by G N Wright
Revenge of a Queen
Black Hallows Book Two
G.N. Wright
Copyright © 2021 G.N. Wright
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording or other electronic or mechanical methods, without prior written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotation embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.
This is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the authors imagination or have been used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons and things living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental.
COVER DESIGN: Outlined with Love Designs
EDITOR: Samantha Bee & J Wheeler
PUBLISHER: G.N. Wright via Amazon KDP
This is dedicated to every person who took a chance on my first book baby. Thank you for taking the leap with me you bunch of Rockstar’s.
Revenge is the raging fire that consumes the arsonist.
Max Lucado
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Epigraph
TRIGGER WARNING
Prologue
Present
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
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
TO BE CONTINUED...
Acknowledgement
COMING SOON...
TRIGGER WARNING
This is a full-length romance that is the second book of a dark romance series. It contains references to sexual assault, violence and other themes that some readers may find triggering.
Prologue
Two and half years ago
All I feel is pain and all I see is blood. Fuck, it’s like the night that shall not be named all over again. At least at the end of this, I will have a whole new reason for living, but fuck it hurts. Why does no one tell you that? I mean they do but, fuck them, they aren’t trying to force a fucking melon out of their vaginas right now! I should not be doing this. I try to concentrate on my family's words, but the pain just seems too much.
“You have to push, little rose,” Helen’s smooth, motherly voice hits my ear as she strokes my head with a cold compress. Such an angel.
“You've got this, Ells Bells,” Asher says from my other side while squeezing my hand.
I look down and see Arthur talking with the head of the OB-GYN Department, yes, the Chair because he and Helen would only allow the best for me. God, I love them, I hope they know that. He looks worried and is nodding rapidly at whatever the other doctor is saying to him. He looks at me and gives me a small smile. I know whatever they’re saying isn’t good, I don’t have time to think about it before I scream out in pain. Both Arthur and the other doctor rush towards me, their panic-stricken faces are the last thing I remember before darkness descends.
I feel groggy and my throat is coarse and dry. I try to move but my body feels weird, lifeless almost. No not lifeless, more like weighed down, fuck, am I tied up? I start to panic but when I open my eyes I am greeted with the most beautiful sight in the entire world.
My best friend sitting in a chair, his shirt open, cradling our new-born daughter to his bare chest. He must hear me try to move because his gaze snaps up and meets mine. He smiles in pure relief when he sees my eyes open and locked on them. That look in his eye, the one that I’ve become accustomed to seeing since that awful night is nowhere to be seen. For the first time in months, he looks happy, hopeful, determined. It looks good on him.
“You gave us quite the scare, Hells Bells,” he sighs, looking back down at our daughter.
I start to ask him what happened, but the nickname throws me off, “Hells Bells?” I question him in a drowsy tone, wondering if I misheard him.
He laughs, “Yeah you know like Ells Bells, but now it includes the hell you give me,” he winks as I laugh a little, taking in my surroundings. What the hell happened?
“What happened?” I question him.
“Bunch of shit,” he shrugs his shoulders like it’s nothing.
“There were some problems, so they had to rush you into surgery for an emergency c-section,” he says grimly. Ah, that explains why I feel slightly out of it and can’t move properly.
He stands and I panic but somehow, he has already mastered how to hold our daughter perfectly. He walks over to the bed and bends down so he can show her to me.
“Baby girl meet our daughter,” the pride in his voice is crystal clear. He no longer sounds like a fifteen-year-old boy, with the weight of the world on his shoulders and a mountain of regrets. No, he sounds like a man, a father, a hero, someone who is determined to make all of our enemies burn.
He passes her over to me, gently placing her in my arms and in an instant my whole life changes. I look down and see the most beautiful baby in the entire world. Long blonde lashes, fanning across her eyelids, a small button nose, and rosy lips puckered up like she is asking for a kiss. She has a dusting of blonde hair covering her head and a slight blush to her cheeks. She is absolutely perfect, and I know straight away that I will protect her with everything I have got and if that isn’t enough? Well, then I will get more, I will give her the world and take out anyone who gets in our way.
Asher joins me on the bed, and we sit there just staring at her for lord knows how long until the door opens. I look up and find Helen peeking round the door.
“Ready for some visitors, little rose?” she asks gently, and I smile.
“Of course, come in, come in,” I reply excitedly.
Helen comes into the room followed by Arthur and Zack, all of them not paying me any notice, as they all stare at the beautiful little bundle in my arms. Silence surrounds us as they take in my daughter and appreciate the light shining through the darkness that has brought us all together.
