Page 26 of Dissent (The Dissenter Saga #1)

O f course, he would be…because that was my life right now.

My dead, almost boyfriend’s identical twin brother, who hated me—Oh!

And let’s not forget, wanted to stab me with a knife less than twenty-four hours ago—was going to be working with me.

Because why wouldn’t that be the next logical step in this whole mess I was in?

And of course, this was coming right after a super weird and intense encounter in a hallway.

I said nothing, of course, because what was I going to say?

Hi, um, excuse me…Mr. Boss Wynters? Can we not be paired up for this class project?

I’ve decided I want to live to see another day, and, um, this might be awkward for us both, but I’m pretty sure my goal of staying alive might conflict with Wes’s goal of murderfying my face!

Yeah, I didn’t think that was going to fly.

“I don’t think so.” Wes’s voice came out deep with no sign of hesitation or backing down. I shot a quick look at him, a scowl etched across his face.

“That’s not an option, soldier. And you’d be wise to mind your tone.”

“I’m not training with her .”

Jeez …I get he hated me and don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t signing up for the Wes fan club either, but his insistence of staying away from me stung.

Which was also surprising to me. I mean, why did I care?

I shot a quick glance at Matias, who gave me a woeful smile before returning a hard gaze at the testosterone match playing out before us.

Wynters glared at Wes, taking several steps toward him. “I’m not putting up with any of your shit today, Calvernon. You got that?” He brought his face right into Wes’s, eliminating the space between them. “Now, you’re going to follow orders like the good little rich boy you are, got it?”

Wes’s face hardened, looking like a totally pissed off—and gorgeous —chiseled statue. “No.”

They stared at one another for an intense few seconds before Wynters shoved Wes back once, twice, again, until he walked him away from us.

My heart quickened as Wes’s face grew colder, meaner.

I thought for sure he was going to punch Wynters, but he didn’t.

Not yet, anyway. He allowed Wynters to pull him away from us, far enough away that when they started arguing, we couldn’t hear much of it.

Every once in a while, they pointed in our direction— my direction—making no mistake that they were arguing about me.

I felt a gentle bump on my shoulder and looked to see Matias. The softness in his eyes was endearing. “You okay?”

My eyes met his, and I felt that increasingly familiar warmth grow within.

He had the most wonderful shade of brown eyes, deep and rich.

Eyes I could lose myself in. “Yeah,” I sighed, jerking my chin toward Wes.

“I just can’t figure out how to get him to not hate me, you know? ” I looked back at Matias.

Matias looked past me at the argument. “He doesn’t hate you, Mara. He’s just…he’s trying to figure out his own stuff, but he’ll get over it. Try not to let him bother you.”

“Easy for you to say. You’re not the one with a target on your back and assigned to train with the leader of the pitchforked mob that wants you dead.”

He laughed. “Pitchforked mob? Is that a Telvian thing?”

God his smile was charming, and sweet—so gentle and enveloping. I couldn’t help but smile back. “Classics? Ever read any of the classics, like Frankenstein ?” The look of confusion told me everything. “What! For real ?”

He shrugged his shoulders, smile still firmly in place. “When you grow up training for the rebellion, reading isn’t really at the top of the list.”

“You don’t read?”

“I can read. I just don’t have time for it.”

“Oh.”

He leaned in close to me, his lips almost brushing my ears. And when he spoke, his voice was low, deep, and decadent. “By the way, you look hot in that jumpsuit.”

Wow!

If I thought I was hot before, I was burning up now. I could feel my cheeks radiating like a furnace while a shiver raced up my spine.

“Playtime’s over kids,” Wynters hollered as he came back.

I jumped, startled by the intrusion, feeling very self-conscious of my outfit and the look of mortified embarrassment that was blasted on my face. Matias chuckled lightly as he bit his bottom lip.

“Now that Calvernon has had an attitude adjustment, it’s time to get to work. Mara, follow the rich boy and get going. Matias will find you when it’s time for marksmanship.”

My eyes instantly fell to Wes, who I swore looked as though he was about to explode. He scowled, and without saying a word, he turned on his heels and headed back toward the training center. Trepidation filled every inch of me.

How could this day have gotten worse?

Matias gave me a quick wink and an encouraging smile. “I’ll find you later. Don’t worry, it’ll be okay.”

