Chapter 47
forty-seven
This bitch.
She’s pathetic. I’ll indulge her shabby setup so I can extract what I need…and then I’ll destroy her.
The memory of Rowan, glassy-eyed and sad, tossing back a handful of pills, hits me hard when I come to.
Sobbing, he said he was going to join Julien.
I tried to stop him, but it was too late.
Even before I could enter his room, Talon had me in his arms, carting me outside the Beta House like a sack of meat.
My teeth grind, remembering him holding me down on the frozen ground while Hailey drugged me with something in a needle. Maybe with the same type of medicine she used on Julien. Once I get some strength in my arms, I’m busting out of these ropes. Then, she’s deader than dead.
The metal chair cuts into my thighs, and blood pounds inside my skull. Eyes dry. Nose runny. And mouth stuffed with Talon’s dirty handkerchief. I’m about to make her pay for ever thinking she could hurt me.
Hailey’s hands tremble as she paces on the concrete in front of me. Probably regretting what she’s done. Because she’s not a killer.
But I am.
I spit the filthy fabric out of my mouth and wind my wrists to loosen the binds while she’s distracted. “What was the point of this, Hailey? What are you even doing?”
Her eyes flash with something between hate and hysteria. She leans over me, breathing coffee-scented sneers into my face like she’s auditioning for a role she’s not built to play.
“Aiden’s mine. He’s always been mine. The appointment, the status, him. Especially now that he’s gotten rid of my father. I know he did it for me—because he loves me. Because he knew how much I hated that man.”
At the end of her sentence, her voice splinters. The confidence doesn’t last. She’s spiraling. Delusional. Watching it surface this openly is what troubles me.
Points to Aiden for ending her father. With every kill he’s made, I think I fall deeper in love with him. That’s probably wrong.
But that’s us.
“And Talon? Where did he fit in?”
She seems so proud. “You were his. And he was more than happy to help me by getting you away from Aiden. Permanently. He’d had enough of your shit. You have more than one person wanting you dead. How does that feel?”
I shrug. “I’m used to it.”
But did Talon really plan to leave Aiden alone? Because the moment Aiden finds out…he’s as good as dead.
“So your plan,” I ask, quiet and razor-edged, “is to kill me and force him to marry you?”
The grandiosity falters. Breath hitching, she steps back. “Yes?”
A silver revolver shakes in her hand. It looks too heavy for her, like it belongs to someone else. And she’s never shot one before.
Confusion and disgust knot in my stomach. “Did you have this much trouble killing Elowyn?”
Her throat jerks. “No…no, she was easy. Invited her to hang out with me and get drunk in Aiden’s room while we waited for him to return from winter break.
I used poison I found in his desk. She needed to pay for touching him.
Acting as if he owned her.” She lifts her chin with pride, but it wobbles.
“Too bad for you, this will be bloodier. But you deserve it.”
“What about Blaire? Did you let her go?”
“She’ll get what’s coming to her soon, but I need to take care of you first.”
Fatal fantasies run strong in her if she thinks she can take out another woman while looking like a scarecrow—stuffed with straw and pipe dreams.
“And Julien? What did he ever do to you? Was it because he was my friend?”
Her blank expression makes my heart skip a beat. “Julien? I don’t know a Julien.” She presses the wide barrel to my forehead. “But I did want to thank you for taking care of Sutton. She was first on my list.”
My eyes squeeze tight as I rip off the ropes. The crack of a gunshot echoes through the chilled air, bouncing off every wall and disorienting me for a moment.
Hailey screams as her arm explodes in a fine mist of red. The pistol clatters to the floor. She stumbles back, gripping her wound as I burst from the chair, kicking it back.
Before she can process what’s happened, I’m already on her.
And like that day in the school bathroom with Luna, my fists take on a life of their own.
Connecting with her face again and again until it becomes unrecognizable.
The sound of my fury is wet, raw. Pulse like thunder. Her teeth shatter beneath my knuckles.
Footsteps pound down the metal stairs.
Aiden.
He squats, the barrel of his gun planting against Hailey’s skull.
“Wait,” I pant, holding up a blood-slicked hand. “Not yet.”
Trailing my gaze up his body, I anchor myself in his infuriated eyes—those feral blue flames that reflect my own hunger.
He’s ready to kill for me. Ready to rip me apart and crawl inside until there’s no space left between us.
His wicked desires infect every inch of me, matching the ones I thought were mine alone.
I hook my fingers through his belt loops and yank him closer until he’s kneeling over Hailey’s head.
“I want one final revenge…” I whisper, as Hailey’s black eyes blink up at us, a strangled moan rattling in her throat.
Aiden grips my face, pulls me in, and crushes his mouth to mine—a collision of tongues, teeth, and shared madness. In a blur, my jeans are gone, my panties shoved between Hailey’s battered lips.
I slap her before she passes out. “Wake up. You never had him…”
Aiden smirks and opens his jeans until his cock flops onto her forehead. I stroke him hard as he caresses the back of my neck.
With a deep growl, weapon still lodged in his hand, he grips my waist and flips me over Hailey until I’m on all fours, dripping pussy right against her nose.
“Baby girl, you’re so fucking good for me,” he says, slapping my ass.
As the shock of the swat hits, he slams into me. My lungs seize, searching for air. He snatches my hair and rips it back until my neck bows. His lips find mine in a desperate plea for connection.
“Watch us, dumb cunt. Watch me fuck the love of my life,” he says as he thrusts into me rapidly. Enough so that every stroke makes me ache for more when he retreats.
In a deep growl that tickles my ear, he says, “There’s only one woman for me. Always has been. Always will be.”
“Then fill me up.”
“Oh, I will. Right in front of her… You want the honor of killing her, or you want me to do it?”
Barely able to think, let alone breathe, I spit out, “I’ll do it. I’ve wanted to do it.”
With another spank, he chuckles, long and low. “That’s my good girl.”
My clit rubs over her gagged mouth. Aiden slaps Hailey occasionally, telling her to pay attention. “Watch me fuck my baby into her.”
He gathers me into his arms until my back plants on his chest, clit hovering over the bridge of her nose. I use it to get myself even closer toward detonation.
“You want that, Ashlyn? Want it now?”
“I don’t care when, Aiden. I just need you. More of you.”
The moment changes. His taut arms surround me in a squeeze so tight, I can’t even moan.
Softness in his voice soothes when he says, “Come for me, and I’ll give you everything you could ever want.
I’ll take care of your every need. And I’ll never let you out of my sight.
” His lips hovering over the side of my neck send shivers down my spine.
I lace a hand through his silky hair, then grip it as I ride his cock, taking everything I need. The ecstasy rises until I explode in his embrace. Pleasure rips through my body as I come hard. He follows me over the edge, yelling how much he loves me.
Chests rising and falling in sync, we catch some air together. Eyes closed and savoring the moment.
“Stay right there,” he whispers and slips out.
All our love drizzles out of me and onto Hailey’s face. She sputters and whimpers a cry. Muttering something undiscernible.
Aiden helps me up and kisses me deeply while sliding his gun into my waiting hand. Standing over Hailey’s body, I take one last look at her widened, frightened eyes.
Then I pull the trigger.