Bait Novel 149
I agree. I know she’s good at what she does. The manipulative snake that she is. We’re cut out for this. Groomed into it. Jonas is good at the logistics, but he doesn’t understand fighting. He’s never had to do it outside of training and believe me when I say, it’s never the same thing.
Killing someone with your bare hands, and giving into the animal side we as a society are steered away from does something to us. Every single time. We say it gets easier, but the truth is that it doesn’t. What it steals just becomes easier and easier to live without. I was never jealous of anyone in the position I find myself in, because truth be told. I was the weapon. The Falcon, the Alpha King, and my superiors were the ones who gave the order with no room for failure.
“He could use you, right now. Fuck, I knew you did something fucking dumb from the start, but I didn’t think it would be this. Not until Jonas told me he suspected that Sofie wasn’t his after everything went down. Even if Sofie was his, I would have killed you in his place,”
“Why aren’t you?” she asks. I look over at her to see she’s serious.
“I’ve taken enough from him. I see it in the way he looks at everyone suspiciously. He snaps very Perry–like. I mean this is what I had intended. I wasn’t supposed to be here to have his back. It kind of hurts seeing that side of him,”
“Someone had to teach him, Perry. You’ve worked for the Kings. You know what it’s like for us. How we all are,”
“Yes, but I’m going to miss soft–hearted Jonas. His fears are getting worse. I can feel it no matter how far or how close we are. It’s like his soul is pulsing. I’m just a stupid little girl. How the fuck am I
supposed to deal with all of this?”
I pull over feeling everything spin. I stumble as soon as my feet are on solid ground and everything I had for breakfast comes up. Why the hell did I say that out loud? To Alegra Prince of all people.
“Maybe it feels like he’s pulsing because you’re just as scared as he is,” she comes around with the water bottle I’m pretty sure was Alpha Knightly’s.
“Of course, I’m scared. A few months ago, I was feral and on the verge of committing a mass shooting in the middle of a pack event. And now I’m mateless, sonless, and wolfless. Oh, and the Queen of all Lycans. I turn into a literal nightmare. I can keep going on and on. For at least twenty minutes,”
“Perry,” she says gently.
“We should catch up to the twins,” my phone rings just as I finish swishing water in my mouth. I spit and put on speaker. “I’m going. I got a little car sick,”
“You good?” Lillies asks.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I hang up and get back in the car.
“I can drive,”
“Yeah, that’s not going to happen. Jonas would kill me,” I start the car and continue. The dashboard lights up with the name King Mouth Breather on the center screen. I hit the green button. “Hello?”
“I felt your anger. You okay?” he answers worriedly.
“Yeah, I was just arguing with your mother. Say hello,”
“Pass. Are you okay? She didn’t try to hurt
you did she?”
“Of course, not,”
“What’s your ETA?”
1/4
“An hour,”
“Be careful. Don’t take your eyes off her. She can be sneaky,”
“On it,” I agree. I glance over at her to see her with her head low. He hangs up without adding anything else. I tip her chin and she looks over at me. “Queen’s don’t do that. You made a choice. The only way to get it all back is by owning up to it,”
“I figured I’d be dead by the time he realized,”
“Me too. Thought I’d be dead. I knew he would have pieced it together after I advised him to kill you before you fucked up Andromeda too,”
“That was a very cold greeting,” she says after almost thirty minutes.
“What?”
“The phone call. Not your usual banter,”
“I tried to kill myself when I woke up. I panicked. He’s put up walls,”
“Shit,” she sinks into the seat.
“Yeah, it’s hard for him to let me out of his sight. I’m hoping us being institutionalized when we get back will give him a little bit of relief so he can keep working,”
“Why would you need reformation?”
“I don’t. I’m just fucking crazy,”
“You’re going in willingly? I don’t hate it, but do you think it’s wise to leave Jo out in the open like that?”
“He’s not out in the open, okay? Jake and Mack will back him up to their last breath. So would Jordan and Silas. He has people he can trust. People I trust. Don’t worry about him,” oh, sweet mother moon, did she strike a nerve? She did. Holy
crap.
