by T. L Hodel
By T.L Hodel
Copyright 2020 T.L Hodel
FIRST EDITION
All rights reserved.
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual events, locales, or persons living or dead, are coincidental.
Author warning: This book is a dark romance and contains violence, profanity, references to abuse, non consensual and dubious consensual sexual scenes. If you are sensitive to such material this might not be the book for you.
Contents
Playlist
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Epilogue
Contact
Playlist
“Carry On My Wayward Son” By Kanas
“Secrets” By One Republic
“Chills” By Mickey Valen
“Nevermind” By Dennis Lloyd
“Blow” By Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars, Chris Stapleton
“Venom” By Eminem
“Enter Sandman” By Metallica
“Irresistible” By Fallout Boy ft, Demi Lovato
“Natural” Imagine Dragons
“My Way” By Limp Bizkit
“Lie” By NF
“Teeth” By 5 Seconds Of Summer
“Girl” By Maren Morris
“Fall In Line” By Christina Aguilera, Demi Lovato
“Sober” By Pink
“U + UR Hand” Pink
“Bad Things” By Machine Gun Kelly, Camila Cabello
“Sit Still, Look Pretty” By Daya
“You Don’t Own Me” By Grace ft, G-easy
“Boadicea (fire and ice)” By Enya
“I Hate Myself For Loving You” By Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
For Harley
Prologue
Micha
10 Years ago:
Why were we here?
I sneered at the kids running around the playground equipment. My little brother was one of those squealing brats. This was a good time for Mase, whereas I didn’t play well with others. I thought our mother learned that after my last playdate. She said I overreacted, that Brandon didn’t mean to hurt Mase. My father got it. When Brandon’s parents showed up complaining about their son’s broken arm, he told them to keep a closer eye on their kid, before he slammed the door in their face.
I eyed my father and the other four men who sat across the picnic table. How many times did he tell me that the Order had to remain nothing more than whispers in the dark? Secrecy was important. So, why were the men who ran the Order sitting at a picnic table with an eight-year-old kid, looking like they were ready for a business meeting? Not exactly inconspicuous if you asked me. Especially with the armed guards surrounding us.
The Kings didn’t get along. Unless it was Order business, they didn’t get together. Not to mention that there were better places than the park. I was reminded of the Order’s oath every time they argued – an oath they seemed to forget.
The Ravens stand strong,
Through credence and time,
My brother is my bond,
His family is mine.
I looked over at Dr. Creswell, wondering if he was why we were here? His son, Silas, was being initiated tonight with Mase. Next to him was his brother, Sebastian. His son, Finn, was only two, but the kid was stupidly smart – he literally remembered everything. Preston, Ava, and Parker’s father, Dean Whitley, sat on the other side of the table. Beside my father, looking as bored as I was, sat Ryker Hudson. He was my best friend Logan’s father, and the cause of tension between the Kings.
“Dad, Dad, look at me!” Mase yelled waving his hands through the air while jumping up and down on the slide. “Watch how fast I can go!”
Should I tell him to stop? Could we leave if he fell?
Waving my little brother off, my father murmured, “That’s great, Mase.”
Taking a trip down the slide wasn’t something our father considered worthy of his attention. My gaze narrowed on him. Why was he humoring Mase?
“Why are we here?”
My father’s brow rose. “Is there something wrong with a father wanting to spend time with his boys?”
Yes! He didn’t play catch with us, and we certainly didn’t do trips to the park. Such activities were trivial, and trivial was for the mundane and unimportant.
“Alright, should we build a sandcastle first?” I said, calling his bluff. “Or do you want to push me on the swings?”
He sighed and waved his hand through the air. “The park wasn’t my first choice, but it will keep your brother occupied.”
“Could’ve left him with Mom?”
“Your mother’s behavior lately is. . . distressing.”
I’d seen her cry a couple of times, but that’s just what girls did. Pull on their hair once, and they went running off to cry to the first adult they saw. Pfft! Cry babies.
“You should’ve let me bring my boy,” Ryker interrupted.
“Your boy’s not ready,” my father argued.
“And yours is?”
“Yes.”
“Logan’s the same age-”
“Enough!” Dean Whitley pipped in. “My boy’s older than both of yours, and you don’t hear me complaining.”
Ryker’s green eyes narrowed in on Dean. “My boy’s –”
“Not the future leader,” Dr. Creswell calmly pointed out.
