, as such, you will do as I say or you’ll find yourself in chains.”
I laughed bitterly. “Go ahead. I’ve been my mother’s prisoner for my whole life, and especially these last ten years. You can’t do anything worse to me.”
“Is that a challenge?”
I knew better than to challenge an alpha. Everyone in the kingdoms knew better. They didn’t back down, and it was rare when they lost, but he wanted me alive, and I was certain he couldn’t do anything worse than my mother.
Besides, was there anything worse than discovering Seth had become this?
“It’s not a challenge,” I stated. “It’s a simple fact.”
The cruel smile twisted his lips again as his eyes darkened. “No, I’m sure there’s plenty worse I can do to you. I spent seven years locked in that harem, at the hands of your mother and the rest of your kind. I learned how to make others suffer from the best and all because of you.”
“I didn’t betray you,” I bit out from between my gritted teeth.
“Liar.”
Don’t say anything. Keep your mouth shut. You’ve spent the past twenty-seven years keeping your mouth shut. Just do it again now.
It was sound, rational advice. I should take it, but I was tired of being called a liar. Tired of being pushed around, tormented, and broken by eternals who were supposed to love me.
“Fuck you!” I spat. “And all the other shifters too!”
His eyes glinted with malice as his head tipped to the side.
“You know, I used to think your name was completely wrong, and you were the single rose amongst the thorns of your kind, but I was wrong. You’re not the rose amongst the thorns; you’re the whole fucking briar patch.
You fucked me years ago, and now it’s my turn. ”
Before I could say anything, he seized my wrist and pulled me through the woods toward the camp. When I dug my heels in, he didn’t slow as he pulled me onward while my shoes created rivets in the earth.
When it became clear he’d drag me onward if I fell, which I nearly did when I tripped over a fallen log, I gave up trying to resist him. Instead, I jogged to keep up with him.
I didn’t know what he planned, but it wouldn’t be good.