Pride, page 11
part #5 of The Damning Series
“There. That’s what crashed our car. They must’ve laid that down to stop our vehicles,” I explained, though I didn’t know why I bothered to point out the obvious. Anyone with eyes could see that.
“Are you okay?” Bash demanded, gripping my arms and spinning me to face him. His verdant green eyes frantically devoured my body from head to toe, checking me for injuries. Only when he seemed satisfied that I hadn’t been injured did he release me.
“I’m okay,” I assured all of my mates, spinning in a circle so I could meet each of their eyes individually. Axel stood slightly apart from our group, his gaze intent on the horizon. “And you guys?”
“We’re fine. Lupe’s fine as well, though he seems upset about the crash,” Jax murmured, then pulled his plush lower lip between his teeth. “But am I hallucinating again, or are there people coming at us with swords?”
“What—?”
I spun around at the same time my mates did to see figures slinking out of the woods on either side of the street, each one carrying a weapon. Swords. Knives. Javelins. Axes. Machetes. Their features were taut with anger and righteous indignation as they circled us.
Humans.
Oh…fuck.
“Let the girl go,” a tall, voluptuous woman with thick brown curls demanded, moving towards the front of the group.
It was apparent from the looks of reverence and worshipful awe directed her way that she was the leader. Her bronze skin suggested she spent a lot of time outdoors, and that was only reinforced by the sinewy muscles I could see peeking through the fabric of her tank top and shorts. She was beautiful in the way that most apex predators were, practically exuding a savage lethality. She had a face designed to lure unsuspecting prey in but an expression that made it clear she wouldn’t hesitate to kill if the need arose.
Normally, I would respect that, even admire it, but I didn’t appreciate the fact that her glare was directed at my mates.
Two humans took a step towards the cage holding Lupe, and my massive bear shifter of a mate stood on his hind legs and roared, swiping ineffectually at the air in front of him. The humans, despite being on the opposite side of the bars, stumbled backwards as if they’d been mortally wounded, twin expressions of fear on their faces.
The woman held up a hand, signifying for everyone to remain still, and focused on us once more.
“Let the woman go, and we’ll let you live.” Her amber eyes locked on mine, softening significantly. Deep grooves were etched into her face—around both of her eyes and the corners of her lips. “Sweetheart, are you okay? Did they hurt you?”
Oh…fuck.
Understanding slammed into me as if I’d just been kicked in the stomach by a damn horse.
They thought my mates had kidnapped me when that couldn’t be further from the truth.
I needed to de-escalate this situation, and fast…before this turned deadly. I had no doubt these humans would fight my mates if they deemed us as threats, and I also had no doubt that my mates would win. However, they would hate themselves if they hurt, let alone killed, a human trying to protect themselves.
“I’m okay!” I stepped away from my mates, ignoring their protests, and lifted both hands into the air. “I promise you that I’m okay. These are my mates—”
“Wait.” A red-faced, sweaty man rushed forward, his eyes comically wide in his face as he stared at me. “That’s…That’s the Liberator.” He grasped the brown-haired woman’s shoulder and gave it a shake. “Davia, that’s her.”
The woman’s—Davia’s—lips compressed in a grim line as she studied me from head to toe. It almost reminded me of the look Bash just gave me, but without any of the anxious energy he had. Her gaze was…assessing. Critical, even, as if she were seeking out my flaws and deciding if they outweighed my good traits.
A muscle ticked in her jaw, but otherwise, her face was impassive and unreadable.
“The Liberator,” she repeated dryly.
“Yes. That’s what they call me.” I nodded once, continuing to step closer despite my mates’ growls of warning behind me. “My name is Z—”
“We know your name, Liberator,” Davia interrupted.
Her gaze shifted towards my men, who hadn’t moved an inch during this entire interaction despite their obvious desire to. They trusted me to handle the situation and get us out of this mess in one piece. Sparks of love for them shot off through my body, crackling down my spine. I never had anyone care for and trust me as much as they did. It was a heady, disembodied sensation that rippled through my nerve endings like fireworks.
