My Personal Hell, D. Richardson [ebook reader browser txt] 📗

the only open expanse of wall that was left. She spun and looked at me, the silver ring around her pupil was showing brightly. This was no longer her, her wolf had taken control.

“My turn,” she snarled. I realized exactly what I had done, pushed her beyond her control. So I sighed and tried to leave, but a knife embedded itself in the crack of the door, keeping it from opening. “What’s wrong, Sadler? This was what you wanted wasn’t it? Hit her below the belt so many times that she snaps,” she hissed as I turned back to look at her. “Clever of you, only some one who knows her oh so well would know exactly what targets to hit. Beat her down and she’ll just stand back up, but if you hit just the right topics so many times, she’ll stay down. She would never stoop so low as to retaliate, but me? I’m not so noble,” her voice had taken on a guttural sound, as though she were using a wolfs neck to talk through. “You keep going on about if I’m exiled? What about you? What was it like, Sadler, for your own father to toss you out.” I shook my head.

“Don’t.”

“Your mother didn’t even fight to keep you did she?”

“She couldn’t.”

“She wouldn’t. Your sister just stood back and watched didn’t she? Now you live your life by following orders. Doing as another man wants without question. It’s got to sting, knowing that you’ll never be any better than a foot soldier.”

“Enough!” She was hitting far too close to home, I could feel my own wolf rising to the occasion.

“You’ll always be second best to Asher, no matter how strong you are, because he’s the one with the pack. He’s the one that will command and you’ll be nothing more than his trained dog.” Hearing those words from her mouth was like someone took a battering ram to my stomach.

My fists clenched so hard I could smell my own blood. But I was pushed to the back of my own mind. My wolf taking over. He growled, a warning to back off, but she met him with one of her own. They circled each other, waiting for the other to make a move. But then she smiled a triumphant grin, and took a couple of steps back.

“There, that’s the shift I was looking for. You don’t see me as just another female, needing to be humored or protected. I’m a threat to you, an equal,” she moved backwards until she had backed up as far as she could.

Her words struck home, and my wolf calmed down. We stood there, staring at each other, as our wolves receded as one. Leaving just us. She kept my gaze, looking drained, and disappointed.

“If you can’t support me in this, then at least keep it quiet for as long as you can. That’s all I ask,” her voice was quiet, her tone filled with resolve. She brushed passed me, jerking the knife out of the doorframe, and walked out. I lost all composure, slumping until I leaned against the injured desk, running a hand over my face.

“Well, that was…,” Dalton started.

“Intense,” Jake finished.

“I’ll go get a broom and dustpan,” Christine muttered, glaring at me on her way out the door. Jake followed her out and Jaeger came up next to me.

“What was that, Sadler?”

“I don’t know,” and I didn’t.

Whatever possessed me to push past her breaking point was beyond me. All I really knew was that I felt like a real piece of shit.

Chapter 25

Ailith

 

 

 

 

A couple of hours after our fight Bastion informed me that Sadler took a shift guarding the theatre. I wasn’t sure why he told me. It didn’t really change anything. I just wish I knew why he would attack me like that.

My wolf had been right. Only someone that knew me really well, that I felt close to, would be able to push me that far. Every word he said was like a separate knife embedded in my flesh. The hurt turned to anger much quicker than I had thought possible. Most of the time insults run off me like water. But from him, the water turned to ice and stuck to me.

After Sadler left I went back up to the office. They had made quick work of putting the place back together. I had never done so much damage in my life, I didn’t even know I was capable of it. Jake and Chris were just finishing with the trash as I approached.

“I’m really sorry for all of that. I’m not entirely sure what happened, but I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that.” Jake just grinned at me.

“It’s cool. I shouldn’t have tried to step in when tempers were running so high.”

“Yeah, besides, Sadler was asking for it,” Chris added.

“We’ve got your back, Ally,” Jake mumbled on his way out the door. Chris put a light hand on my shoulder as she followed.

“You know,” Bastion said as he came up to my side. “Sometimes when people start to care about someone, they push their boundaries. Children do it with their parents, married couples are some of the worst about it. It’s part of truly bonding.” I wasn’t sure how what he was saying applied, but he walked away before I could ask.

The rest of the men were standing around the desk, looking over a pad of paper. I assumed they knew what they were doing, and stood back to give them some space. A couple of them that I didn’t know seemed uncomfortable with my presence, but they would have to get used to it eventually.