I gulped. Easy for him to say. He wasn’t about to enter a wrestling match with a dude that hated his guts. This was going to suck.

***

The gym was more like a large, empty room.

Mats lined the floor, creating a padded space for training.

Much to my chagrin, Wes and I were completely alone.

The realization that anything could happen to me, and no one would even hear me scream, caused my arms to break out in gooseflesh as my insides went ice cold.

Wes kicked off his shoes and stepped onto the mat, facing me standing in the doorway. “Well? What are you waiting for? Let’s get this shit over with.” Unsure of what he expected me to do, angst curled up in my core. “Let’s go ,” he growled.

“All right! Jeez , you don’t have to be such an ass about it.” I might fear him, but he didn’t need to know that. I held my head up high and stepped toward the mat. Guessing he wanted me to join him, I followed his lead, taking off my shoes and stepping onto the pad.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Okay, we’re going to start with basic defense. I’m going to grab you, and you show me what you’ve got.”

“ What I’ve got? What does that—” I never got the chance to finish.

Before I knew what was happening, he had his arms wrapped around my neck, flipping me backwards, up and over, and then I was flat on my back, staring at the ceiling as his large, powerful hands gripped my neck.

Pressure pushed down on my windpipe as my eyes grew wide.

My hands instinctively flew to his wrists, gripping them, trying to push them away as the pressure intensified.

He scowled and panic surged within me as memories of the river flashed across my mind.

I opened my mouth to scream, to beg for life, to speak sense into him, but then…

he let go. His hand gripped my wrist and pulled me up as he stepped back.

I was on my feet, relief washing over me as the panic slowly subsided.

“Again.”

“What? Hell no!”

“I said, again ,” he snapped.

“I don’t even know what I’m supposed to be doing!”

“Defend yourself. Now let’s go.”

“I—” Once again, I didn’t have time to finish.

Wes charged me, grabbing my arms, flipping me around, swiping my legs out from underneath me.

The next thing I knew, I was lying flat on the mat with my arms behind my back.

He squished my face up against the soft padding, and I inhaled deep breaths of rubber and sweat as I panted.

My arms, all twisted behind me as he placed pressure on my fingers, sent debilitating pain up my arms. “Ouch! You’re hurting me!

” I felt the pressure of his body on my back.

“Make me stop,” he breathed in my ear.

“Stop, please !” There was a moment of silence, my heart thundering in my chest, and then the pressure on my fingers lessened, stopping the pain going up my arm. Relief swept over me again, but I noticed he hadn’t released me from the hold, still pinning me down with the weight of his body.

“You should leave.”

“W-what?”

“You need to leave. Get the hell away from here.” His voice was hot in my ear, low and menacing.

And then I understood. He wanted me gone.

Not like, out of the room, but like gone gone.

And I wished I could give him what he wanted.

I wish I could leave. I wanted to so badly, but I was stuck.

My parents wanted me dead, and I didn’t even know where I was!

I wanted to scream it all at him, scream it to everyone, but all that came out was, “I don’t have anywhere else to go.

” It was a whisper that escaped me. So inaudible that I wasn’t even sure I actually said it at all.

Wes didn’t respond. He didn’t move. I felt his breath hot on my ear, the weight of his body on mine, and I swore that time stopped.

The beating of my heart slowed, but each individual beat felt as though it rocked my whole body.

I could hear it with each pound, hard and heavy.

And then, the pressure released. I felt his weight lift off me and my hands were let go.

I exhaled a long breath, and then slowly got myself onto all fours and stood.

When I turned around to face him, Wes stood like a sentinel, feet shoulder-width apart, arms down at his sides with hands balled into fists, and the familiar scowl on his face.

But his eyes told a story, and I found myself captivated by them.

There was an edge to them, a warning to stay away, to run as fast as I could in the opposite direction.

But there was something else. Something hidden in their depths.

Something that pulled me in, held me prisoner, leaving me trembling. Something that left me wanting .

We stared at each other, the tension building, sending waves of tingling heat coursing through my body as the silence became deafening, making me edgy.

And when I thought I couldn’t stand it any longer, something shifted in Wes’s expression.

It softened, but only by just a hair. And when he spoke this time, the word came out as a plea.

“Leave.”

That’s exactly what I did.