Total pages in book: 161
Estimated words: 147673 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 738(@200wpm)___ 591(@250wpm)___ 492(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147673 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 738(@200wpm)___ 591(@250wpm)___ 492(@300wpm)
“Dead. The new king is me.”
“Long live the king?” Laurent didn’t spare any of the corpses another glance, thinking back to the terrible things those men promised to do to him at night. As soon as Beast unlocked the cage, Laurent stumbled out and pressed his body against Beast’s firm chest. Nowhere did he feel as safe as in those arms.
Beast kissed his temple but was quick to cut the rope around Laurent’s wrists. His fingers were so gentle when they skimmed over the dark bruises on the visible parts of Laurent’s body. His blue eyes were bright and innocent as they looked back at Laurent. “Only if you come home with me. Will you stay with me forever?” he asked in the dying light.
Laurent nodded eagerly and wrapped his arms around Beast’s waist. His heart soared, bating so fast he thought it might break from sheer happiness. “Nothing else will do.”
Beast exhaled and slid his backpack down his arm, opening it quickly to produce a bundle of leather. Laurent’s face flushed with heat even before Beast unfolded the pretty vest that had been made especially for him.
“Then I think you should have this.”
Laurent turned around so that Beast could put it on for him, and he smiled when he looked over his shoulder. He didn’t need to see the patches on the back of the garment to know what they read. “Yours.”
“Forever,” Beast said, taking hold of Laurent’s hand. With the other, he pulled something small out of his jean pocket.
The mirror glinted in Beast’s hand, reflecting the evening sun, but Laurent still managed to steal a kiss before the glass surface exploded with smoke and sucked them in.
Epilogue - Knight
Knight had taken the whole time-travel thing fairly well. The evidence was there, and as crazy as the truth was, he’d gotten on board with it as soon as he’d been presented with material proof in the unmarked grave by the rock. Seeing a horned devil appear in the mirror and fill the whole room with smoke was a whole new level of crazy.
Then again, it seemed that all the club members had been completely certain their new prez was not right in the head when he told them he’d made a pact with the devil, like his father before him, and that said pact involved lots of debauchery in the clubhouse.
The fact that they had all actually seen the demon was problematic but made the whole thing slightly easier to swallow. It still took several seconds of men glaring at each other with the same question in their eyes: Did you see that too?
Knight cleared his throat and tapped his fingers against the table. “You remember how when this place was still an asylum, they reported a mass hallucination about a demon walking the corridors?”
Joker groaned and massaged his temples. “So are you saying I should be fucking here more often or the devil will kill you?”
Davy snorted, adjusting his leg where it was lifted on a stool. “Right? Fucking nightmare.”
Rev patted him on the back. “That’s hardly an issue.”
Fox shook his head with a frown. “Do we get shit too? Like superpowers, or something?”
Beast sighed. “I didn’t get any powers. I have Laurent. And if you want to bargain with that thing, do it on your own, although I don’t think it’s such a great idea,” he said.
Beast hadn’t disclosed the truth about King to anyone but Knight, and while Knight agreed it was for the better if the patches believed the devil killed King over a broken pact, it still infuriated him to see all the tributes to their former prez.
“I’m good, thank you very much,” Knight said and snickered Joker’s way. “We will just have to fuck around so much there will be barely any time left for anything else.”
Gray looked contemplative in his corner, but he did acknowledge what was being said with a nod. Maybe he’d reevaluate his own prolonged celibacy, because if he was fucking anyone, none of the members knew about it.
Beast took a deep breath. “As I’ve already said, it’s not all about the fucking, so stop focusing on that like teenage boys. What it means is that the club needs to stay here. Our future is here. We keep parties going, and we keep this club like it’s always been intended. A place for freedom in all aspects. As time passes, I’m sure we will find out more about this… thing, devil, demon, whatever, and we can then act as necessary.”
Laurent sat to Beast’s side despite not technically being allowed to participate in Church, but he had the most information about the secretive being that apparently owned their asses, and after saying all he could, he became quiet, just sitting next to Beast in the property vest that he never seemed to take off.