Page 4 of Saved By The King's Gamma

“And now,” Kade continues, venom lacing his words, “the queen has decided she wants to video chat with you today. She found out about Cassandra, and you, my love, will convince her that everything is just peachy and that you are happy here.”

With a firm grip on my arm, Kade yanks me to my feet. A flicker of excitement stirs within me. Nobody knows me better than Ivy. She knows my darkest secrets, my deepest fears. She will see through any façade Kade tries to make me put up.

He pushes me onto the bed and grips my face tightly. I struggle against his hold, tempted to sink my teeth into his filthy tongue when he forcefully kisses me. But I learned my lesson the hard way last night when he knocked me unconscious. My jaw still throbs from the blow.

“It won’t work,” I spit at him when he finally releases me.

“Oh, I had a feeling you would say that,” Kade sneers as he whistles. A struggle ensues outside the room, accompanied by a woman’s shrill cries and the desperate wails of a baby. My heart pounds as I rise to my feet, my eyes fixed on the woman being thrown to the floor, clutching a baby who couldn’t have been more than a few months old. Anguish etches across her tear-streaked face, her mascara running down her cheeks, smearing her makeup.

I glare at the man who callously tosses her aside before turning my attention back to Kade. “I’ll do it,” I declare, my voice filled with determination.

“Now you will put on your best performance; Abbie, meet Stacey, Stacey, this Abbie,” he says, and I swallow as he grips her hair, ripping her head back.

“Now, Stacey, Abbie over here is the one who decides if little Jacob here is going to get to live another day,” he says. Tears stream down the woman’s face. The baby is bundled, clutched in her arm, and tucked to her chest. Her mascara runs down her cheeks as she stares at me pleadingly. Her bright red hair stuck to her face as tears smudge her makeup and lines trek into her foundation. “I’ll do it!” I tell him as he moves to grab the child.

“You touch one hair on that baby or harm her in any way, and I will refuse to comply with anything you ask. Leave her be.”

Kade’s hand freezes in midair as he reaches for the boy in her arms. He stands there for a moment, clicking his tongue in frustration, before finally releasing the woman from his grasp. She crawls quickly toward me, clutching the baby tightly, seeking refuge at my feet. Kade snarls at her and moves to grab her, but I step in between them, shielding her from his reach.

“It seems you do have a backbone after all,” Kade remarks with a twisted smile. “It will do you no good here. You fuck this up, you watch them die,” he warns me.

“You harm them, and you do! I’ll happily watch as your world crumbles around you,” I warn him. I am the only thing standing between Ivy and the king’s wrath. And if our roles were reversed, I know she would do the same.

Kade nods and looks at Cassandra, who smiles sweetly before tugging her handbag off her shoulder. She pulls a smaller bag out containing makeup. I sit on the edge of the bed, knowing exactly what will happen next. Mrs. Daley was good at this façade, too, when she wanted sponsors and had covered our scars plenty of times. If I can survive that bitch, I can survive anything.

Stacey cringes away from her, and Cassandra raises her hand to hit her when Stacey accidentally bumps into her. Rage courses through me, and I grip her wrist. We stand off for a few seconds. Cassandra is clearly shocked I would grab her, especially in front of Kade, who she is expecting to jump to her rescue, but he only chuckles.

“Now, now, ladies, no fighting,” he says, sitting in the chair in the corner beside the bed.

“You don’t want to jeopardize that future you want so badly, do you?” I ask her, and she glares at me.

“You are asking for death, girlie,” she spits, yanking her arm away.

“Good thing I don’t fear it, but I bet you do,” I tell her. I sit on the bed, and Kade clicks his fingers impatiently at her.

I shut down, letting her play dress-up, solely focused on keeping the woman at my feet and her baby safe from these monsters. Kade forces his blood in my mouth to help heal my split lip, and the gash in my head. Everything else is covered with make-up while Cassandra tells Kade my injuries won’t be noticeable because she has some filter on her phone, whatever that means.

“You better hope you convinced them enough or—” Stacey’s baby begins to cry. Kade’s eyes flicker toward the sound, irritation flashing across his face. He strides over to Stacey, who recoils, clutching her baby tighter and my heart leaps into my throat.

“Silence the brat or I get rid of it,” he growls. Stacey trembles, trying to soothe the baby, but her fear only seems to upset the child more as she tries to shield them from Kade. When the baby doesn’t stop crying, that’s when Kade’s patience snaps. He looms over Stacey, hand raised to strike and suddenly I am reminded of poor innocent Tyson, the fear on his tiny face when Mrs. Daley would raise her hand to him. Panic courses through me when I see his claws slip from his fingers, and Stacey’s body coils around her baby like a shield of flesh.

Without thinking, I launch myself at Kade, knocking him away from Stacey and I crash on top of him.

We land with a thump on the floor, my winded gasp echoing in the quiet room. Kade grunts beneath me, surprise flashing briefly across his face before it hardens into anger. I try to scramble away, but his claws sink into my shoulder, and I scream as blood gushes out soaking my thin top.

“You dare think you can strike me,” Kade starts to rant, but doesn’t finish. With a swift movement, he flips us over until I am pinned under him, staring into his livid eyes. Fear pins me down more than his hands do.

Kade’s face twists with fury and the back of his hand connects with my face, my head whips to the side where I see Stacey cowering in the corner with her baby, tears trekking down her cheeks.

“Seems you have learnt fucking nothing!” Kade screams, when I hear him start unbuckling his belt.

Stacey gasps and the horror on her face may just haunt me as much as whatever Kade plans to do. “Get out,” I gasp out breathlessly to Stacey, my heart pounding against my ribs. She jumps to her feet but glances at the door and back at us. I urge her to leave with my eyes knowing I won’t handle seeing him hurt her baby. She rushes for the door.

“And where do you think you’re going?” Kade drawls, his eyes flashing dangerously in her direction. She freezes in place, her terror palpable. I take a deep breath, knowing I may just get myself killed but I won’t let him hurt her.

Kade grips his belt as he turns his attention back to me, a twisted smile curling at the corners of his lips. The cold, cruel glint in his eyes sends a shiver of fear crawling down my spine.

I steel myself against the coldness brewing in his gaze and force out a shaky laugh. “And you wonder why I would choose Gannon over you; you’re no man you’re a monster,” I say, attempting to keep my voice level despite the trembling that wracks my body.

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