Page 56 of Insurrection
Instead of being upset about that, I pulled my shoulders back and steeled myself to look into the eyes of the kings and queens of the houses responsible for this. I'd look them in the eyes and show that I wasn't afraid of them and that they had failed.
They wouldn't get rid of me.
They would, however, feel my wrath as I exposed them to the rest of the houses, ensuring they didn't get a single vote.
Something within me felt that, even if the others despised my hybrid nature, they wouldn't stand for someone stooping to assassinations in order to take a rival out. This was supposed to be a title that was earned, not through violence, but through true leadership. The Supreme was supposed to be someone who would rule without favoritism and who wanted what was best for the realm—not just their own territory.
With the title came a boost of powers and wealth. Two things that easily shrouded people’s minds with greed.
I'd be damned if I allowed them to succeed in taking that. I'd say hell would freeze over—but it was less likely that the devil would wake up, so I'd go with that.
The devil would wake up before those vile people took the Supreme seat.
Satisfied that I had calmed down enough and had a good grip on my mental state, I turned the shower off and smiled as I saw my Hellhound still staring the door down with intensity, as if daring someone to come in.
Grabbing a towel from the bar on the wall just outside the glass enclosure, I wrapped it around myself and said, "Thank you, Damien. I need to grab clothes from my...bedroom."
I didn't want to go in there and see the massacre all over again, but I couldn't just live in a towel for the remainder of my stay here. Apparently, he didn't want me to go in there either, as his gaze whipped to my own and he shook his head side to side, giving me a firm but gentle woof.
I thought he was telling me to stay there, so I nodded at him. What I didn't expect was for him to shift into a butt naked Damien in all of his glory.
Tanned muscles and a hard length stood before me, showcasing a tribal tattoo that sprawled across his chest, piquing my interest, but he didn't say a word as he left the bathroom. I most definitely checked his rounded ass out as he did so. Damn. He was so insanely muscular.
Curious, I walked to the entrance of the bathroom and jumped as he rounded the corner at the same time with clothes in his hand. Shoving them at me, he instructed roughly, "Put these on and then meet me back out here."
Stepping back, I was shocked as he shut the door and left me alone to change in private. He was such a damn gentleman.
Quickly pulling on the black leggings and red tank top he’d picked out, I opened the door and smiled when I saw he was in Hellhound form once more, sitting and waiting with his back to the door. "I'm decent," I called out softly to let him know it was okay to look at me.
Instead, he trotted to the door that would leave my quarters, and I trailed after him. He hit the door handle with his nose, and I took the cue and opened it for him. Taking a few steps out and looking side to side in the hallway, likely clearing it for safety, he let out a yip and stepped out fully.
I followed him, and we took up the comforting stance of the side of him being glued to me with my hand on his head. He guided us through hallways I hadn't been down and stopped in front of a room. I opened the door, letting him walk in first and following closely behind. Shutting the door and locking it, I was surprised to see the room beyond was quaint and small, with a bed at the far back center, some chairs to lounge in, and a bathroom to my right as I stepped in further.
This must be his bedroom, but why was he separate from his house?
He jumped up onto the bed and motioned with his head for me to come over. Padding over, I pulled back the ivory sheets and scooted towards the center, settling into the pillows. Maybe I should have turned the lights off, but I had a feeling I wouldn't have been able to sleep if I did.
A small tremor went through my body at the idea of closing my eyes and trying to go to sleep after everything that had happened. I still felt on edge.
Damien must have felt the tremor or sensed my unease because he walked over and tucked himself into my side, curling up and putting his head on my stomach. He was cuddling me but still had his head turned towards the door, refusing to give up his job as protector.
Running my hand over his head, I took a deep breath and felt the anxiety easing. I still wasn't sure if I'd be able to sleep, but within a few minutes, I was out.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Nico
“What the fuck is wrong with all of you?” The supposedly hot-headed hellhound demands, glaring at all of us with a fair amount of disgust. I say fair, because how we were acting as a group was absolutely ridiculous. It didn’t stop it from happening though.
That was a fantastic question.What was wrong with us?
I would love to say I could blame Ama for this, but I knew the truth. This was on us.
Damien broke away from the chaos of our current predicament, jogging after Ama and leaving me staring in the wake of his words. My eyes darted back to where Drayven and Finias were exchanging barbs while Colt and Adrien attempted to gain some semblance of control.
I was missing something here.
I would never claim to be friends with these men, but I knew them well enough to know that this wasn’t normal behavior for any of them. There were pieces of this picture and what had happened tonight that I wasn’t being fully given.