“And these are my mates,” I said, gesturing towards my men. I included Axel in the introduction as well, just because I didn’t know what to call him. My fiancé who wasn’t truly my fiancé? An assassin for the kings who actually worked for the resistance? “I’m sure you’ve heard of—”
“Yes. I’ve heard that the Liberator was mated to the seven princes.” Davia still sounded doubtful, but I didn’t know if that doubt was directed at my story or me personally. Did she not believe I was truly the so-called “Liberator”? Or did she simply not trust me?
Murmurs began to ripple through the crowd like a wave, and my name repeated over a dozen times before I zoned out the incessant chatter. Davia was obviously the leader, so she would be the one I addressed.
“We’re traveling to the Forest of Monsters and Beasts,” I explained stoutly, lifting my chin ever so slightly to show the woman I wouldn’t be cowed by her.
She froze. “Why in the world would you want to go there?” Shock bled into her tone, momentarily eclipsing the incredulity from a few minutes earlier.
“That’s none of your business,” I said simply.
And it was true. I felt no reason to lie about where we were going, especially if they intended to follow us and spy. However, I didn’t need to say anything about our exact location and mission. I didn’t even know if the Alphabet Resistance members were truly hidden in the mountains, but if they were, I wouldn’t put them in harm’s way by announcing their existence, even to other humans.
For the first time since I’d met her, a hint of a smile touched her face and her eyes glimmered like diamonds. “You’re just like they said, Liberator. Smart, witty, and too brave for your own good. You do realize that no one has ever returned from the Forest of Monsters and Beasts, correct?” Her voice dripped with twisted delight and perverse pleasure.
I matched her grin with a taunting one of my own. “And you do realize that no human has ever been mated to nightmare royalty before, correct? I suppose there’s a first time for everything.”
Bash coughed behind me to hide his laugh, and Ryland chuckled darkly. I could feel my other mates’ pride and amusement trickle down the bond connecting us.
Davia’s smile grew until it practically cleaved her face in two. The anger I had seen before had all but diminished. “It’s not far from here. Only a few minutes north.” She nodded towards the men and women surrounding us, their weapons still drawn and their expressions decidedly cautious. “We’ll escort you to the border.”
“Thank you, but we don’t—”
“This area is dominated by humans, Liberator,” Davia interrupted, though not unkindly. “It’s one of the only places in the entire world that outnumbers nightmares eighty to twenty. That isn’t to say we’re the ruling species or anything…” She forked her fingers through her dark brown hair. “But if a human were to see you guys? There’s no guaranteeing that they won’t attack your…mates on sight, especially if they recognize them as the princes.” She said “mates” as if it were a dirty word and she needed to immediately wash her mouth out with soap.
I tried not to bristle at her tone, but it was hard.
And at the same time…
I understood.
I would’ve behaved the exact same way if I hadn’t met and fallen in love with my guys. They proved to me time and time again that not all nightmares were inherently evil just like not all humans were born good. There were facets to every aspect of human nature, and the distinction between black and white had never been so blurred before.
“I understand.” I nodded once, recognizing that we wouldn’t have a say in this matter. I doubted Davia wanted to follow us to the border for our “protection,” but I didn’t dare call her out on it. She wouldn’t learn anything from spying on us—at least, nothing that would be useful.
Hopefully if we showed her trust, she’d extend us the same courtesy and realize we were all on the same side, fighting the same enemies.
“Perfect.” Her smile resembled that of a shark’s as she turned towards the red-faced man from earlier. “Earl, bring the car around, please. Tell Tracy where we’re heading.”
He nodded once before running off to do her bidding. My gaze followed his retreating form into the thicket of trees…before my entire body went rigid at the sight of a figure standing at the edge of the tree line.
