Page 53 of Lethal King

Rian fucking Kilpatrick.

How does he seem to know all of my weak spots?

My heart wilts as the obvious answer presents itself.

Gabriel.

My other adoptive brother.

The traitor.

He fell in love with Rian’s cousin. He abandoned us to join Rian’s empire. He started a new family with the Kilpatricks.

A family I may have threatened… but only because he destroyed mine by leaving it.

You don’t have a family! A cruel inner voice reminds me. Not even Tytus. He’s not your real brother. There’s no blood relation. Babcia isn’t your grandmother. Drago wasn’t your real father. In the end, everyone will leave you, and you’ll be all alone.

Good.

That’s what I want.

Long ago, I swore an oath to myself. Never again would I be used by the wicked and the powerful. Not if I had anything to say about it.

And it turns out, I have a lot to fucking say about it.

I don’t have to be a damsel or a pawn or a captive or a bride.

I can just be me.

But it took a lot of suffering to figure that shit out.

Hell, it’s one of the only good things to come from my relationship with my adoptive father. Dragomir Raclaw. If he taught me anything, it was how to just be me. He showed me how to survive without the help of others.

And then he taught me never to trust anyone either.

Not even him.

Another traitor.

Babcia’s cabbage rolls are almost completely gone when my phone starts buzzing again. A full stomach helps clear my hazy mind. Even my frustrating horniness is finally beginning to fade as I give in and answer Tytus’ call.

“Are you alright?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” I huff.

“You usually don’t ignore my calls.”

“Who said I was ignoring your calls?”

“Well, if you weren’t ignoring my calls, then that must mean you were busy with Rian Kilpatrick. I didn’t expect it to take so long. Does this mean he gave more trouble than you were expecting?”

Just like that, my full stomach seems to empty, and a gaping hole appears in its place. A hole that only a lion’s cock can fill.

How dare he remind me of that fucker.

“Hardly,” I snap. “I made quick work of him.”

Lies.