Page 22 of Ruthless Reign

“I’m here, too, dickwad,” Selene said from the living room. “Your precious Caputi princess will be fine.”

Roman snorted, glancing at me with a mild hint of concern. “Are you okay?”

“Aw, be still my heart,” I teased, clutching my chest. “It’s almost like you care.”

My husband glowered before glancing around one more time. “Text me when you’re ready to come home.”

“Nonsense,” Alba cut in. “She’s spending the night, right?”

“Uh.” I tried to smile, feeling like an idiot for not assuming such a thing. “I didn’t prepare for that.” I hadn’t brought an overnight bag or a toothbrush.

“It’s fine,” Alba said. “You can borrow some of my clothes and?—”

“Let the girl breathe. Jesus.” Verona shook her head and nodded toward the kitchen. “Come on. We’ve got pizza and beer.” She set her incinerating stare on Roman again. “Goodbye, brother.”

He hummed a deep grumble before turning to leave, shutting the door behind him to leave me alone in enemy territory. Iswallowed my nervousness and followed my new sister-in-law, the smell of greasy takeout making my stomach rumble. I didn’t normally eat junk food, but seeing as I didn’t know how to cook for myself, I’d been dependent on cereal and whatever leftovers I could scrounge from his fridge (which, admittedly, wasn’t a lot). I’d been trying to remedy that. Despite how much I hated him, maybe it wasn’t fair he worked all day and came home to an empty table with a clueless wife who expected to be pampered.

“Look at you,” Ru said, walking into the room with her dark curly hair up on top of her head. “You act like you’ve never seen pizza before. What’s Bear feeding you over there, huh?”

I forced a tight grin. “Breakfast.”

“Okay.” She laughed and nodded to the paper plates. “Help yourself. Beer’s in the fridge.”

“Oh, I, uh—” I shouldn’t drink around them. I still didn’t trust them or myself enough to be inebriated.

“What, you don’t drink?” Selene said, raising a dark eyebrow.

“Which is fine if you don’t,” Alba added, elbowing the taller woman in the ribs. “Not everyone likes the taste.”

I didn’t want to be rude and decline, especially when I’d been trying to find common ground. They were technically family now, right? Would they lure me into intoxication only to rip the rug out from under me? Would they humiliate me or sell me out to my aunt the moment I’d lost control? Judging by the camaraderie and warmth between them, I doubted it.

Besides, Alba and V weretechnicallymy family. Selene and Roman were cousins, which made her my cousin, too. Ru and Alba had the same father. The four of them were as close as sisters, and even if I cherished my real cousins deeply, I’d never had a sister before.

“Sure,” I finally said. “I’ll take a beer.”

“Cool.” Ru smiled and opened the fridge to hand me a bottle, and I glanced at the label. I’d never had an IPA, but after Itwisted off the top and took a drink, I decided it wasn’t too bad. I was usually a dry wine sort of girl, but I supposed I could get used to this.

Selene opened the pizza box so I could grab a slice of cheese for myself and sit in the empty spot at the table.

“So,” Alba said, taking the seat next to me. “How is everything going?”

“Yeah,” Verona said, glancing up from across the table. “Is my brother being a fucking twat?”

I snorted at her vulgarity and took a small bite of pizza. “He’s fine. It’s all…fine.”

“Fine?” Ru raised an eyebrow. “I’d feel like a fish out of water if I were you.”

“Yeah, that’s a good way to put it.” I pursed my lips and sipped my beer, visions of the time Gabriella had abducted us flashing through my mind. The four of them had been bound and gagged on that dusty wooden floor, staring down at me while I moaned and curled in on myself. Men I had known my whole life had beaten me nearly to death, and I hadn’t been able to see out of one eye, but I knew they were there. All of us had almost died that day. “But the war needs to end. I don’t want any more bloodshed. If this is what I have to do, then I’ll do it.”

“Well, I admire your spirit,” Alba said, clinking her beer bottle against mine.

“Bear’s a pigheaded alpha asshole sometimes,” Ru said. “They all are. But he’s a good man deep down. He’ll never hurt you.”

“And if he does,” Verona added, “you tell me, and I’ll handle it, you understand?”

I thought of when he’d woken me up from my nightmare and I held a knife to his throat. The gleam in his eye hadn’t been fear or fury, but something much more dangerous…bordering on lust. I couldn’t help but laugh.

The conversation drifted to other things. I learned Alba ran a website where she and her husband had sex on camera for money. Ru and Verona worked at the MC-owned BDSM dungeon called the Beacon. In a few weeks, they were having a massive end-of-summer party, and everyone who was anyone in the area would be there.

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