There was a plan all along.
The universe’s.
My parents’.
Landon’s.
Everyone had a course of life and a path to follow from the beginning.
The universe decided my biological parents didn’t deserve to live and destroyed my life in retrospect.
Mum and Dad thought any information about my past was unnecessary so they went to immaculate lengths to hide it from me.
Landon needed me as his instigator of chaos, the variable that he used to have the Heathens and Serpents clash without getting the Elites involved, so he withheld information.
But he had my revenge in mind.
That’s what he called it earlier, after he casually mentioned that he kidnapped Nikolai because we can use him to draw out Jeremy.
“Once the Heathens’ leader is here, you can punch him, kill him. Get your long-awaited revenge. What’s better than punishing the parents’ sin by taking away their only heir?”
Eli thinks Landon said that so I would let him go, but his words aren’t far from the truth.
I’ve stayed locked up in my room since, sitting in the dark for hours, a whole day even, staring at my bloodied hands.
It’s not enough.
This amount of blood is simply not enough.
There needs to be payback. Eye for an eye. Life for a life.
And since the parents are untouchable, the children will pay on their behalf.
Just like I did over seventeen years ago.
That would hurt them much more anyway, considering they poured all their lives into raising them to be the future leaders of the Volkovs.
A tinge of pain explodes behind my rib cage, achy at first but soon becoming absolutely unbearable.
The thought of her slashes through my bruised chest and brutally confiscates my air.
I always considered myself a little bit heartless, but it was Annika who proved that I actually do have a heart.
Only, it’s reserved for a select few, an exclusive list that she somehow found her way onto.
A closed door that she barged right through.
A tall wall that she crumbled to the ground.
But for what purpose?
We’ve come to this point where I won’t only break her heart, but I’ll also ruin her until there’s nothing left to pick up.
Annika has always looked at me as a god. Little did she know that the altar she worshiped at belongs to a tyrant god.
In the darkness of my room, I can barely see my hands. I barely exist.
It’s like I’m floating out of my body in a parallel world.
Tiger mewls from his position by my foot. He hasn’t left my side since I locked myself up in here. He’s just rubbed himself all over me.
I pat his head and then I grab him and place him outside my door so that he can find Bran or Remi.
After locking myself in my room again, I fish out my phone to read and re-read the last text she sent.
Particularly the last part.
I miss you. I want to kiss you.
My fingers tighten around the phone, then I throw it against the wall with enough force that it shatters and clatters on the ground.
The room becomes suffocating with my heavy breathing and her fucking violet scent. It’s all over my sheets, my bathroom, my wardrobe.
I might have been the one who dominated her, but she’s the one who’s left her mark everywhere.
In my air, on my skin, and down to the marrow of my fucking bones.
Standing up, I pull on the sheet covering the mattress and throw it to the ground. I smash a lamp and then use it to wreak havoc on everything in the bathroom.
Her shampoo, her perfume, her toothbrush, her fluffy towels. I accidentally cut my hand and smear them with blood.
By the time I’m done, I’m breathing heavily and everything is as broken as I am.
But it’s still not fucking enough.
Rage bubbles in my veins, flowing with blood and demanding more.
Time to take this to the next level.
Landon already said he’d bring Jeremy to my door by threatening Nikolai’s life.
It’s been long enough for him to fulfill that promise.
I leave my room and head to the basement. Eli said he’d keep an eye on surveillance—and Lan as he nurses his wounds.
Remi passed out soon after Bran took him back to his room, too drunk to care about anything.
I expect to find Nikolai still drugged up. He woke up early this morning and nearly broke his arm trying to escape his bindings, so Landon had to drug ‘the crazy bloody bastard’ again.
My feet come to a halt near the basement when the automatic light doesn’t come on.
There’s no shortage of power to cause this, so the only explanation is that someone purposefully cut it off.
Sure enough, I make out a shadow moving swiftly along the hall.
Strategically.
I track their movements until they reach their destination.
The basement door.
When they insert the key and unlock it, I catch a glimpse of none other than my cousin.
Surprisingly, it’s not Landon, though.
Bran slips inside with swift agility that I’m witnessing for the first time.
I wait a few moments before I follow behind.
Through the ajar door, I can make out Nikolai’s huge body slumped over in the chair he’s bound to. His head has fallen to his chest and his long hair is loose, forming a curtain over his face.
Brandon remains a safe distance away, watching him with a blank expression.
He’s always been the most even-tempered out of the four of us. He’s never indulged in hunting, manipulations, pranks, fighting, or anything monstrous.
Brandon King is the only good boy among us.
Where his twin brother is a volcano, Bran is the earth—silent, deep, and actually has a core.
Morals.
