Ruler (Wolves of Royal Paynes #2) - Kiki Burrelli Page 0,105

molded to mine while he growled continuously, sending vibrating wave after vibrating wave down my spine. I shivered, and he slid his jacket over my naked arms.

He still wasn't close enough. I wanted to climb deep inside where we'd never—

"What the hell just happened here?" Knox hollered crossly from across the yard. "And where are the damn twins?"

"Securing a man being held captive by Portal," Faust smoothly replied. "He's pretty banged up, and jumping from a helicopter midair didn't help his condition. I'll fill you in inside."

"Affirmative." Despite the limp in Knox's step, he carried Hallie across the lawn, setting her down when they reached the edge. "Now, can someone tell me how I was just toe to toe with a Portal dickwad when a damn coyote leaped from the ground and tore his throat out? Then the three dickwads behind him get taken out by a bunch of crows."

"Murder," I said, meaning the one word two ways. What the heck had just happened out here? Murder. "A group of crows isn't a bunch, they're a murder, and I killed all those people."

Faust continued running his hands up and down my arms. He'd seen what I'd done. I didn't know why he wasn't slinking away with disgust, but he was probably still too stunned to react.

"I gathered that, Storri," Knox replied dryly. "What I'm wondering is why you haven't shown us that skill before? Fuck, knowing you could go dark Dr. Doolittle on an entire squad of soldiers would've changed everything." He didn't sound angry that I'd just used my nephilim ability to kill people but that he hadn't known to include that skill in his planning.

For the second time in less than ten minutes, my brain short-circuited. My thoughts weren't out of order for nearly as long, and the first thing I remembered was how me adding my powers to the team had been the exact idea I'd had a day ago. "Faust—"

"Really, kitten?" Faust grinned, pressing his finger to my lips. "An 'I told you so?' And right after you murdered all those people?" He was clearly teasing.

I couldn't decide if I was shocked or angry. "That isn't nice! They were real people—real—"

"—dead assholes," Diesel added.

Jazz zoomed by Diesel toward Knox, who waited with his arm raised for his mate to find his favorite place. I spotted Angus and the girls through the broken doorway, lying on a blanket inside the meeting room. My heart tugged, demanding I go to the girls and make sure every hair was still on their heads. I couldn't, though. Not now.

I appreciated how nice everyone was being, but I couldn't shake off what I'd done so easily. It was starting to seem like we'd come out the victors, but I still felt like I'd failed, becoming the danger they'd always known me to be. "They were right." I stared at the ground as I mumbled. "I am dangerous."

"Yes, you are." Of everyone in the circle, I didn't expect Jazz to be the one to tell me the hard truth. "You are dangerous, to them. To evil. That is why evil has always wanted to control you. It's afraid. You're dangerous to evil. I wish I was as dangerous as you."

I couldn't believe what he said was true, but mostly because of how much I wanted it to be true. "You're just twisting what happened so I won't feel so bad. I should feel bad."

Jazz stepped closer, and because Knox wasn't ready to stop holding him yet, he stepped closer too. Only Jazz grabbed my hand. He squeezed my fingers. "What did your dad say, an actual archangel, about what or who you should trust?"

"The pack and our nephilim bond."

Jazz beamed, looking more than half-angel. "Exactly. And what does our bond say? Am I lying to try to make you feel better? Do I think you are a monster? Or do I think you are the bravest half-angel I know?"

I couldn't tell that exactly, but the warmth I felt when I looked at him was the same. "Okay. I believe you." I turned to my alpha and made the conscious decision to trust him as well. This was war, but not like one that had ever been waged before. This battle was between good and very real evil.

"The girls," I gasped, my mind bringing them to mind the moment I stopped thinking of myself as a coldblooded killer.

Faust picked me up and carried me inside, beelining toward our daughters. Amelia was sleeping while