“Go to the devil… A secret box of letters.” I glared at him as I let my tongue trail over my lip while he watched me through a heated stare.
His head lowered to brush against mine softly, pushing his ear against my mouth as he peered beneath my bed. My lips touched his ear, and the hair tickled my nose.
“I fucking hate you,” I whispered, barely audible, and yet he caught it.
“Good,” he uttered, moving off of me to retrieve the box. He opened it, and I watched as he pulled out a note. I struggled to my feet, staring at the letter he held.
Aria, my sweetest, prickly twin, you are officially given. I know you came to find me, and I know right now you’re confused and hurt by what they will tell you. Don’t believe them; there’s so much more happening, and soon you will know it all intimately. He will come to collect you soon. I wish there was another way, but I couldn’t find it in time to save you. I know you want me to be happy, and are willing to do whatever it takes to make it so. Forgive me, there was no other way. ~A
“What the hell does that even mean?” I took the letter I’d read from over his shoulder, rereading it before it caught fire. “Son of a bitch,” I snapped, sucking my finger where the flesh had been seared.
“You are given, huh?” he asked, hiking a dark brow while watching my finger where it sat between my lips.
“You don’t know she wrote that.”
“Did she?” he asked, and I nodded, hating the weight that sat on my chest with the idea that she would sign me over to anyone. “Who is he?”
“I don’t know. I have no idea.” I sat on the bed, pulling my knees up to my chest while my heart ached with the betrayal only Amara could deliver. My shoulders slumped, and I dropped my head into my hands.
“Don’t worry, I won’t let them get you.” He knelt down with his arms resting on his knees as a wolfish grin covered his sinful mouth. “If anyone gets to break your pretty little neck, it’s me.”
“You say the sweetest shit to me, jerk.” I frowned, exhaling deeply as I tried to make sense of my sister’s letter, not bothering to lift my head to look at him. “Someone could have placed it for us to find.”
“I don’t imagine they’d have added prickly, which only someone close to you would say. I think Amara made the same deal with Jasper’s mother, Kianna, made, but instead of bringing children to the Nine Realms to murder, your sister chose you.”
“Way to sugarcoat it.” I lifted my glare, exhaling through the tightening in my throat. That’s exactly where my mind had gone too. The question was, did she realize that some creatures in the Nine Realms wanted us dead, or to impregnate us to gain entry into this realm? If she was aware of that, then why me? Why offer me to them? I hadn’t been that difficult to live with.
“Get your shit, ward the house, and let’s go. I can’t protect you if you’re being reckless here alone.”
I hated that he was right, that if someone was really after me, I couldn’t be alone. It was reckless. It also meant I had a target on me, more than the one Knox had painted. I stood, turning to the closet and frowned.
“The creature in the woods, maybe it was him? He said my name, and that he’d come for me.”
“The creature in the wood was a woodland fae, and he can’t come after you, I ripped his fucking throat out the moment I knew he wasn’t in on anything with your sister. He heard you say your name and thought to scare you. His death sent a message to the others that you’re off-limits.”
“How the hell am I going to live out my dream of being fucked by fairy cock now?” I scoffed, smirking at the narrowing of his eyes. He didn’t find it funny; oh well, I did.
“A woman like you, she needs someone who isn’t afraid to push her fucking buttons. One who can handle that mouth of yours and give it back to you. You need someone who isn’t afraid to hurt you, because, Aria, you fucking enjoy being manhandled, and it gets you fucking wet when I do it.”
Lowering my stare, I wanted to ignore his words, but honestly, I responded to the way he grabbed me. The way he’d thrown me down on the floor, holding my throat. I hated that he was right; it had actually turned me on. Not the painful hold, but just hard enough that he took control, if even for a moment. I was officially fucked up.
“Pass,” I muttered at my own thoughts.
“Didn’t offer.” His stare was dark as he watched me, smiling while I imagined us doing nasty things together. I was going to need brain bleach to rid the dirty images from my head. “You’re the one who imagined it being me. Don’t get me confused with someone who wants you; I don’t. You’re messy from the inside out. It’s why you clean rooms the way you do. Not because you have OCD, but because inside, you are nothing but a mess, so you fix the messes you can since you can’t reach the one you really want to be cleaned.”
“You got me all figured out, don’t you?”
“No, not even close.” He exited the room, not waiting for me to pack. Downstairs, men stood with my sisters, watching as we made our way to them.
“Problem?” Knox asked.
“You could say that,” Brander snorted. “There was an alpha just discovered on the altar outside. Fresh, dead within the last half an hour,” he explained, staring at me.
“Don’t look at me. I was in the bedroom getting thrown around by your brother. Ask him.” I waited for Knox to agree, and when he didn’t, I looked at him.
“You need to come back to the other house for now,” Kinvara muttered. “We can’t lose you too. It’s not safe here without the house being blessed and active to protect us.”
“I’m uncertain we lost Amara,” I admitted begrudgingly. “I think she may have left on her own. She left me a note in the message box we used as children to hide messages we didn’t want anyone to find, it was spelled to keep you guys from finding it. The note said she was sorry, but that I was given, whatever that means. I think she made a deal with the man she was with in the Nine Realms, and I think she bartered me instead of herself.” I told them of what the rest of the note said and watched their eyes fill with pity as I finished.
“You’re certain she wrote it?” Aine questioned, her lip sucked between her teeth with anger at hearing what Amara had written.
“She called me her prickly sister.” I watched as Sabine covered her mouth to stifle the volley of cuss words she wished to unleash, but held back for me.
“Oh, Aria,” she said, stepping toward me only to pause as Knox started to issue orders.
“Take the witches to the house, and don’t let them out of your sight, Brander. I don’t care if you have to tape them to the fucking wall, they don’t leave. The alphas will want answers, and they’ll be demanding them from the witches.”
“We didn’t do it. I was with you,” I stated, lifting a brow at him.
“Now, Brander,” he said, ignoring me altogether. “Regina, with me, lovely.” At his endearment, she lit up, smiling as she pushed past me to get to his side.
I stared after them until Brander grabbed my arm, pulling my body against his, sending a shock wave up my spine. He smirked, lowering his mouth to my ear. “Come on, little witch. You’ve been dismissed.”