Outlaw (Wolves of Royal Paynes #4) - Kiki Burrelli Page 0,27

green—just every leaf Quinlan had touched.

7

Quinlan

Sitka's dagger pierced the strawberry before both blade and fruit slammed against a tree trunk. The strawberry exploded on impact, splattering and then running down the trunk in red drips that looked far more menacing than they were.

"Impressive!" I said, bringing my hands together in a slow clap.

My nephilim brother stood on the other side of the lawn, smirking in that way that should've been arrogant and annoying, but on Sitka, it was just endearing. "I can probably do farther. And smaller." He shrugged like the cocky spider he was.

He bent down to the container of remaining strawberries.

Jazz and Storri sat with the children on a blanket on the opposite side of the lawn, watching the showdown. Technically, only Jazz and Storri watched, while the babies preferred staring up at the clouds, at the fabric books scattered around, or at each other. Jazz was still disappointed that we hadn't been able to grow anything like we had on the scorched pack lands. The best we could figure was that the place had been destroyed with hellfire and when we'd held hands, it was enough combined angel power to counteract the destruction.

We'd finished eating a while ago, and after reading to the children—with character voices, since Storri insisted that was the important part—me and Sitka got to talking weapons. He insisted a knife was superior because of the flexibility, and I disagreed. There wasn't anything more flexible than my whip, and I was about to show him. My wraiths brought me my friend, the weight a familiar feeling that had brought me the closest I'd come to happy during my captivity. The wraiths zoomed away to hang like vines on the branches surrounding us.

I gripped the handle, cascading my fingers down the familiar object. I'd never forget the look on Pierce's face when he'd seen what I'd made. I'd told him that I had a present for him and that he needed to come inside to see it. Despite that being the only time I'd ever asked Pierce to come into my room, he bolted inside, panting in front of me like a puppy. I would've succeeded in killing him that day if I hadn't lost my nerve. At that time, I didn't know what he was capable of or what he'd already done. If given another chance, I wouldn't let myself hesitate again.

I met Sitka's gaze. "Straight up and then swim a bit back, just in case." I had complete control over every single link in my whip, but I didn't want to take any chances. The guys were more than far enough away on the blanket.

Sitka nodded and palmed the strawberry in front of his chest. At my cue, he launched it straight up in the air, swimming to a shadow a few feet away immediately after.

I tracked the strawberry's journey, flicking my whip back as it started its descent. Each chain link slid smoothly and soundlessly over the other, rippling like a wave that split the strawberry in two. I flicked my wrist, diverting the whip's trajectory and snapping it to the side, cutting the two halves once more horizontally.

The chain dropped, and I jerked the handle once more, spiraling the whip in a circle beside me. Sitka swam back, his eyes full of tears.

My gut dropped. "What's wrong?"

"That…was…the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

"Hey!" Jagger hollered from the hotel entrance. He stepped out, followed by Huntley, the doctor, and Diesel. "Your baby can hear you! And more importantly, I can hear you!" He turned to Huntley, gesturing dramatically. "Are you listening to this?"

"I hear it," Huntley replied somberly.

Sitka rolled his eyes but swam back to the blanket to scoop Onyx into his arms. The twins split off from Diesel and the doctor and headed for their mate.

Seeing Diesel aiming for me prompted my wraiths to return to my shoulders. He watched their progress and frowned. Diesel didn't like my wraiths because they made me feel powerful enough to go after Pierce. It was pretty clear he didn't like seeing my strength. He kept waiting for the old Quinlan to come back, the one who hadn't even known how helpless he was because his life was bliss.

"You had an appointment with the doc. Did you forget?"

How could I have forgotten? He'd only told me the night before and reminded me this morning. I hadn't planned on skipping it, but we'd started playing real life Fruit Ninja and I'd forgotten. That was what I