I watched as they all leaned down, or moved around. All of them with smooth practiced movements. Wolves had an unnatural strength in human form, having to be careful not to use too much pressure when doing something so simple as holding a pencil. It was something I was struggling with myself. After living for seventeen years with certain boundaries, suddenly having extra strength that only seemed to grow, had caused a few issues.

Like with our routine, ‘Battlefield’, half of the people in it were wolves, the other half were human. It made rehearsal difficult. A misplaced flick of the wrist and we risked seriously hurting one of the humans. But as I watched the men move around something struck a cord.

We had gotten our wireless ear pieces that allowed us to communicate throughout the building. They could also be used as microphones, it was what we planned on using for the performances. But all of us were wearing them so that we could get used to them. That way they wouldn’t be an inconvenience when we really needed them. I tapped the button on the side.

“Jen, Stacey, Christine, Camilla, will you all come up here please?” I spoke into the piece. I knew they would show up, so I picked out six of the men. Three were Stephan’s, the other three were the youngest out of the group of the men I trained with. “Hey, you three, line up over here,” I gestured to the men in front of me. They looked at me warily but Stephan nodded for them to do as I instructed. “Justin, Macon, Nevin, you too.” They went without question. After a moment I added Jaeger to the list. “Take your shirts off.” again, the three I knew obeyed immediately, and while the others were slower to comply they did none the less.

“Wow,” Stacey said as she walked in, the other three right behind her. All of them took in the view with ample appreciation before turning to me. “Not that I don’t appreciate the view. And I mean I really appreciate it, but what are we looking at?” Stacey asked, barely glancing away from the shirtless men. They were an impressive bunch, all toned, trained, strong, drool worthy even if a couple of faces weren’t.

“Battlefield.” Was the only thing I said. Suddenly the girls were looking at them in a whole new light. They circled the males, inspecting them from this angle to that, though it wasn’t exactly necessary.

“How long do you think it’ll take?” Jen asked and I smirked.

“They’re already trained,” Stacey let out a whistle.

I caught Bastion grinning at me. He knew what I was doing, and though I should have been ashamed, I wasn’t. They really did make nice eye candy.

“Sounds good, send them down when you’re done with them,” Stacey instructed while she walked out. Jen and Camilla were still standing next to me while Christine gave one last look over before following Stacey. The guys stood there, waiting for me to tell them to redress.

“You know they didn’t have to take their shirts off right?” Jen asked, though her eyes never left the bare muscular chests.

“Yeah, but I thought you would enjoy the view,” I answered, my eyes never straying far from the targets.

“Nice, I owe you one,” Camilla said as they both made their way out.

“Can we get dressed now?” One of them glared at me. I smirked at him.

“Sure.”

“Dude, you should be thanking her,” Macon told him with a nudge to the shoulder. “It’s not everyday a guy gets to be blatantly checked out. Especially, by such good looking girls,” he added the last bit with a playful wink aimed in my direction.

“Why don’t you guys go on down to the stage. Stacey will tell you what to do and where to go,” I said and they all grumbled while leaving. They weren’t performers they were enforcers. It would take some getting used to, for all of us.

Now all I had to worry about was getting the proof I needed, for when Drake demanded it. There was only one way that I could think of to get it, and I would need some help. So I called for Alex, Dalton, Jacob, and Bastion, since I wouldn’t be able to keep him out of it anyway.

 

 

 

Sadler

 

 

 

 

One week, one horrible quiet week, and she still wouldn’t even look at me. She hadn’t even come to her violin lessons. How am I supposed to apologize if she won’t even stay in the same room. And when I’m at the theatre and she’s working on the stage, she just pretends that I’m not there. I didn’t know what else to do.

So one night I was driving by the theatre. I had decided that if I saw her car I would pull in, and make her listen to me. But it wasn’t there. I pulled in anyway, because the night shift was supposed to be for Stephan’s men, but the cars that were parked there were Drake’s.

I stepped into the lobby to see Alex, Dalton, Jacob, Bastion, and Jake all turn with hopeful looks. Only to be disappointed when they saw me. Something wasn’t right. In fact, by the guilty looks on their faces, something was very wrong.

“Where is she?” I asked, none of them would look me in the eye, not even Bastion. “Where is she?” my voice rose, echoing in the lobby.

“Here,” her voice came from the dark hallway to the right. “I’m here.” All of them seemed to melt with relief. I couldn’t see anything but her silhouette, and it was