Finn: Says the fucker who kept us all locked down so you could be the main.
I tore my lips from Slash and screamed out into the night, frustrated with all of them. I had no idea how they escaped that little room again but it was pissing me off. “Shut the fuck up. I’m trying to get fucked.” My head went silent, Slash not completely registering what just happened. Not that he was all there. Something about this chase, aboutthiskill brought out the demon I first met over ten years ago.
“Going to fuck me, Doc? Or are you going to let me sink my cock into your ass? I’ve been thinking about it and…”
He cut off my words, a growl rumbling through his chest as he flipped me over, his birthday scalpel against the back of my neck. Adrenaline rushed through me as my cheek squished into the dirt, my eyes now firmly on Niles’ lifeless, fileted body. Jesus Christ, Slash had done a number on him.
And not a pretty number either.
I reached forward to swipe my fingers through the blood pooling at his side, a moan falling from my lips as Slash ripped my pants down past my ass. A few seconds later, I caught the sound of a wrapper and then the sweet, cold, sensation of lube roughly being fucked into my hole with those elegant fingers of my killer.
He wasn’t being gentle about it and I didn’t need him to be, butdamn, he was working with an urgency, like his demon needed an outlet. And as much as I liked this version of Slash, I was also a bit terrified that he wouldn’t seemeand cut into me a little deeper than was necessary.
Trying to catch Slash off guard, I rolled us back over so that I was straddling his hips. I slid down onto his cock, the stretch almost painful before grabbing the hand at my neck and slowly moving it to rest against Slash’s. His blade nicked his skin, his eyes darkening further but this time with lust, his cock swelling inside of me as I began to move.
“You like that, Doc?” I purred. We hadn’t had sex since I had taken over and I had to say, this waseverything,especially when his free hand dug into my waist. I knew he was letting me stay in control, Slash stronger and larger than I was but he wanted this. Heneededthis.
I continued fucking myself on his cock as I smeared Niles’ blood across his chest. When Slash wrapped a firm hand around my length, it was all over from there. My eyes rolled into the back of my head as he took over, fucking up into me and jerking me off at the same time. The blade was back against my neck in the next second, a howl of pleasure tearing from my throat as I fell apart in his hands.
“You’re fucking dangerous, Runo,” Slash purred as his eyes began to clear. He didn’t stop moving, rolling us over again as he pounded into my ass. He pulled out and flipped me over before thrusting back again, my face firmly planting in the dirt as I struggled to breathe. “I haven’t given in like that inyears.But I liked it,” he continued. His blade sliced down my back as his tongue flicked across my ear. “And I’m going to show you just how much.”
That’s when I realized that I was no longer in charge of this game. Because Slash, just like my other men, lovedcontinuingto fuck me, to make me fall apart more than once. And in this position, I was at the mercy of the man who had just slaughtered a coworker because Niles wasirritating.
As if Slash could read my mind, he bit the edge of my ear, his teeth tugging on the lobe. “I won’t kill you. Not yet. You bleed too prettily and dead people don’t bleed.”
An hour ago, he was wary as fuck of me.
And now…
Finn: This is definitely not your finest moment, Runo.
AERON
I stood at the kitchen sink, scrubbing the pan that had held tonight’s pork chops—well, notpork—grease clinging stubbornly to the metal. The water scalded my hands as steam rose in lazy curls, but it wasn’t enough to drown out the gnawing unease in my gut.
Samael was still sitting at the kitchen table, the man typing away on his phone, every little tap serving to piss me off just a little bit more. I’d only just gotten used to Finn but Runo? He was a different beast. Theatrical, unhinged, pulling strings I didn’t even know were there. My chest tightened with a mix of awe and dread that made my hands shake as I scoured the pan harder.
I didn’t expect this version of Killian. Finn had been wild and messy and just on the edge oftoo much, but Runo was something else—like he’d been watching us for years, plotting, knowing things he shouldn’t. The thought made my skin prickle, a shiver running down my spine despite the hot water.
I’d loved Killian in college, his mismatched eyes and boyish charm, but Runo’s ocean-gray stare held a darkness that pulled me in and scared me shitless at the same time. He was too much, too unpredictable, and yet I couldn’t look away. It was like staring into a fire, knowing it’d burn but craving the heat.
Despite everything, Runo was still mine and it terrified me.
That’s when a memory tugging at the back of my mind stole my attention.There’s no fucking way.I quickly dried my hands on the towel hanging over the edge of the sink and dashed toward my bedroom, searching for a specific piece of my past.
A small silver ring that had meant more than it should several years ago. Clutching it in my hand, I headed back into the kitchen and set it on the table with a soft clink. Samael’s eyes flicked up from his phone, narrowing as he studied it. “You used to wear that a lot more. I’ve seen it recently. What’s wrong?”
I swallowed hard, pacing a step to burn off the nervous energy. “I got it in high school, remember? No idea who it was from, but I liked it. There’s an R inside.” I had obsessed over it when I first got it but then it just became something that was mine. Just a few seconds ago, though, it clicked that maybe all of this was connected.
That maybe Runo’s interest in us hadn’t started in college when I had met Killian but way before then. Finn had mentioned it at one point that he had known us. It made sense that Runo had too.
Samael chuckled as he leaned back in his chair, but the sound cut off just as fast as he lost the smile. He straightened up and set his phone down, his jaw pulling tight. “We didn’t know Runo at that point.”
I shook my head, my voice barely over a whisper. Runo wasn’t even here, but it felt like he’d be able to see this moment like he saw everything else. “We don’t know that. We checked for any of the other alters but none of their names came up. Runo very wellcould’ve been around when we were. It would explain all the shit he’s been fucking us with. How he knew our government names. Hell, how he knowseverything.”
Runo knowing my old name—Vincent Marshall Teller—before I’d even told Killian? That wasn’t just a coincidence. It was calculated, like he’d been in the shadows, watching us, memorizing every detail of our lives.
I remembered the letter that came with the ring, scrawled in messy ink, calling me someone’s dream, promising they’d always be in my corner. Back then, I liked the idea that someone cared outside of my little circle. There had never been another letter or gesture. I had thought it was just that. Now, it felt like a warning, Runo’s first move in a game we didn’t know we were playing.
