A tear rolled down his cheek, fading into the darkness of his beard. "Lilly…" he muttered. "I just want my daughter back. Give her to me, and I'll leave forever."
"We both agreed to the terms. This is the outcome of war," Micah said. "The pact has been broken. Finally, we can find justice for what happened to my wife."
"In the process of finding your justice, you seem to have forgotten about my wife. What about her lie? Will you fight for her name, as well?" Aiden asked.
"She died for her sins and so will her daughter," Kahn grunted.
Lilly couldn't take it any longer. I could see her hands shaking against her chest. She had reached her breaking point.
Eyes on the prize, kiddo. You're almost there.
I should have known she'd rush the center. She moved faster than I could stop her.
"No!" she screamed and dove forward. All eyes turned on her, but my father took aim and shot. The bullet cracked and cut through the air, barreling toward her body.
For the second time in less than forty-eight hours, I leapt and nearly took another bullet. This time, it chipped the cartilage from my ear, whizzing inches away from her head. I wiped the blood that rolled down my cheek and howled.
Now, it was personal.
"Lilly, get down!" I growled. She ducked and rolled across the soil as Kahn found me in his sights.
"Oh, brother," he chuckled. "You should have never returned home."
"I should have killed you when I had the chance," I growled.
"Perhaps," he said. "But that opportunity has long since passed."
He charged and we met in a terrible fight. His fist cut across my jaw, stunning me for a moment. I stumbled back, but he wouldn't be a match against my strength. A swift uppercut to the gut sent him flying into the cabin, shattering the first few steps. Pouncing forward, I held his neck and choked him, looking him straight in the eyes. "You will die tonight."
But killing him wasn't in the cards for me. More thunder cracked above, and a blinding flash of lightning illuminated the center of the cabin. The foundation capsized and fell apart, crashing around us. I forced myself off of him, jumping to safety.
"Lilly, we must go. Now!"
An alarming amount of rain started to pour, shielding any path to safety. I looked around for Lilly, but the rain was too heavy to see through. The only person I could see was her father, and he had his weapon fixated on me.
My heart practically stopped when I thought about what I could lose in this fight. The cure. Lilly. Those two things were the only paths toward a new future, and her father was standing in my way.
"Don't do this," I warned. "The world is at stake and so is her heart."
"You," he muttered. "You took her."
I threw my hands up in defense and shook my head. The water poured against my face. I was sure I was facing my last moments. "I'm not the one you want," I said. "I saved her life."
"Do not lie to me," he scowled.
"I am not a man who lies," I said, stepping back.
"That's right," he said, nodding vehemently. "You're not a man at all."
I looked inside the barrel of his gun and felt the power of death shake me. I was certain he would kill me, but another round of pulverizing lightning deafened me. It hit the soil in front of us, knocking us both onto our asses. The ground shook, and the soil seemed to waver. The sound of rushing water hit my senses, and I felt someone grab my hand. It was Lilly.
"My dad," she said, out of breath and soaking wet. "We have to save him!"
I wanted to be the hero she needed me to be, but there was no time for saving anyone except for her. Her father would have to find a way out. The rain had created a flash flood, and it hit us faster than I could respond.
Clasping her tightly against my chest, I kept her out of harm's way as the mudslide took us further and further down. There was no sign of her father or my family. There was only the chaotic hand of nature, and it was currently whooping my ass.
Trees were uprooted. Large pieces of my cabin drifted around us. We were flung down the hill until we hit the bottom and slid. I hit a rock and swung my hand to grab hold. Using my last ounce of strength, I gritted my teeth and climbed to safety, only stopping when I knew I could collapse onto something sturdy and gasp for air.
For now, we were safe. But at any moment, they could find us again. We didn't have much time.
Straddling my soaking wet body, she coughed out a lung-full of water and leaned her head against my chest.
"Are you… are you okay?" I asked, body shielding her from the rain.
She nodded, but her attention was elsewhere. Most likely, she was thinking about her father. I didn't have the heart to tell her that he might be gone. That he had threatened my life. As I collected my breath, I looked at the forest I knew and saw the level of devastation that had occurred. It was staggering.
"He’ll be okay," I said.
"Maybe," she whispered. "Or maybe I’ve become an orphan."
"Don't talk like that. I’ll find him," I said.
I wouldn't lie to her like the others had before. It was a vow I couldn't break. Somehow, I would find him and explain what happened. Somehow.
Nearby, there was a small cave. The flood had washed away, and the remaining flow of water had started to slow down. The landscape still needed time to relax after what had just happened, so hiding away for a few hours seemed like the best option. I got her attention and pointed to the opening of rocks. "Shelter," I said.
She nodded and allowed me to carry her over. When we got to the cave, I set her down and warmed her with my body. Goosebumps lined her arms and neck, and her hair was a mess. Still, she looked utterly beautiful.
She quickly broke the silence. "Who was my father? Before all of this. I need to know," she said.
I exhaled and let her go. "I had a feeling you would ask me that."
"Are you going to act just like them?" she asked. "It seems like everyone lies to me, over and over again. You told me things would change. How can they change when I can't even win with you?"