Which is why I have no doubt he’ll let Nikolai go. He’s just not the type who’ll sit by while someone else gets hurt.
A trait that will probably get him killed one day.
I’m about to barge inside and abort his plan, but I stop when Bran reaches a hesitant hand to Nikolai’s…hair.
He slowly, gently slides it back, revealing his unconscious face. A groan spills out of Nikolai’s lips and Brandon jerkily releases him. His hand finds the back of his neck and he pulls on the short hairs there.
Nikolai’s eyes blink open, his pupils dilated, and he appears to be as high as a kite.
“Lotus flower…? What are you doing here?” His voice is craggy, a bit slurred, barely understandable.
Bran reluctantly releases his hair. Then he pulls out a knife from his waistband and starts cutting at Nikolai’s bindings. “You’re the one who came into my house. You just couldn’t stay away?”
A lopsided grin lifts Nikolai’s lips. “How else would I see you so adorably worried about me?”
“I am not worried about you and don’t fucking call me adorable again.”
“Wow. The posh boy can curse.”
“Shut it or I’ll leave you to my brother’s and cousins’ nonexistent mercy.”
“If I’d known I’d see this side of you, I would’ve gotten myself kidnapped long ago.”
“Are you insane?”
Nikolai lifts a shoulder. “Probably.”
Brandon shakes his head and releases a long sigh. “I’ll release you and leave the back door open, and you’ll have to find your own way out.”
“No.” I stroll inside and Bran freezes, then slowly faces me.
“Creigh.”
“Step back,” I order when he continues trying to cut the ropes.
“This isn’t right and you know it—”
“Step the fuck back, Bran. I won’t repeat myself another time.”
He complies, but he doesn’t put away his knife and lets it hang at his side. When I went to my room earlier, Lan and Eli filled him in about the situation, so he knows exactly why I’m doing this.
“Get out.”
“Listen…” He steps toward me. “I know you feel the need for revenge, but this whole thing is wrong.”
“No one asked for your opinion. Stay out of this.”
“I won’t allow you to throw your life away for parents you’ve never known and a past you’re better off without, Creighton.” His voice hardens. “I’m letting Nikolai go and then we’ll talk about this. Rationally.”
He turns around to our prisoner, but before he starts trying to free him again, I punch him on the back of his head.
A groan spills from his lips as his unconscious body falls on top of Nikolai. I pull him back, then lower him to the floor against the wall.
Sorry, Bran, but your morals have no place in this situation.
“That was unnecessary,” Nikolai says in a deadpan voice.
I face him, both hands in my pockets. “Attempting to save you is what’s unnecessary.”
He’s about to say something when the door opens again and Landon strolls inside dressed in new clothes and sporting a galaxy of bruises.
His gaze roams over the room and pauses at the sight of his brother, but he doesn’t appear surprised in the least. “And what is he doing here?”
“He was trying to rescue Nikolai,” I say.
“Should’ve known since the little fuck was acting suspicious.” Landon’s gaze is disapproving but he picks Bran up and half carries him, stops at the door, and says, “Oh, by the way, Jeremy’s here. I’ll let him in once I lock the king of morals up.” With one last glance at Nikolai, he leaves, taking Bran with him.
I lean against the wall and cross my arms, summoning the calm I don’t have.
Nikolai glares up at me from beneath strands of his wild hair. “What are you up to, King? What’s the revenge lotus flower was talking about?”
I say nothing, meeting his glare with my signature blank stare.
“Shouldn’t you be bribing Jer so he’ll let you be with his sister instead of encouraging him to rip your balls out?”
My jaw clenches, but I neutralize my expression.
“The fuck? Say something. Wait a fucking minute. I say, were you playing Anni? If that’s the case, I’ll help Jeremy tear your head off and throw your body in the ocean as food for the fish.”
When I continue my silence, he releases a long sigh. “You think Jeremy wasn’t aware of your relationship? He’s had an idea ever since that fire, but the reason he let you get away with it is because he knew his sister felt suffocated by all the security and guards, so he gave her some leeway. He kept watching you and knew you were treating her well and she was happy. The only fucking reason he started suspecting your intentions again is due to your intimate relations with that fucker Landon. He was leading you astray and Jeremy questioned whether or not he should’ve trusted you with his sister in the first place. Was he right?”
I walk toward him and pick up the knife Brandon dropped on Nikolai’s lap when he fell. The same knife that this fucker has been trying to hide between his thighs while distracting me with his word vomit.
No clue if Bran left him the knife on purpose or not, but the intent is obviously there.
The door opens again and I slip behind Nikolai, holding the knife to his throat.
Landon and Eli lead Jeremy inside. He looks ragged and probably came here right after he landed.
Does that mean Annika came with him? Or did he leave her in the States?
