I felt it in the marrow of my bones.
She would become my wife, the mother of my children. My world.
For two years, we kept our relationship a secret, sneaking kisses and stolen glances whenever we could. At night, I often snuck into her garden so we could cuddle up in her treehouse, where she’d fall asleep in my arms.
We knew James would never have approved, not with the life I was gearing up to lead for Legion. Kiera was a member, too, but she’d been shielded from a lot of what went on, and the last thing James would have permitted was his little sister dating a soon-to-be murderer.
Because that was what Legion made me.
We hated keeping our young love a secret, and had agreedthatwhen she turned sixteen, we would finally tell James and our parents. For those two years, we never went any further than kissing, but we made a promisethatwe would be the others first. And last.
I’d believed her, too. I’d believed she was saving herself for me, and I vowedthatshe would be the only woman I would ever be intimate with.
Andthenshe threw everything we had away.
So, I’d never experienced what it was like to have sex with Kiera, never knew what itwas like to be inside her, or how she sounded when she came. I never got to be her first despite her promisethatI was the only one she wanted.
Ten years later, her betrayal still stung, and as I held her wide, panicked gaze, a millionunspoken words passing between us, a memory of the warning I’d given her rang in my ears.
On the day she ripped my heart from my chest with her bare hands, I told her to stay the fuck away from me. Toneverput herself on my path again, because if she did, I wouldn’tjustruin her.
I’d fucking destroy her,
Over the years, she’d mostly managed to avoid me. She’d moved to a different city, and with the exception of a few times I’d turned up unannounced at James’ house, and she was there, I hadn’t seen her.
I was more than content to keep itthatway.
But there she was. In my territory, right in my path, despite my warning.
A wicked thought formed in my head, gathering momentum the more I let it play.
Maybe it was time Kiera had a taste of her own medicine.
Chapter 3
Kiera
Immense panic rushed through me, stealing my breath away.
This could not be happening.
I barely registered the gentle fingers gripping my chin until my head was turned away from where I stared wide-eyed in horror at Jackson.
“You okay?”Gavin asked, his brows pulled together in worry.
Like the volume on a radio had been turned up to full blast, the room around me cameback into focus, the chatter from the guests overpowering my senses. I blinked several times, trying to coerce my brain and my heart to calm down.
“Yeah… I’m fine, Ijust…”I trailed off, turning my alarmed gaze back to the doorway in time to see Jackson disappear.
Fuck.
Panic turned to pure terror, propelling me to my feet as Gavin stared at me, perplexed.“I’mreallysorry,”I rushed out, adrenaline pumping through my veins.“But I’ve got to go.”
Gavin replied, but I didn’t stick around to hear him. I needed to find Jackson.
And fast.
On shaky legs, I hurried across the room to the doorway Jackson had disappearedthrough. Glancing from left to right, my eyes snagged on a couple dry-humping each other against a wall, before catching a glimpse of a figure with dirty-blond hair leaving through the front door.