A very, very familiar figure with dark brown hair curling around his ears, a modelesque face constructed out of sharp cheekbones and a clean-shaven jawline, and startling brown eyes flecked with rings of gold.
“S?” I whispered, taking an automatic step towards the man who had once been the love of my life…until I saw him ripped apart by shifters. Obviously, this man wasn’t S, but the resemblance between the two of them was uncanny, though this man’s hair was slightly longer.
Still, seeing my ex—even a lookalike of him—seared my chest and clawed at my heartstrings.
A cluster of humans moved in front of the man who looked like S, obscuring him from view, and when they finally stepped aside, he was gone.
Fifteen
Bash
“You okay?” I nudged Z inconspicuously as we exited the cars at the edge of an immense, dark forest.
Skeletal trees ripped apart the ground and clawed at the sky like sharpened talons, melding with the gray horizon. At first glance, there wasn’t anything particularly exciting about the forest, but the closer I looked into the inky blackness, the more I saw shapes take form. It was almost as if the sunlight couldn’t breach this section of the earth, as if nothing but darkness lived within the trees, and it had somehow transformed into living, writhing creatures.
Fuck my life.
“Yeah.” Z offered me a timid smile, one that didn’t reach her eyes. “I just… I thought I saw someone I knew.” She shook her head slowly as if to dismiss such an absurd thought, though I noticed there was still a minuscule crease between her brows I yearned to kiss away.
What the fuck?
Since when had I ever wanted to kiss goddamn worry crinkles? What was this girl doing to me?
Honestly, at this point, I should just cut off my balls and hand them to her to carry. Heaven only knew they didn’t belong to me anymore.
“Do you need me to…?” I honestly didn’t know how to finish that sentence. Did you need me to murder someone for you? Kiss away your worry crinkles? Give you a massage? Castrate myself? Hand you my balls on a silver fucking platter? The possibilities were endless.
She interlocked her fingers with mine and gave them a squeeze.
“I’m more worried about what to expect when we go in there.” She jerked her chin towards the ominous Forest of Monsters and Beasts, a place I had only ever read about in storybooks. Horror novels, to be exact. Even now, staring up at the darkened tree trunks, I couldn’t stop the trill of fear from skating down my spine. Yup. Didn’t like that. Not at all.
I said it once, and I would say it again—fuck my life.
Seriously.
Fuck it.
Icy terror swirled around in my chest like a typhoon.
“My father’s right.” Ryland quite literally stepped out of the shadows and manifested behind us, though his face still remained shrouded in shadows—no doubt to hide his scars from the curious humans milling around the border of the forest. “I should be able to provide us with a safe passageway through.”
“Should?” Z quirked an eyebrow as she studied the forest dubiously.
“Your faith in me astounds me,” Ryland responded dryly, and even though I couldn’t discern any of his features, I imagined his eyes would be rolling.
“You know I didn’t mean it like that.” Uncaring of the cold shadows slithering around him like angry, hissing snakes, Z reached forward to capture his hand.
It was almost eerie, the way her pale flesh disappeared into the darkness of his cold embrace. I couldn’t help but gape openly before I stopped being an idiot and shut my mouth.
“W-what are we going to do about Tall, Dark, and Furry?” Killian moved to join our group with Jax and Dair.
The latter had a contemplative expression on his pretty-boy face, while the former… The former was staring aimlessly in the distance, his lips pursed as if he were seeing something he didn’t particularly like. When I followed the direction of his gaze, I saw nothing but humans clustered together casting furtive glances our way. I gave them the finger when I caught them looking, and they hastily lowered their gazes.
“We can’t leave Lupe alone with the humans,” Z whispered adamantly.
“You don’t trust them?” Ryland inquired.
“I don’t trust anyone but you guys,” Z retorted without thought.
A warm, fuzzy feeling exploded in my chest and then expanded outwards, trickling down my arms and legs until I felt like a fucking firecracker—popping, sizzling, and burning.
Fuck her.