I watched them bicker and groaned, “If you guys are going to be a while, let me know. I’ll find something else to do.”
There was a kid laughing on the monkey bars … I could push him off.
“Your boy’s impatient,” Ryker said. “Not a good quality for a leader to have.”
I wasn’t afraid of him, unlike the other kids who called Ryker ‘the boogieman’. Logan started climbing through my bedroom window in the middle of the night. He wouldn’t talk about it, but I saw the bruises.
“Tell me, Ryker, does your wife know where you were last night?” I smiled when his face lit up with anger. That’s right, I saw you sneaking out of my mother’s room. “It’d be a shame if she found out …” And by she, I meant my father.<
br />
“Watch your tone, Micha!” my father scolded and slapped his hands on the table. “Ryker is a King, and you will respect him!”
My hands balled into fists. My father was just doing what he was supposed to do. No one disrespected a King. Ryker’s smile still pissed me off, though.
“Now, if we could get back to what brought us here.” My father took a minute to straighten up and regain his composure. “Tell me, son, what did you think of last night?”
Tearing my gaze off Ryker, I shrugged and said, “It was okay.”
“Did you feel sorry for that girl?”
She crossed the wrong people and paid the price. Nothing I hadn’t seen before. The only difference was, that they made me watch. I’d never forget the moment she sank to her knees, eyes still burning with hatred, and her fists balled.
“Why should I feel sorry for her?”
“Do you think you should feel sorry for her?”
I hated it when he did that shrink stuff. Answering a question with a question.
“Just tell me what you want me to do.”
Ryker snorted. “Your boy’s got an attitude problem.”
“I can handle my son,” my father growled.
Ryker shrugged in response.
Turning his attention back to me, my father sighed. “Alright, Micha, one day you’ll be the king of Kings.”
I rolled my eyes. Tell me something I don’t know.
“And every king needs a queen,” he said sliding a black binder across the table.
I opened it up, forehead crinkling at the pictures of girls. They were all around my age, playing in a white room. I knew the room well. It was the same place our initiations took place. Being the eldest Kessler and next in line for the throne, I had to attend every initiation. I was only four at Preston’s.
Looking up at my father, I asked, “Did they do something?”
“No,” he stated flatly. “I want you to pick one.”
“For what?”
“To keep.”
My lip curled. “Why would I want to keep one? What am I going to do with a girl?”
Ryker chuckled. “Trust me, boy, there’s plenty you can do with a girl.”
I knew what men did with women. I just didn’t understand it. My father said I would when I was older, but I couldn’t see that happening. The only girl I spent time with was Ava, and I’d rather punch her than kiss her.
“Will she be like the girls at Malum?”
My father shook his head. “The girls at Malum are for everyone to use. This one you’ll marry. She’ll bear your children and do whatever else you’d like. If you chose to share her, that’s your prerogative. But she’ll belong to you and you alone. Do you understand?”
I didn’t, but I nodded anyway. Was owning a person like having a pet?
“What if she doesn’t listen?”
“Well, son,” a slow smile spread across his face, “then you make her.”
I liked making people do things. Billy Johnson wouldn’t get off the swing so Mase could have a turn. . . now he didn’t go on the swings at all. Returning my attention to the pictures, I scanned through the images. A blonde in a pink party dress. A girl building a block house, and another coloring. Page after page of smiles and happiness, just like this stupid park.
“Whatcha looking at?” Mason asked, peering over my shoulder.
I sighed. “Go back to the park, Mase.”
“Will you come with me?” he pleaded, hope shining in his green eyes.
I scanned his jeans and red shirt, crinkling my nose at the dirt and grass covering it. “No.”
“Come on.” Mase frowned. “Look, we can kick over that guy’s sandcastle, and then build our own.”
The kid in the sandbox had his tongue out, completely focused on what he was doing. Bet he’d cry if I destroyed it.
“Go away,” I grumbled, angry that I was stuck looking at stupid girls. “I’m busy.”
“Doing what?”
“Your brother’s looking for his future bride,” my father answered.
“Why? Girls are gross.”
My father snickered. “You won’t always feel that way.”
I ignored them and continued flipping through the binder, uninterested.
“Wait,” Mase pressed his grubby finger on a picture of a red-haired girl, “I like her freckles. Can I have that one?”
This girl was too small and thin. Why would Mase want her?
