Ruins of Chaos (Legacy of the Nine Realms #3) - Amelia Hutchins Page 0,39

you intended to mark her flesh by force,” Greer explained, hiking his thumb over his shoulder to where more of his men kneeled on the forest floor surrounding us. “They seem to want to help, but luckily Aria has the strongest alphas around her, petting her like she’s a kitten needing caressing.”

“My mark stopped it last time,” Knox argued, his tone sharp as steel while he slapped Killian’s fingers away from my naked breast.

“You hurt her,” Killian growled, and my eyes jerked toward his, locking with them.

“I saved her,” Knox snapped crossly. “It’s the noise she made when she called to me as Lord Andres assaulted her.” Knox tilted his head and listened to the echoing cry that rattled within the noise I made.

“Because he terrified her,” Killian whispered, unable to stop touching me. “She made that sound in distress because Andres was trying to force his mark upon her, and there were bodies all around them, indicating she’d watched them murdering her kind. It was traumatic and violent. He intended to mate with her forcefully, uncaring what she wanted. Now she’s making the same sound, but it’s because of you, Knox.”

“My mark stopped it before,” Knox repeated before turning me toward him, cupping my face. Pulling away from him, I fought to stop the noise from escaping. “Replacing my mark on her flesh eased her fear.”

“It did, but then she removed yours too because it felt wrong. You tried to make her tell you where her family hid. You betrayed her creature and the shell that houses it by trying to drown her in her bathwater,” Killian explained, reaching forward and pushing my hair away from my face before wiping away my tears.

“I took it back. I rescinded the fucking question,” Knox growled, spinning me around to stare at me as tears swam in my eyes. It was dizzying the way they continued to turn me between them, both trying to comfort me. I felt like I was in the middle of a pissing contest, crying like a baby because the noise wouldn’t stop exploding from me. “Females don’t scream for help when alphas are around! They’d sense they’re safe, even if they’re not. Our scent comforts them. There are enough alphas here that Aria shouldn’t need to make that sound, yet she fucking is.”

“Our females don’t rattle and purr either, but Aria does. That noise has me needing to defend her, and I don’t actually like her, but it doesn’t matter much at the moment. I need to protect her and comfort her, Knox. Look around. Her distress call brought every beast to her, feeling the need to protect her from what’s upsetting her.”

“I can’t leave her unmarked. It isn’t safe for Aria to be around us without my mark, protecting her from others that would fight over her. Take her back to the cage, Greer. Killian, find me something to murder, now.”

I listened as Greer escorted me back, still echoing the sound without the ability to shut it off. I hadn’t been afraid of Knox or his damn bite, so why the hell was I making the damn noise?

“You can’t turn it off because the noise is coming from me. He’ll fucking earn us before touching us again. You were right; he’s a dicker.”

I blanched, realizing my creature was continuing to make the noise to fuck with Knox. It wasn’t something I would do, but it had gotten his attention rather quickly, along with every male I passed, who moved forward as if they needed to help me.

“What call are you sending out?” I pried carefully.

“The one no male ever wants to hear. Greer is smart. We cried for a protector, and we just had the entire camp of alphas on their fucking knees! His beast won’t allow it again, so use it wisely. Also, maybe suck his dick, so we’d smell like him because everyone wants us now. I like dick, but you won’t want this many in us at once, or even close together. Paint us with his scent. Consider this your warning. He hurt you, and no one hurts you without dealing with me too. Together, right, Aria? But he’s a man, and men are dumb. Use him for protection because you are soft and hurt easily, but I am hard. I hate it when you hurt. I wished to kill him when he hurt you. He is stronger than us. Now his dumb male pride is wounded, and he will kill shit and