body would be forever mutilated…because of what she did to me.
She was on the ground with her hands bound, Eric’s heavy boot resting on her back to keep her pinned. She tried to squirm free even though there was absolutely no chance of escape. She tried anyway, like an idiot.
Eric kicked her in the side.
She groaned then stilled, the air forced out of her lungs.
“Now, if you’ll be a good little bitch, I’ll free your wrist and take you to your beautiful suite.” Eric stared down at her, returning his boot to her back to keep her in place so she wouldn’t writhe anymore. “That sounds nice, huh?”
She breathed hard, furious and in pain.
I walked across the ground and slowly approached where the guards were gathered, looking at the woman who had killed our own, who had torched this place to ash and tried to burn us alive. They all stared down at her with ferocity in their gazes. They would probably kill her…if Fender hadn’t instructed them to torture her by keeping her alive instead.
I stopped near her head, looking down at her dark hair, her face turned away so she couldn’t see me.
The guards looked at me, as if they expected me to save her ass.
Eric cut the rope that bound her hands. “Ready to go, Your Highness?”
She was still for a second, just breathing on the ground, like she was afraid to rise and meet her fate.
I’d never seen her look so weak.
She finally placed her palms against the earth and pushed herself up, wearing the camp outfit she’d been dressed in before she arrived. It was a black tank top and loose waterproof pants. Her arms shook as she got up and slowly rose to her feet. She looked around at the guards, obviously recognizing Alix. Then she turned to look at me, as if she expected another nameless face. But then she stilled, her eyes rigid and fixed in place, her breathing nonexistent.
I couldn’t describe this rage. It made my blood boil, my chest ache with every breath, made me breathe like a knife had punctured one of my lungs through my back—because she’d stabbed me. Affection had spoiled into hatred, and I could honestly say I hated this woman, that I wanted every bad thing to happen to this woman—because she deserved it.
She started to breathe again, looking at me with eyes that slowly started to water. “Magnus—”
My body instinctively reacted to the sound of my name, the name she only knew because I’d shared it with her. She humiliated me further, right in front of the guards who had no respect for me after I let a wet pussy control my dick. Both of my hands reached out to her throat, and I grabbed her tightly, choking her with a grip so hard I thought I might snap her neck.
Her hands immediately went to my hands, and she tried to pull them off.
I slammed her down onto the ground and continued to choke her, right on top of her so I could watch the life leave her eyes, watch her suffer so my suffering would be more bearable. I pushed her head into the earth, my hands about to pop her skin. “Don’t speak to me. Don’t look at me. And don’t you ever say my fucking name again.” My hands released her throat, and I got back to my feet, breathing through my anger, feeling the adrenaline leave my heart and circulate everywhere else.
She rolled onto her stomach and heaved into the ground, gasping for air, coughing as she felt her neck with her fingertips.
The guards stared down at her.
I didn’t do it for show. I didn’t do it to earn back the respect I’d lost.
I did it…because I fucking wanted to.
Four
War Begins
I wasn’t her guard anymore.
The position hadn’t been offered to me intentionally, but even if it had, I wouldn’t have taken it.
I was no one’s guard.
Now, I was the leader of the camp, overseeing day-to-day operations, managing the cocaine that came in and out. Every single ounce was closely monitored, and I had to make sure the prisoners weren’t stealing any to snort in their cabins, and I had to make sure the guards weren’t doing it either.
I wasn’t certain when I would leave again.
Fender knew I didn’t want to be at the camp, which was why he kept me there. He wanted me there—with her.
I went to the clearing and examined the completed cocaine packets. They were preweighed in