“If you want.” My father nodded. “But you don’t have to choose now.”
I closed the book. “Do I?”
“No. Ryker didn’t pick Paisley until later, but her family wasn’t cooperative and there were a few casualties. Paisley didn’t take it well.”
“She’s fine now,” Ryker argued.
“But at what cost?” My father let out a puff of air and waved his hand over the binder. “These girls won’t be a problem.”
I was getting ready to reopen the binder when a small voice interrupted me.
“S’cuse me…”
Annoyed, I turned around, glaring at the girl in a yellow dress. She was small with pale skin and black hair.
“I lost my puppy, he’s this big.” Her hands motioned a size far too small for any dog. “His ear goes like this,” she said, cupping a hand on the top of her head, “and he has a tail.”
A dog with a tail and ears. Idiot! I watched her pigtails sway in the breeze and smirked at the worry that shone in her deep blue eyes. Maybe this day wouldn’t be so bad after all.
Mason jumped up before I could say anything. “I can help look. If we find him, will you help me build a sandcastle? But we have to wreck his first,” he added, pointing at the sandbox.
“Why do we haveta do that? We sit side him and make a bigger one.”
I snorted. She couldn’t even talk properly. What was she, five?
“Huh.” Mase looked up, confused why that thought never occurred to him. And it shouldn’t have. Why should he share the sandbox with anybody? If he wanted it, then he should take it!
“Okay!” Mase agreed and grabbed the girl’s hand. “Let’s find your dog.”
My arm shot out stopping them. “I don’t think you should.” I wasn’t going to let some girl make my brother soft.
The girl’s head cocked to the side. “How come?”
“He’s probably dead.”
Shock pulled at her features. “Nuh uh, he runned away. That’s all.”
“Nope.” I shook my head. “He’s dead.”
Mase’s eyes popped open. “Do you really think he’s dead?”
I shrugged.
“Cool,” he exclaimed and ran off. “I’m gonna see if I can find the body.”
Based on her expression, my brother just added fuel to the fire.
Her face twisted in anger. “You’re not very nice.”
“Why should I be nice? You’re the one who came up to me, looking for your dead dog.”
“He’s not dead!” she shrieked, stomping her foot.
“No one cares about your dog.” Ryker sighed, waving his hand dismissively. “Now run along before you annoy me.”
Most kids shied away from Ryker, but not this girl. She huffed, straightened her back, and stared him right in the eyes. “My daddy says that I don’t have to listen to you.” Her gaze swept over the Kings as she added, “That you’re bad men.”
Ryker’s brow wasn’t the only one that rose.
My father leaned forward, his elbows braced on the table. “What’s your name child?”
“Riley Marie Adams,” she stated proudly.
The Kings exchanged a sideways glance, but it was Ryker who spoke. “Your daddy’s the deputy sheriff, isn’t he?”
She nodded sharply. “Yes, he is.”
The Kings had had some problems with the new deputy sheriff. He wouldn’t get inline, as my father called it, and kept poking his nose in places it didn’t belong. They’d discussed what to do with him during last night’s lesson.
/> Dr. Creswell leaned in closer to my father. “How did we not know about this?” he asked, nodding at the girl.
“It seems our new deputy is very astute,” he answered, eyes stuck on Riley. “I didn’t expect him to be hiding a family.”
Dean’s brow rose. “He’s not stupid. Family is a weakness.”
“One we can exploit.” Ryker tilted his head and smirked. “Do you like games, little one?”
Riley eyed him for a second, unsure, but then slowly nodded.
“What are you doing?” Sebastian whispered.
“What none of you have the balls to do,” Ryker murmured, keeping his focus on the girl watching us. “Would you like to play a game with me, little one?”
Before she could respond, a woman with black hair ran up.
“Riley!” she called out, crouching down and grabbing her shoulders. “Ay dios mio! Don’t run off like that!”
“But Mommy!” Riley whined. “I was looking for Charlie.”
“I don’t care! You don’t run away like that!” The woman stood and turned our way. “I’m sorry if she bothered you.”
“No bother,” Ryker said, his green eyes glimmering.
My gaze locked on Riley, who was standing there with a scowl on her face. When she looked back at me, I mouthed, ‘He’s dead.’
“He’s not! You butthead!” she spat out confidently.
“Riley!” her mother gasped, shocked. “What did I tell you about calling people names?”