I mentally shake the thought of her out of my head.
This is the worst time to be distracted by Annika Volkov.
Jeremy is forced to a halt in the middle of the room by a squeeze from Landon’s hand. He slides his dark gaze from Nikolai’s face to the knife I hold to his throat. “Anyone care to explain the meaning of this?”
“Old-fashioned revenge?” Landon says with a grin.
“That’s right. Revenge.” Eli circles him. “See. Your mummy killed Creigh’s biological father and your daddy covered it up, ruined his reputation, and drove his wife to commit suicide. And the bitch attempted to drag Creigh with her to hell. He barely escaped the clutches of death when he was three years old. So…he kind of holds a grudge.”
“A big one,” Lan supplies.
“My mother did not kill anyone,” Jeremy says. Point-blank. Matter-of-factly.
“Even when she was crazy?” Lan whispers the last word with a mocking edge.
Jeremy swings around and punches him across the face. “Call her crazy again and it’ll be your funeral.”
“Ouch. It’s ‘we’re jealous of Landon’s face’ day.” He still smiles. “Hit a nerve, mafia prince?”
I can tell he wants to send Lan to oblivion, but he schools his expression and stares at me. “Mom said she saw your picture on Annika’s phone and recognized you because you have your father’s eyes. Eyes she’ll never forget.”
“Because she killed him?” I don’t know how I speak so calmly.
“Because he wronged her. She didn’t disclose any details other than that, but I know my mother is not a killer. She’d never willingly orphan a child or be the reason for his demise.”
“Then you obviously don’t know your mother. Or you’re too blind to it.”
He grinds his jaw. “Dad told me to keep you away from Annika in any way possible, but I’m willing to listen. I’m willing to see the end of this bad blood.”
“That makes one of us.” My tone is dead with no inflection whatsoever. “There’s nothing to listen to, Jeremy. My only goal is to wipe your family off the face of the earth. I’ll start with you.”
“Then I will kill you.”
“If you can, by all means. That’s the only way you’ll be able to stop me.”
“Hey, motherfucker.” Nikolai grins up at me with manic eyes that resemble Landon’s when he’s on a high. “You’re not using me for this.”
And just like that, the crazy bastard shoves his neck against the blade. A deep gash opens on his skin, causing blood to pour out.
“Nikolai!” Jeremy roars and starts to run toward us, but Landon keeps him back.
I step away, still holding the bloodied knife in my hand.
“I…won’t be your…downfall…Jer…” Nikolai gurgles, the sound vibrating off his throat.
“This crazy bitch.” Eli starts toward us, removes his jacket and methodically presses it against Nikolai’s bleeding throat. “Oi. Don’t die, little fuck. You’re not making my brother a killer when he didn’t sign up for it.”
“Nikolai!” Jeremy struggles against Lan and tries to punch him, but this time, my cousin ducks and even drives his fist in his face.
Me? I stare at the blood dripping from the knife. So taking a life is this easy and quick.
A nanosecond of slicing a throat is enough to end it all.
Why the fuck did I struggle so much back then? Why didn’t I let it end so…easily?
“Creighton!”
My red vision shifts focus to my brother, who still has the jacket against Nikolai’s neck as his head drops sideways, eyes barely open.
“Release him. He needs to go to the hospital.” He glares at Lan. “Couldn’t you bring Gareth? Why did you have to take this crazy prick?’
My cousin lifts a shoulder. “He insulted me.”
My movements are sure and detached as I cut the ropes. Eli knots the jacket around Nikolai’s neck for the time being. Once the bindings are gone, he carries him outside.
Jeremy tries to follow, but Lan shoves him against the wall. “We’re not done with you yet, Heathen.”
“The fuck are you waiting for?” He glares at me instead of my cousin. “Want to kill me? Want to avenge your pathetic family? Your weak father who couldn’t protect you? Your criminal mother who wanted to kill you? Do it. I’m right here, so fucking do it.”
I storm toward him, wrench him from Lan’s grip and shove him against the wall, my elbow and the knife at his throat. “You think I’m avenging those fucking losers? I couldn’t give a fuck about them, their makeshift family, or their rotten world. This vengeance isn’t about them, it’s about me. I was the fallout of the whole situation that no one thought about. I was the one who was left starving, thirsty, and with no destiny but to die. I didn’t crawl out of that hellhole to let bygones be bygones.”
“If you don’t let go of that grudge, you’re going to die at the end of this,” Jeremy says calmly, assertively. “One way or another, whether it’s at the hand of my father, his guards, or his friends. You’ll be killed in the most brutal way possible and lose the life you fought so hard for.”
“At least I’d get closure.”
Lan raises a hand from his position against the wall. “I vote for closure.”
