Evren groans, an apology of sorts clear in his gaze. I can almost feel the waves of mortification rolling off him as he shifts, clasping his hands in front of his groin. Expelling a heavy huff of air from his lungs, he turns around to face them. “F-fuck off.”
Not that it will do any good, but I instinctively press backward into the tree trunk, wishing I were almost anywhere else. I have no idea if Evren can handle these two goons. He seems nervous, and I can’t blame him. To his credit, though, he’s not cowering, simply attempting to stand his ground. And he’s put himself between me and them, though I don’t know if it’ll do any good. He stiffens, staring down the aggressive psychos. “I just gave her water. That’s all. There’s n-nothing wrong with that.” I cringe internally as the poor guy stutters again. “L-leave us alone.”
“Oh, little freak. You’d like that wouldn’t you?” Gannon teases, glancing toward the younger man’s groin. “Got yourself hard just talking to her, huh?” His smirk makes my insides convulse with the hate beaming from his eyes. He shrugs. “Also… did I hear you right? Did you tell us to ‘F-fuck off’?” he asks, mimicking Evren’s stuttered speech. Before I know what’s happening, the big oaf closes the distance and smartly smacks his open palm across the cheek of Arrow’s brother.
Dragan’s lip curls and he makes a shooing motion. “Run along, Evren. We’ll take care of her.”
“Yeah, we sure will.” Gannon shoots me a wink, and fear unfurls inside me. “We’ll fuckin’ ruin her.” Evren backs up a step closer to me, but these two stalk forward, practically licking their chops. The fact that they smell blood is right there in their eyes.
My heart thunders with deep, heavy, agonizingly fast beats that threaten to do damage to my rib cage if it doesn’t let up.
When Evren doesn’t move, Dragan raises a brow, then chuckles and shoves him aside with a growled “Get lost.”
As far as physical strength goes, they are not evenly matched. Looking back toward me from the ground, Evren exhales hard but gets to his feet, then tries to push back, only to be punched in the gut for his trouble. He falls to his knees, groaning as he braces himself with one hand on the ground, the other clutching his middle as he wheezes.
A tiny gasp escapes my lips as I plead with them, “Leave him alone.”
Dragan’s ugly gaze drinks in my body as he growls, “Shut your mouth, woman.”
Evren is the only person standing between me and who knows what hell. I swallow hard. There won’t be any stopping these assholes. They believe they’re in the right. AndIbelieve I’d rather die than be taken by another man. I squeeze my eyes shut, willing away the feel of their hands on my skin.
It’s all I can do. I’m defenseless.
FOURTEEN
CROSS
My father wavesto get my attention, walking steadily in my direction. I have no idea what he wants, but I stop what I’m doing and wipe my hands on the seat of my pants while waiting for him to reach me. “Cross, want to give you a heads up about something.”
I blink, doing a quick assessment of his mood. He seems interestingly in good spirits, but his request catches me off guard. Nodding, I plant my hands on my hips. “What’s going on?”
A broad anticipatory smile curves his lips. “It’s nearly time for us to verify the gender of the child Twenty-Two is carrying.”
A sense of foreboding hits me right between my eyes. It’s at this point where there’s either a sense of excitement that flows over the compound or one of lingering dread that lasts until the child is born.
“Okay.” I nod. “What about paternity?”
He shrugs, glancing away before murmuring, “At some point we’ll determine that, yes.”
Oh.But when?Rather than asking him about it again, I clamp my mouth shut. I don’t want to risk pissing him off.
Wetting his lower lip, my father grasps the back of my neck and tugs me close before whispering, “I hope it’s yours.”
My eyes widen, but I ease back enough to nod, exhaling in a steady stream. There’s only one proper answer to be given, no matter what my actual feelings are. “I hope so, too, Father.”
“I’ve never been so proud as when you told me that it was a possibility.”
I blink. I remember it all too well. Twenty-Two hadn’t been here long, perhaps participating in eight or nine rituals when I finally caught her for myself. And then… she’d begun to grow round. So, is it possible? Entirely. Is there also a chance that the child isn’t mine? Of course. A mild sort of trepidation rolls through me at the idea of it. The first time one of the sons is actually successful in the attempt to breed, there will be a surge of unrest—a jealousy the likes of which we haven’t seen before. Of that, I am certain.
Interrupting my musings, my father continues, “But we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves. We must be certain of a son first.” He bobs his head. “But you did so well with the correction earlier, I thought you deserved to be part of the testing, no matter what. You’ll also learn more about the procedures during thisstage of pregnancy and what I look for beyond what we’ve already discussed.”
I can’t deny I’m interested in learning—I always am—but my mind has been firmly caught up in our Disturbance and wondering just how long they intend to leave her outside. Not one of the Collective has so much as breathed her name since the correction. Not a single word uttered. Slowly, I nod. “Yes sir. I’ll join you for that learning experience. I’d be honored.”
My father’s eyes crinkle as he grins. “Perfect.”
“When will we do it?”
“A few days, I think. Maybe a week. I’ll send for you when it’s time.”
