A Vow Of Hate

“You’re not as unlovable as you make yourself out to be,” I finally spoke, feeling the way my chin wobbled and my hands shook. I peeked at Killian to see his nostrils flaring and his jaw tightening.

“The man my sister loved is still there, hidden somewhere underneath your skin and that cold exterior of yours. True, me and you can’t ever be together. Not with our tarnished past. But I hope one day, you can find love again. The kind of love that makes you a soft person and the kind of love that makes you want to be a better man. You deserve a love that’s not stained with sins or ugly lies and horrible secrets.”

He let out a chuckle, without any warmth, and so cold it almost gave me frostbite. “That’s a pretty speech you have there, Beasty,” Killian mocked. “Very well-practiced, I have to say.”

Why was I even surprised that this was his response? I didn’t exactly hate Killian, but while I was trying my best to get along with him, he was just making it so damn hard. “Why do you have to turn everything I say into something ugly?”

“Give me the heir I need, and we can go our separate ways,” Killian responded coolly, as if it was just that – a matter-of-fact and not a life-changing decision.

I took a step away from Ragna and approached him and his horse. “Would you really let me go?”

He tsked, cocking his head to the side. “We’ll live our separate lives, but I won’t give you a divorce,” he amended.

“Why not?” I asked, genuinely curious why he could live his separate life but he still wanted to be attached to me, in some way, even in name only.

“No divorce,” he deadpanned.

“So, you can continue tormenting me?”

His lips widened with a wicked grin, so malicious, so cold. “Exactly. See, you’re a smart girl. Why do you like to act so stupid sometimes?”

“Why do you have to act like an asshole, all the time?” I shot back, tempted to snap at him but I reined in my anger. One of us had to stay cool, one of us had to hold back because the last time we both lost control…

It ended up with my walls torn down, me sobbing in his arms… and him kissing me to shut me up. Whatever the outcome was, Killian Spencer always ended with the upper hand and I was left vulnerable.

“It’s part of my charm,” he drawled.

I rolled my eyes. “I don’t find it charming at all.”

As I grew closer to Cerberus, he eyed me doubtfully. I was right to call him grumpy. He didn’t get along with anyone except Killian. Even Gideon was only allowed to bathe him and brush his coat. If the older man had as much as tried to mount him, the stallion would have bucked him off and not so nicely either.

Killian’s eyes briefly darted to me before he went back to petting Cerberus. “When will you realize, Beasty, that I could care less what you think of me?”

“Tormenting me has really become your favorite hobby, hasn’t it?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer. Bitterness dripped in my words and even I heard them clearly.

My lungs squeezed the breath out of me.

“It’s boring here, on this island,” Killian responded, his voice shockingly soft, but I didn’t let it fool me. Killian was a dangerous creature. “So, I had to find a new hobby.”

“I’m pretty sure that was your way of calling me interesting enough to be Killian Spencer’s hobby.”

“Only you would turn an insult into praise.”

My lips twitched with a ghost of a smile. “It’s just a unique ability I was born with.”

Killian let out a sound that sounded something between a laugh and an insult. Cerberus made a defensive snort, always angrily, when I got too close to him. I slowly started to back away, hands up in the universal surrender sign. “Easy boy, I’m not going to hurt you.”

Killian paused. His eyes flickered past my shoulder and they widened, horror washing over his face. I dropped my hands, my heart dipping into my stomach as coldness washed over me, freezing the blood in my veins. The hair on the back of my neck stood up and…

It all happened in slow motion.

Cerberus let out a loud neigh, as if he could feel his master’s tension and fear. He threw his front legs up, before slamming them down.

Killian ran toward me.

I stumbled away from Ragna.

A gunshot roared through the air, loud and clear, paralyzing me.

My husband slammed into me, spinning us around, and I tipped over. My eyes squeezed shut and I let out a piercing scream, bracing myself for the fall.

The moment I was flung onto the ground, my breath left my lungs with a loud whoosh and Killian collapsed on top of me. My back felt like it had been scraped raw and every muscle in my body tightened in pain.