My knife presses closer to Jeremy’s neck. He attempts to kick me but misses when I tighten my grip.
“Anoushka will hate you,” he murmurs.
“Not more than I already hate her.”
And myself for allowing her to have this hold on me.
I hate her for coming into my life, destroying my plans, and somehow still tugging at a strange part of me.
Even now. As I threaten Jeremy, I can’t forget that he’s her fucking brother.
“What the fuck? What the actual fuck?” Remi’s bewildered voice comes from the entrance. “Is that blood? Like real blood? Is this what you meant by an emergency, Anni? What—”
I throw a glance over my shoulder to tell Remi to fuck off but freeze when my eyes meet Annika’s.
Hers are glittery, rounded, and caught in a stupefied faze.
For the first time since I’ve known her, she’s not in one of her purple dresses and is sporting jeans and an oversized hoodie instead.
Her hair is covered by the hood and she’s shaking from head to toe.
“The fuck are you doing here?” Jeremy yells. “Leave!”
She purses her lips and still manages to maintain eye contact with me. It’s steady, like when it gets to be too much during sex, but I tell her to keep her eyes on me and it instantly calms her down.
Why the fuck am I thinking about that?
“Creighton…please stop. We can talk about this whole thing.”
“You’re aware of this?” I ask, unable to hide the bewilderment from my tone.
“M-Mom…just told me.” Her lips quiver. “I’m so sorry for all of it. Mom is, too. I swear. So please don’t hurt Jeremy. He has nothing to do with the past.”
My insides coil with nefarious disgust.
At her.
At myself.
At every fucking thing.
“Your parents do. The best way to hurt them is to take away their precious firstborn. You said it yourself, that your parents have a special spot for him.”
“No, please…” A tear slides down her cheek as she steps forward.
“Don’t.” I push the knife farther into her brother’s neck.
If she gets too close, I might pull a Nikolai and extinguish this fire once and for all.
Annika comes to a halt, more tears streaming down her cheeks.
More anguish.
More sadness.
I’ve always hated her tears outside of sex, and now that they’re there because of me, it’s nothing short of ripping my guts out.
“Annika.” Jeremy’s chest rumbles against mine. “Get out of here.”
“I’m not leaving you, Jer.” She stares at me and says with confidence, “Take me on his behalf.”
“Annika!” Jeremy all but roars.
“I’m begging you, Creighton. If I ever meant anything to you, if you had even a sliver of affection toward me, don’t do this to me. Don’t take away my brother, don’t make me hate you. Don’t…make me choose.”
My chest burns so bright, so hot that I’m sure it’ll explode into tiny gory pieces.
“Creigh…” Remi calls softly. He’s been watching the whole show from the sidelines, probably trying to figure out if he’s still drunk. “Stop this. Let’s talk.”
“There’s nothing to talk about.” I stare at Annika. “I will not stop until your entire family is wrecked like I once was.”
“I told you not to make me choose,” she says in a brittle voice as she reaches underneath her hoodie and brings out a gun, then points it at me.
Her whole body trembles, except for her arm that holds the weapon.
“Anni.” Remi comes to her side. “Drop that.”
“Annika, fucking leave,” Jeremy mutters with an edge to his voice.
Her gaze never breaks from mine. “Let him go.”
“No.”
“I’m an excellent shot. I told you I don’t miss, remember?”
“I do.”
“Then release my brother.” She’s ordering me, but she’s crying, her voice choking.
“No.”
It’s a death wish, I think. For a moment, thoughts like ‘I should’ve died with my mother’ invade my mind.
What’s the point of living if I’m too attached to the past?
What’s the point of living if I’m tearing the one person who made me feel alive to pieces?
Even if I somehow get past the burning rage and put a stop to this, I’ll never be with her again.
It’s the end.
I turn around and stab Jeremy in the arm.
A shot rings in the air, coupled with an equally loud sob.
A sound I’ll never forget for as long as I live.
A sound that will haunt me to my grave.
Pain explodes in my chest and a smile curves my lips as I sway and fall toward the ground.
She said she didn’t miss and she meant it.
But I don’t hit the ground. Instead, I’m held by Landon.
He stares at me with his soulless eyes and it’s fucking sad that he’s the one I see last.
It could’ve at least been Eli.
But I guess someone like me doesn’t get to choose.
“Creigh! Can you hear me?”
I grab him by the collar and use the last breaths in my lungs to choke out, “T-tell…Mum and…Dad…t-that I-I’m sorry…”
The last sight I catch is blurred blue-gray eyes and the last thing I hear is my custom-made Grim Reaper calling my name.
But I’m already gone.
The rage dulls to nothingness and I close my eyes.
It’s finally…over.