I didn’t know if I loved or hated the feelings she evoked within me.
Okay, that was a lie. I fucking loved the way she made me feel, as if my heart was too heavy to remain in my chest.
The tightness in my throat subsided at heartfelt words, even as outwardly, my expression remained indolent and cocky. A smirk tugged up my lips. What could I say? I was nothing if not a predictable fucker, and I didn’t get the nickname Bash-hole for being a saint.
“Awww. Does Z wuv her mates?” I mocked, using my best baby-talk voice.
Her eyes flared hotly a split second before she rammed her elbow into my stomach. “Shut up.”
“Make me.”
“I’ll give your lips something to occupy their time,” she bit out.
Lust lodged in my throat, hindering my witty retort, as I lazily dragged my gaze down her body.
Yes, I could definitely get behind that. It’d been too long since I had a taste of her sweet pussy and—
Killian, surprisingly, was the one who reached around Z and hit me along the back of the head. When I gaped at him, stunned, he shrugged sheepishly and scrubbed a hand down the back of his neck. Color entered his cheeks, turning them a vibrant red that clashed with his striking garnet hair.
“Your lust is through the roof, brother. It’s making my…” He trailed off with another shrug.
“It’s making your penis hard?” Z suggested, and his blush deepened, even as his eyes turned sharp.
What the fuck did I miss there?
“Don’t use the p-word,” he all but pleaded, and she threw her head back in laughter.
That laughter faded almost instantly, though, when another growl reverberated through the night air.
We all turned in the direction of Lupe’s cage, where he snarled at the humans nearby, his fur bristling along the length of his spine.
The jovial mood from only moments before turned somber as we stared at the man we all loved fiercely—albeit in different ways. He might have been Z’s mate, but he was our brother. It pained us to see him this way, lost to his sin.
Z’s jaw bobbed, and for the longest moment, she didn’t speak, simply watched.
After what felt like an eternity, she gritted out, “I don’t understand why he isn’t turning back. Why he doesn’t recognize me. I thought the mate bond…” She huffed out a resigned breath, her entire face seeming to droop. “I thought it would be enough.”
“Don’t doubt his love for you, Z,” Dair promised her gently, reaching forward to place a hand on her shoulder. “He’s just…lost. And it’s our job as his brothers—and your job as his mate—to bring him home.”
“That’s a beautiful sentiment, but in reality? It’s much harder to accomplish.” The muscles in her jaw bunched up before she shook her head. “One of us will have to stay behind with him.”
“Or I could stay behind with Growly Pants over there.” The masculine voice trickled towards our group a second before Axel joined us, grinning maniacally as he twirled that damn machete of his around and around like a baton.
Z shot him a glare. “Why should we trust you?”
“Have I ever given you any reason not to trust me?” he countered immediately, still grinning like the irritating asshole we all knew he was.
“Yes,” I said.
“Definitely,” Ryland agreed.
“You’re engaged to our mate,” Jax deadpanned. He blinked his eyes rapidly, finally seeming to come back to the present.
“Oh! That reminds me!” Axel practically bounced on the balls of his feet in excitement. “We need to get rings—”
Ryland disappeared in a cloud of onyx shadows. When he reappeared, it was directly in front of Axel’s face with his arm drawn back. Before the punch could land on Axel’s cheek, the crazy assassin moved to the side, using his own shadows to propel him behind Ryland.
“Okay, enough! Enough!” Z moved to stand between the two men, her hands darting out to touch both of their chests. Of course, in their shadow forms, she couldn’t actually touch them, but it was still effective in getting them to calm the fuck down.
Axel laughed giddily as he turned tangible. “That was fun. We should do it again sometime,” he said to Ryland, who immediately poofed back into existence and grabbed Z’s wrist, holding it delicately between both of his hands.
“Fuck you, Axel,” Ryland hissed.
“Z…” Axel waggled his eyebrows salaciously. “I think your mate is propositioning me.”