She turned and caught my eyes. The pattern around her pupils was a mix of earthen brown and heather green. Her lips were as red as the wild raspberries of the forest. She was absolute beauty, encapsulated in a body. I loved her for her outward appearance, but it was her insistence that brought us together. It was also running a number on me.
I already had a deep understanding with Lilly, but I couldn't tell her how everything was connected. Not yet. It would have been too much for her to handle. I decided to tell her the truth about her dad and leave it at that.
"I only know what my father told me," I said. "For all I know, it could all be lies. He hasn't been honest with me, either."
"Tell me," she demanded with tears flooding her gorgeous eyes.
I took a deep breath and nodded. "From what I’ve gathered, he met your mother in college. They fell in love and had a baby, but they soon fell into financial difficulties," I said. "Your father got a decent paying government job. He moved you all closer to the city to make it easier on everyone. He was building that perfect life for you, but things changed."
"He was let go during the budget cuts," she said. "My father told me all about this. I think it was the start of his spiral."
"It wasn't a spiral. He was just doing what he could do to survive. When he was fired, your mother found a job at Onyx Labs, not too far from here. She and my father worked together," I said.
She sat, taking all of this in. "I need to know about the Great Divide. What pact did he and your father have together?"
I put it to her bluntly, though I didn't want to say it at all. "Your father was responsible for my mother's death."
Saying it aloud stung. I tried not to think about my mother and the accident because it was the chain reaction that set everything in motion. Once their cars smashed in the middle of that intersection, my life, my brother's life, even my father's life was over. And so was hers.
"There was a car a
ccident," I continued. "It wasn't his fault. It was my mother's. She was a heavy drinker. Although Micah would never accept that as truth, the toxicology reports confirmed the suspicion. Of course, we waited for her to pick us up for hours at the laboratory. She ran a light, and… Look, there's nothing else to say. She died and everything changed. My father forced us deep into the forest, as did yours. Rules were made between the two families to keep one another away. The rest is history."
"Why here?" she asked.
I shrugged and took her hand. "It’s as I've said before. The world would never accept us. The government would have kept us quarantined until our death if we didn't band together in some way. It was the only way."
I wiped a tear away from her cheek as she came to terms with everything. "I don't understand. What turned you into a…?"
She could hardly say it. Monster. I shook and looked away. "Don't make me relive that moment. Not now. Not here," I growled.
All my life, I’d planned out my revenge. I’d waited for the day I could feel death steal the lives of all my enemies. Killing Aiden and taking his daughter was the right type of vengeance to satisfy my thirst. But as she threw her arms around my neck and kissed me, I felt the anger slip away. I just wanted to be there for her. I never wanted anyone to hurt like I had ever again.
"It's okay," she said. "We’ve been through a lot, but the world will get better."
I kissed her, tasting the sweetness of her lips and tongue. I brought her body on top of mine, and she leaned her chest against mine. She said, "Just promise me you won't leave me like our mothers did. I'll stay, but I need that assurance."
"I'll never leave you," I said.
Cross my heart. Hope to die. I would have done anything for the girl of my dreams.
She lay down and closed her eyes. Her mouth twisted open into a deep yawn. "I think I need to sleep," she said. "Will you wake me in the morning?"
I nodded. My mind was still racing. There would be no sleep for me. I would watch over her until it was time to leave.
This forest was our prison, and its thick canopy of leaves acted as a stranglehold over our lives. All that was finally starting to change. Tomorrow would be a new day. It would be the starting point of a real relationship. We would find her father and search for new grounds. A family would be made. It was the only way forward for humanity.
All night, I lay awake, staring at her incredible body. The need to kiss was strong. The urge to fuck was absolute.
Attraction was a dot on the web of time, a point that dragged one and one together. The desire to find a mate was always there, laying dormant like a virus. If we wanted it to spread, we needed to find safer ground, but I was finding that she needed something more. She required permission from her father. The idea of submitting to another's request made me sick, but she needed this from me.
Before my longings made me do something rash, I saw smoke in the distance, about a mile from the cave. Father.
Gently, I shook her awake and pointed to the sight. "We have to be careful now. Micah will be searching for us," I said.
She wiped her eyes and ran to the entrance of the cave. "Where will we run for safety?" she asked.
"Anywhere that takes us," I said. I grabbed her hand and pulled her back into my arms.
Her mother had talked about a sanctuary. It couldn't be nonsense. She was talking about something real and concrete. If we were going to find it, we'd have to travel to the place where it all happened.
I walked from the cave and observed the destruction of our home. It was completely uninhabitable, and the clouds above us alerted me that there might be more floods coming if we stayed in the area. Looking around for a safe path, I saw a thin opening and found my way forward. "Here we go. The plants are big enough to keep us concealed," I said. "If we keep quiet, we should stay out of trouble."
"My dad is a good man, you know," Lilly said.
Well, it looked like quiet was out of the question.
"Goodness won't stop a man from killing me," I said. "To most people, I would appear to be the subject of a deranged fairy tale, a monster to be caught and put on display. To others, I’m someone to eradicate completely."
"Not to me," she said. "I don't want either of those things to happen."