Arthur breaks it when he looks up at me and asks, “You okay, kiddo?”
“I don’t know, am I?” I toss back at him with a smile, desperate for his medical expertise.
He smiles knowingly, understanding my need to know everything but he just nods, “Of course you are, you smashed it.”
“Yeah, you did good, sis,” Zack adds, smiling down at me as he drops a kiss to my forehead. “She got a name yet?” he questions, and I falter. I hadn’t even thought about it.
I look at Asher and he just shrugs leaving it to me, I look down at the perfection in my arms until it comes to me.
<
br /> “Everybody meet Cassie Royton,” I say with glee and I hear Helen and Arthur gasp.
“You don’t have to do that, kiddo,” Arthur starts, sounding choked up but I cut him off.
“I know, but I want to. You guys mean the world to me and I would be lost without you,” I don’t think they can ever appreciate how much I needed them when we first met. They healed me in ways I didn’t think possible, showed me what true loving parents looked like. “And besides this is the safest thing for her, so I don’t wanna hear any more about it.” I am not letting the demons of that night ruin this special moment for any of us. Fuck them to the fiery pits of hell. This isn’t about them; this is all about the tiny perfect girl in my arms. “Now come and meet your granddaughter.”
They smile as tears gather in their eyes and even Zack’s look a little watery. Asher just smiles nodding in total agreement. I pass Cassie over to Helen so she can have her first cuddle with her new grandbaby, and we all sigh in content.
“Can I just say something?” Asher speaks up getting off the bed.
“You’re not gonna propose, are you? Because regardless of what happened today, she is too young for that,” Zack replies, the tease of a smile on his lips.
Asher scoffs as he mutters under his breath “Dick,” before saying louder, “You know it’s not like that between us.”
I shake my head with a smile, “Ignore him, Ash, go on.”
“Elle,” he starts, and I know from the use of my name that whatever he is about to say is going to be serious, he takes a deep breath before continuing, “I promise you now, they will not get away with what they did to you. I will make them pay. I will do whatever it takes before letting anything happen to you or our daughter. I know we don’t really get into stuff like this, but I want you to know, you are my best friend, my only friend really. I love you and our child, and I will protect you both with everything I’ve got, always.”
I swipe the tears from my eyes, unsure of what to say, so I just nod and respond, “Always.”
Present
He knows, Marcus knows.
Until recently, the only people who knew Cassie's true identity were in the room with me the day she was born. Lincoln found out on a whim, but I trusted him to keep her a secret. Keep us all protected. This is different.
Inside all I feel is panic, pain and more panic but outside I remain stoic, calm, completely collected. It’s something I have practiced with Zack over the last few years, one of the many things he has taught me. Keep your emotions off your face and out of the hands of your enemies. Panic is what gets you killed. Not that Marcus is my enemy, but at this moment, he definitely isn’t my friend either. He’s a new threat to me and my daughter’s safety. So, I shut it all out and concentrate on only the things I can control, Cassie.
My biggest secret, well my second biggest, is staring up at Marcus like he’s her favorite person in the entire world. Instead of the joy this moment should bring, all I feel is heartbreak. His, mine, ours.
I should have learnt by now how fast everything can change in this town. You think I would have become accustomed to that three years ago, when I was raped by someone, I thought I could trust, and escaped this town with a brother I didn’t even know existed.
I always knew coming back here, back to him, would be hard, but I never imagined it being like this. I thought his hatred of me would outlast anything else he could ever feel, but I was wrong. Things between us blurred so fast I could barely keep up, but one thing I knew for sure is that I was never going to be ready for this moment.
It’s strange that the panic I felt in the past is nothing compared to now. Back then, I had nothing to lose, they had already taken everything from me, so leaving for the unknown did nothing. Now though? Now, I have everything. Everything and more, all packaged in that tiny human with the perfect rosy lips, sparkling blue eyes and light blonde hair.
I could see it coming before it even happened. Marcus was so angry over what he thought he was seeing with Zack that he didn’t hear the door fly open, but I did. I felt my entire body flinch when she called out to me, I could see Marcus looking around to see who she was talking to.
He never would have imagined this scenario when he wondered where I had been for the last few years. I’m sure he has conjured up plenty of stories, but this wouldn’t have been one of them. He had no idea that while he was mourning his father and building his new life, I was birthing my best friend. She knows him but he doesn’t know her. She loves him but he will never love her, not when he finds out who her father is, no matter which one he finds out about. I can see the shock, confusion and anger written all over his face. I wish there were something I could do to change things, but I can’t.
