Page 14 of Cut Her Strings (Fractured Puppets #1)

Chapter 13

Player 58

Jayce

J ayce leaned against the bedroom door that kept him from his sweet Raven. He was practically vibrating with his fury. The Host hadn’t shared the rules with anyone besides Raven and Levi. The first time he had heard Raven’s noises, he knew exactly what they were doing. Whether a game or not, he would kill Levi. He would bide his time until the very end, but then he would end Levi’s life for daring to touch what wasn’t his.

Maverick and Enzo had left Jayce alone after stopping him from demolishing his fists against the door, but he knew they were lingering—that they, too, could hear her.

Another flash of molten rage flowed through him. He split his knuckles earlier in his attempts to break down the door, but it did nothing to stop him from punching into the floor. He welcomed the physical pain; it was a distraction from his internal turmoil .

Jayce knew that Raven was not the same girl he had protected, the same teenager he had hidden his feelings from, or the same woman he had allowed himself to love. She saved him from the biggest mistake in his life but, unfortunately, it had been too late to prevent the series of events that led him to where he was now.

Jayce still remembered the lead-up to the day vividly in his mind.

It was the day after he had a life-altering conversation with Raven that left him happier than he’d ever been. It was the last straw, and he knew he could no longer continue with Anadil’s plans.

“I can’t do this anymore, Anadil!” Jayce exclaimed. He tried to explain it calmly, but she wasn’t listening to anything he said. She was too set in her mindset and wanted revenge.

“You are going to go with the objective, or you will become a casualty!” Nightingale was spitting in his face now. They were in a section in the walls she had carved out just for their meetings. They hadn’t screamed this loudly before in it, and he worried they would be overheard.

“Listen,” he lowered his voice and placatingly put his hands on her shoulders, “I can still help on the backside. But you have to understand. I love her, and your sister is-”

“I don’t want to hear it! She doesn’t need anything else! I gave everything to protect her. I won’t give her you, too!” With this statement, Jayce finally opened his eyes and realized that Anadil was gone. This was all Nightingale; a person on a mission who was not afraid to hurt any and every one that didn’t listen to her commands.

He saved his breath and refrained from arguing. There was nothing he could say to change her mind. “I understand.” He removed his arms and stepped back. This wasn’t his friend.

“Do you?” She inched forward menacingly. "I won’t let anything stop this—not you, and certainly not my sweet, innocent sister,” she spat the words out in disgust.

He jerked his head in a nod. As he turned to leave, he twisted his head back to say something apologetic to placate her, but he paused at her expression. Nightingale’s eyes were empty and dark, and he decided against saying anything.

She was going to do something off-script. He made up his mind then and there that he would have a contingency in place, just in case.

Nightingale stabbed his sweet Raven three days later. And now here they were, practically strangers. How did Raven make it back to him at all? He was determined to use this time to his advantage.

For the first time since he woke up in this game, he wondered if his arrangement for Raven’s safety had worked. How else could he explain the fact she was still alive.

But if it had, that meant the person he had tasked with keeping her safe could be alive too. He shook his head; that was a problem for another day.

Raven’s scream brought him out of his thoughts, and he shot to his feet. After several minutes of silence, he couldn’t take it anymore. He was just about to begin banging on the door again, as useless as it may be, when the lock clicked .

Without hesitation, he twisted the knob and threw the door open, only vaguely aware that Enzo and Maverick had joined him.

The sight before him caused a frenzy of emotions to wash through his body. The first he saw was Levi. The man was a giant, and he was inside his Raven. Levi was sitting on the bed and Raven was sprawled over him, wrapped around his body. He was lightly bouncing her, and Jayce could see as he slid in and out of her in a soft, steady rhythm.

Raven was wrecked; marks covered her body, her arms hung limply together behind his neck, and her eyes were listless. Jayce felt his cock harden to steel, and he moved his hand to adjust it. She looked exactly how he wanted her, but then he remembered it was Levi who had done this.

“Get the fuck out of her right fucking now before I do something we all regret,” Jayce thundered. He ignored Maverick and Enzo as they moved to his side in a defensive stance. His eyes focused solely on Levi. It took him a moment to realize Levi was no longer wearing his mask. He vaguely recognized the man; they were in the same Faction. At least they had been, until Levi betrayed one of their own.

Levi lifted Raven gently and placed her on the bed; he wrapped her in a blanket before turning back to Jayce.

Levi met Jayce’s scrutiny. “Seems we need to have a discussion. Let’s both get our dicks under control before we do, eh?” Levi said, eyeing Jayce’s unmistakable situation.

“Get dressed. I am going to check on her, and we can talk in the living room.” Jayce used every ounce of self-control he had, not to launch himself at Levi. But more uncomfortably, he tried not to dwell on how he felt seeing his sweet Raven on the hulking man, seeing her stretched to fit him.

Levi simply raised an eyebrow; he retrieved his mask and left the room. Maverick and Enzo followed him out.

Jayce moved to Raven’s side, she was curled up and breathing steadily with her eyes closed. He dragged the blanket down, taking in her naked form. She was covered in marks, and another man's fluids, but all he wanted was to slide into her and leave his mark.

She mumbled incoherently, and he re-covered her in the blanket. He placed a lingering kiss on her forehead before stepping back.

Jayce watched Raven for a bit longer. He was possessive over her. She was his. His anger flared again. When it hit a peak, he finally left the room.