Rage (Her Monsters Book One) - K.A Knight Page 0,75
our lives. They were offered a choice, death or a life of slavery. Those who chose to live...they were forced into servitude under the council. Nothing more than their pet assassins and the shadows of the monsters. They are hunters. The council found a way to make them toe the line. They found that nephilim wings can be stripped and they will grow back, but it is a horrendous act, so vile most of the species balk at it. It usually strips them of their sanity and their powers until they regrow, but even then the nephilim is never the same again...they are fallen.”
My heart skips a beat as I look at my other mate, Nos’ words still ringing in my head. They stripped him of his wings? Rage like no other bursts to life inside me and this time I feel my eyes change. They dare to hurt my mate?
“It is said, because they are not of nature, nephilim do not have mates,” Nos whispers, and it all makes sense now.
No wonder Griffin is such an asshole, he should be. He has been told his whole life that he is no more than a monster, an abomination, forced to do the bidding of others with no chance of freedom, no chance of happiness. Trying to suppress this unparalleled rage, I look around the house he brought us to. Yet, he brought us, the mate he should have never had and her other mate to his safe place. His haven.
“Dinner is ready,” he growls out, grabbing three plates and banging them onto the table without glancing at us, before grabbing the wok off the stove and laying it on the towel in the middle of the table. Only then does he look up, and he freezes when he meets my eyes.
Standing from Nos’ lap, I run my hand across the wood of the table as I walk, until I stand before Griffin, with my eyes locked on his. “I don’t pity you, you survived it. You are alive, they are not,” I say and his eyes flash in shock. “Pity is for the dead and broken, and you are neither.” I let him see the truth behind my words. I don’t think less of him for his past, in fact, I think more of him. We are alike, although he sure as hell has been through a lot more than me. He inclines his head slightly and I turn back to the table, staring at a proud looking Nos. “It smells delicious, let’s eat,” I declare.
It’s quiet while we eat, with Nos and myself on one side and Griffin on the other, concentrating on his plate. The food is delicious, but the atmosphere is frosty and that’s all my fault.
As soon as he’s finished, Griffin disappears upstairs and I hear his bedroom door shut. Sighing, I clear my plate before taking all the dirty pots to the sink. Nos drops a supportive kiss on my head and as I wash them, he dries.
“Come on, Little Monster. You need to rest.” He grabs my hand and I nod, following him upstairs to the room Griffin said we could stay in. When I pass his room, I pause but I don’t bother knocking. He clearly needs some space, and that’s okay. I’m not forcing him to be my mate, and I’ll walk away if it’s easier for him.
Following Nos up the stairs, I stand in the middle of the room with my arms crossed as I study the space. I must look as lost as I feel, because Nos comes and stands before me. “Everything will work out, but that is tomorrow’s problem. Tonight, tonight is about you and me.” He kisses me softly before walking over to the fire. He crouches down and gets it going, the flames licking across the wood as he stands back up and walks over to me.
The firelight dances around the room, throwing shadows across his beautiful face as he grabs my crossed arms and drops them to my side. His fingers graze the side of my arms gently, raising goosebumps in their wake.
Circling me, he moves my hair to my other shoulder and drops a gentle kiss on the base of my neck, making me shiver again. Need pulses through me, this isn’t fast and primal. He is seducing me, showing me. My mate…he’s laying claim to me.
He grabs the zip and pulls it down gently, and the back of the dress gapes, letting in