He stands frozen as Cassie puts her arms around his legs and looks up to him. She’s usually a very wary kid, knows not to speak to strangers and only interacts with people close to us, but Marcus is an exception. Yes, they are strangers to each other, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t know him. I have been telling her stories of us ever since she was born. I didn’t know how to be a parent at fifteen, so when she would cry at bedtime and refuse sleep, all I could think to do was talk. I would tell her endless stories about Marcus and I as kids, as she got bigger and started to understand I would show her pictures. She became obsessed, and the older she got, the more she loved the tales I would tell of the King and her River.
I have no clue what is going to happen next, but I know one thing for sure, I can’t do this alone and neither can he. I pull out my phone and dial, Lincoln answers on the second ring.
“King,” his sharp no nonsense tone hits my ear.
“I need you at the house, he knows,” is all I say before ending the call and shoving my phone back in my pocket.
Marcus is still glaring between Cassie and I in shock, a thousand unanswered questions no doubt screaming at me inside his head, so I do the inevitable.
“You should come inside,” I say simply, stepping towards him. I tug on Cass’s hand and pull her to me. She turns and jumps up into my arms, snuggling into my neck. I breathe in her scent and it gives me the strength to deal with whatever is going to happen next. I turn and start towards the house not bothering to check whether Marcus is following or not.
“I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” Helen says to me and I shake my head immediately.
“Don’t be,” I reply, I know what a little fireball my daughter is and how unstoppable she can be. She takes after me in that way.
I push the door open and head straight to the living room and everyone follows. It’s clear that apart from Cassie, everyone is as on edge as I am. Thank god for children and their resilience and naivety. I sit on the sofa and pull her close on my knee as she rattles off all the things she saw on the drive home.
I watch as Zack comes into the room, offering me a grim smile in what I am sure he hopes offers comfort, but I am too far gone for that now. I feel so out of control of things, that I don’t know how to get it back.
Arthur and Helen follow and they both look worried, but I offer them what I hope is my own reassuring smile as we wait. He takes so long that I almost think he’s left, but eventually, Marcus makes his way into the room. His eyes are everywhere but on me as he takes in my home. I see his distaste from here, it’s perfectly clear how he feels about wealth since he lost his. Not that he is low on the food chain by any means, but it’s more what he feels this type of wealth represents. If only he knew the pure hearts in this room and what their wealth did for me.
He stands awkwardly in the entrance of the room, like he doesn’t know if he is ever going to take another step. When his eyes finally hit mine, I feel it, that connection of ours, like a rope binding us together and for a fraction of a second I think everything might be okay. Then, his eyes turn cold, that bond between us no longer strong enough to hold us together. How did we get like this? Just last night I fell asleep next to him and woke up in his arms. Feeling safer than I have in years. My head was shouting at me no
t to let him in, but my heart didn’t listen. I was too shellshocked from the orgasm he gave me. Add that to the fact that his touch doesn’t turn my blood to ice like most people’s does. Instead, it starts a fire I wish I could pour an accelerant on. I know I can never do that again, I let my guard down with him, and look at what happened. He now has my biggest secret in his hands and pure hatred for me in his heart.
“Wanna sit down?” I finally manage to find my voice as I gesture to the empty sofa across from me, as Cassie continues on with her stories. Marcus looks unsure but eventually moves at a slow pace taking the seat I offered. It’s like everyone in the room relaxes just a little, but I know it won’t last long. Things have changed, and we will never be the same again.
Chapter 1
MARCUS
She knows me.
That's the only thought that is swirling around in my mind. Not the fact that Elle somehow has a daughter or that somewhere that daughter has a father. A father who has had my Ells and given her everything I promised I would. No, I refuse to think about either of those things. The only thing I can concentrate on is that this little girl knows me, and Elle kept it from me.
Elle King has a brother.
Elle King has a daughter.
Elle King is a liar.
I don't know how long it's been, but I know I haven't spoken, not one word. It's like I am mute and don't know a single word of the fucking dictionary.
Last night, I had Elle curled up in my arms, and I was happier than I have felt in years. Now, I feel like a bomb has dropped on my world, ensuring the casualties will never be the same. Elle invited me inside after my mind exploded. I had no choice but to follow her. My heart is beating so hard against my chest I feel like it might just rip right through my rib cage, no matter how deep of a breath I take, my lungs are screaming for air.