“Why are you going in?” thank goodness she didn’t push it.
“You’re kidding right?”
“I’ve been institutionalized a couple of times myself. All it does is embarrass you and your family,”
“Well, it wouldn’t be a first. I am quite literally a meme,”
She laughs again. Alegra always seemed cold to me. Elsa. But her guard is down. Completely. There’s a heavy sadness in her eyes. Maybe she’s regretting rejecting Archie? Maybe because she’s given up on the thought of getting away with treason?
Who are we kidding? She’s getting away with it. The King is upset now, but as soon as he sees her, he’s gonna cave. He’s a big baby like that. I love that about him. He’s forgiving. I honestly, don’t
understand it. Saying something insane and then trying to take it back does. I mean I do it constantly, but she quite literally hurt her entire family in the worst kind of way. Death. Death to everything she represents. That’s always been the Nelson way. That’s probably why I’m the last one left.
There’s an entire armada of Lycans when we arrive. The King is exiting the castle as I pull up. He stops and stares down at the car. I hit the magnetize button as soon as Alegra removed her seatbelt. She glares at me before I get out.
“Nound it,” I say as he approaches. “Alpha Knightly gave it to me
“Did you check it for bombs?” he growls. That sweet old marshmallow isn’t going to stoop that low. He’s a Knightly.
2/4
18.06 Mon,
25
2 ས ཇི, 47
“No,” I shake my head. “He was a very sweet old man,”
“What the fuck? Check this for explosives,” he growls pulling me away from the car.
“It’s clear,” Jordan snorts as he and two other guards scan it with some kind of baton. Please check at N/ôvel(D)rama.Org.
“Perry,” he grabs both my arms. “Are you out of your mind? He could have killed you,”
“Jonas. He would never. That was Alpha Charles Knightly. If he wanted to kill me or you, he’d square up. The Knightlys were gladiators once upon a time. They’re also insanely controlling. If you’ve ever watched any action movie worth watching, it’s a Knightly Production,”
He leans back to push my hair back with both his hands.
“Perry, promise me you’re going to be more careful,” he says in his serious voice.
“I promise,” I say a little freaked out.
He pulls me into him and kisses the top of my head before he orders the guards to get his mom to the tower. He doesn’t even look at her as she’s taken away and she doesn’t try to say anything to him.
“Laters, Ally,” I call after her and Silas. He laughs when she glances back at me with the angriest glare she can muster.
“You got my spaceship back,” he smiles.
“Do you love it?”
“How?”
“He lives down the street from your mom’s mate. I saw it in his driveway and was like hey that’s my King’s car, can I have it? And he’s like nice, the wolves infiltrated the Lycans. Here, it’s yours. Be nice to her and boom. Here we are,”
“That is the truth. We were there,” Bunny says from behind me. They laugh along with the guys.
“And you want to fix your charisma? Why? You’re absolutely perfect,”
“I threw up on the side of the road,” I ruin his mood. His smile falters.
“Are you okay?”
“No, I had a fucking panic attack in front of your mom. It was hella embarrassing. Can you imagine if that happened in front of someone important? I’d have to kill them. I can’t have people going around spreading lies about me getting soft. Let the world keep thinking the Wolf Bait is an asshole,”
“I’m really happy you’re back and that you brought my car back, but you’re really fucking annoying,” he growls at me and snatches the fob out of my hand.
“Rude,” I scoff. He turns back to me with a smirk on his lips before getting in his car.
“Are you coming?” he asks rolling the window down. I glance over at the twins who are both swooning over the Jordan. Good for him. I’m going to go do the same thing to the King. Alegra is right. I am in a good mood for once.
“Bye, guys,” I rush out and get in the car. “Full circle,”
“You just don’t shut up, huh?” he laughs.
“Where are we going?”
“To have dinner and somewhere quiet before I fuck you and send you to the psychward for the criminally insane,”
“Sweet, I’m starving,”
SEN