"You’re a rare gem. That’s why I love you," I said. I stopped and cleared my throat, angry that I’d slipped up so fast. "I mean—"
She climbed off of my chest and stared at me with an inquisitive smile. "You love me?"
There was no taking back my words. It was the truth, and I felt it changing my very being. "From the moment I saw your eyes, I loved you," I said. "You didn't care how I looked. You saw right through me."
Suddenly, a man's voice rose behind us. "And so did I."
Aiden. Her father. He had found us. More importantly, he had me right where he wanted me.
I stopped dead in my tracks and shielded her behind me. "Don't shoot. You could hurt her, too," I said.
He was covered in mud, and a small gash ran across his cheek. Other than that, he seemed okay.
"Lilly," he said. "Come over to me. It's time to end this charade."
She wasn't leaving me. Instead, she wrapped her arms around my leg tighter and defiantly faced her father. "Dad, everything’s okay. You need to put your gun down and let me explain."
"How can you be okay when you're still in that monster's hands?" he asked, stepping forward and keeping his aim fixed on my forehead.
"Because he’s shown me what it's like to love," she revealed.
Fuck. Bad answer. I knew her father wasn't going to like that response, and he wasted no time with firing a round right above my head. "What have you done to her, you disgusting sack of shit?"
I bit the inside of my cheek, trying my hardest to hold back the building anger inside of me. It wasn't his fault that my mother died, but he was still involved in the tragedy. If he wasn't on our side after the fight at the cabin, who would be?
Lilly stood in front of me, arms outstretched. She was trying to protect me, bless her heart. "He's not a monster. He’s the one I will spend my life with. You don't know him like I do," she said.
"I know enough," he snarled.
I brought her hands down and walked in front of her. "Then, know this," I said. "I was the monster who saved your daughter's life when she crossed the Great Divide and broke your beloved pact. I was the beast who took a beating to set her free when she was captured. I was the savage animal who would do anything to make sure she has a brighter future full of love, grace, and glory. Your daughter made the decision for herself. If we're going to live through this, we need to leave before my wretched family tries to kill us all."
I wasn't going to take anything for granted anymore. I was stepping through the flames and forcing my way into the unknown.
Lilly walked toward her dad, and he slowly lowered his weapon. She placed her hand on the rifle and took a deep breath. "Our life here is done," she said. "Both sides of the forest are uninhabitable. That was no one’s doing except nature. There are no lines to cross. We need to find shelter, Dad."
"Lilly, I—" He stopped short and seemed to turn inward. His jaw shook. "No. Your mother wouldn't want it."
She hugged her father. "She would, Dad. We deserve a better life."
He dropped the hunting rifle and wrapped his arms around her. Tears fell from his eyes. "Oh, Lilly," he wept. "Goddammit, I'm sorry for everything."
But as soon as he let go of her shoulders, he pushed her to the side and grabbed that rifle. Raising it up toward my head, he said, "But I can't let this relationship happen. I won't."
Lilly
We were survivors. The only ones who carried the torch of life. We were the last vestiges of humanity. Hope and strong-willed desire would not be abandoned, nor would it stay broken forever.
Our hearts were strong. Our will was pure. We would stand the test of time because we were built to last. At least, that was the lie I was told and chose to believe. Until now
.
My eyes adjusted to the darkness of our RV. My dad stood above me. "Lilly. It's time to get up and face the consequences," he said.
Everything had gone to shit. We used to be the hunters of the woods, but now we were the ones searching for safety. Dad moved our home to a secluded and heavily concealed area, but I knew they'd find us eventually. We had to keep moving, so why was he keeping us here?
I looked at him, and I could barely recognize his face. The look in his eyes was one of confusion and twisted thinking. The strength he’d taught me to display was gone. I saw a scared animal. Not quite a monster, but it didn't take much to turn someone into one.
He had seated Lucian on a chair. Tied him up like a prisoner. He was ready to beat him, to interrogate him about the choices I’d made for myself.
It wasn't Lucian's fault. It was mine. I was strong enough to bear the responsibility, and I wanted to stay with him.
"I can hardly look at you," I said to my dad.
He paced the home. "You are naive. His family are the enemy."
"They’re just like us," I shouted.
But he was quick and fierce with his response. "They’re nothing like us."
Lucian hung his head, breathing deep. He was patient and silent. The sad truth was that he’d been made used to this treatment. He told me people would react to him poorly. It made me see how right he was. And his courage made me love him more.
My father stopped and stroked his beard. "Your mother wouldn't have wanted this," he said.
I shook my head. "You keep saying that, but Mom was a good person. She would have sought peace."
I knew he was just going to lie to me, but I was so dumbstruck by his continuous denial of the truth that I didn't know what else to say. I opened my mouth but hesitated. It felt like there was no getting through to him.
Rushing to my defense, Lucian raised his head and growled, "Do not mislead her about her mother. It isn't right."
My father turned, and their eyes met. Fire against fire. I felt the anger resonate between them. "What have you done? There was an oath between families."
Temptation: A Dark Sci-Fi Romance (Alpha Unknown Book 3) Page 6
