Unstable by Lacey Carter Andersen
4
Cole
I rubmy arm where the Blood Mage’s dark circle still sits visible, blemishing my skin. Apparently, black lines would slowly start to leak from the spot, and if we didn’t return with the relic in time, the black lines would cover our bodies and we’d die. Fucking Blood Mage.
And they hadn’t even told us an exact time, just that we had less than a week. Which is just so helpful.
It’s not that I thought my little plan would work. That the demon king would just release us, and I’d go right back to Maxen and deliver his bride. Then, maybe, just maybe, ask to be free from my position. I’d tell him I just wanted some land tucked into a corner and some peace. I wouldn’t tell him that my request was because I wanted to be free of him.
That asshole would never let me go. Hell, he might even see me as a threat and want to keep me closer just because of my request.
At least he doesn’t know I’m his half-brother. I saw the way he treated Emory. As much as I always thought I wanted at least Emory to know the truth, now I’m glad he didn’t know. I have a feeling he would have turned me in the second he could have.
“So, are you actually going to help us or still turn us into your master?” Kiera’s words slice through my thoughts, and I turn my gaze on her.
I’m back in the cell with her, although no longer in chains. A demon guard hovers just beyond our door, no doubt making certain that the berserker female is safe. Which, in itself, is odd. Maxen has never given a shit if any of his prisoners were safe.
“As much as it might surprise you, my loyalty has limits.” I glance pointedly at the black circle on her arm. “And that limit is when it’ll cost me my own life.”
She cocks a brow in a way that gets my blood stirring. “So, we’ll be working together to retrieve the relic?”
Yeah, right.I’d work with them if it got us the relic faster, and earned us our freedom from this curse by the Blood Mages. But if I could get it faster on my own, no great pair of tits is going to stop me from selling them all down the river and doing what I have to do.
“Sure.”
Those incredible blue eyes of her sharpen into a glare. “I don’t like you, Cole.”
“The feeling’s mutual, Queen Wolff.”
Her eyes widen. “Don’t call me that, dick!”
“Dick?” I smirk. “I’ve been called worse.”
“Have you? Crotch Turd?”
I feel my jaw drop open. “Did you just call me a crotch turd?”
Triumph shines in her eyes. “What? Don’t like your new nickname, Crotch Turd?”
A growl rolls through my chest. “It’s not my favorite.”
“Oh, really?” Her expression turns to an innocent one. “Because I think Crotch Turd suits you perfectly.”
I rise to my feet, towering above her. “You might want to be careful, berserker. The king might want his queen back, but he won’t care if you’re a little bruised up.”
She rises slowly to her feet, but she’s still more than a head shorter than me. “Try it, Crotch Turd.”
My hands curl into fists. I’ve never hit a woman before. I’ve never even wanted to. But this woman is getting under my skin already, and it sounds like we’re going to be stuck together for a while. I need her to listen to me, just the same way I need my troops to listen to me. But how can I earn her respect if I’m not willing to hurt her?
An idea hits me. I close the space between us and see the smallest flicker of doubt in her eyes before she glares at me once more.
“Listen, Queen Wolff. We have to work together, and as much as you might hate it, I know Maxen’s defenses better than anyone. I’m going to be leading this little mission of ours, and you and the others are just going to have to fall in line.”
She shifts even closer, so fucking arrogant. “I don’t think a single one of us is going to listen to you, Crotch Turd, so better get that stupid notion out of your head right now.”
Something inside of me snaps, and I throw her over my shoulder in one quick move.
She gasps.
“Go ahead and scream out,” I challenge her. “Have the demons rescue you.”
Again, she surprises me by remaining silent.
“Now, since you won’t listen to reason, I think the only thing I can do is spank that pretty little ass of yours.”
“What the fuck?” she says, then starts to struggle.
I keep her firmly on my shoulder, letting her tire herself out. She smacks my back, yanks my hair, tries everything in her power, but I know what I’m doing. If I show weakness now, she’s going to try to walk all over me on our mission. And that’s going to get us all killed.
Maxen hadn’t made me the captain of his guard because I’d grown up with him. He’d done it because of my ability to assess a situation. My ability to lead his men. But Kiera isn’t a random troop who isn’t listening. I can’t make her dig trenches. I can’t whip her raw. All I can do is knock her down a few pegs.
Unfortunately, her struggles are having an unexpected reaction. My dick doesn’t seem to remember that this is a show of dominance and not something sexual. My gaze can’t seem to leave her firm ass as it bounces on my shoulder. And every inch of me seems to be aware that her breasts keep touching my back.
Damn it. Am I really so starved for attention that this is working for me? And where is my legendary control when I need it?
Finally, she stops struggling, panting so hard that my mind instantly goes to an image of her panting in my ear while I plow into her sweet pussy. My balls throb, and I long to adjust my cock so it isn’t pressing into the material of my pants quite so hard.
“You’ve made your point,” she finally manages. “Put me down.”
“Sorry, Queen Wolff, but I’m a man of my word.”
I lift a hand and skim it along her ass. She twists, and I know she’s waiting, watching the beating I plan to give her. Pulling my hand back, I move as if to smack her hard, then pull back at the last second and give her a soft pat. Then, feeling good, I drop her back onto her feet.
“Next time, don’t make me show you who is in charge.”
Her fist smashes into the side of my face, knocking my head to the side. I look back at her in shock. Her tiny hand is still curled in anger, and her eyes smolder with hatred.
“Don’t ever touch me against my will again, or it’ll be the last thing you ever do.”
I want to rub my stinging cheek, but I won’t give her the satisfaction. Instead, I close the space between us, infuriated beyond words. No one hurts me anymore. I’m no longer one of Maxen’s toys to torture in any way he sees fit. I’m a man. And this woman will learn that I have a limit.
But she doesn’t back down, instead her voice wavers. “You’re just like your boss, aren’t you? You’re both men who care more about their ego than anything else in the world. You’re both men who take what you want, regardless of who you hurt.”
Fuck, if I thought she was good at punching, her finesse with emotional pain is shocking. I actually prefer her fist to her words. “No, listen...” I’m trying to gentle my words. I want her to understand that I’m not like Maxen. I’m not cruel. I just do what I have to survive.
But before I can explain, even though I’m not even sure what I’ll say, keys are jangling in our cell door.
Some instinct makes me step in front of Kiera when the door opens and the handful of demons comes rushing at us. I fight, I don’t know why, and I’m sure she’s fighting too. But before long, a bag is tied over my head, and my wrists are bound behind my back.
I can taste my own blood. The ache of their fists echoes through my body. But for some reason, I don’t care. I just want to know they didn’t hurt the berserker woman. Pain, I understand. Pain, I can handle.
Through the bag, I hear one of them say, “Throw them in with the others. It’s time they prove their worth.”
We’re dragged out of the dungeons. All I can hope is that whatever comes next is better than what we’ve already been through.
