Page 15 of Mariposa (Queens Command #1)

VIOLET

BITTERSUITE by Billie Eilish

M y calf muscles tremble after the twenty-five-mile ruck march, but my feet hurt the most. My shoulders are numb, and my chest aches with each breath I take. Rucking in freezing temperatures is not my favorite thing to do. My fingers and lips are a deep shade of purple.

Still, I was determined to be the first to finish our last hoorah before graduation, and I succeeded, but at the cost of pushing my body past its limits tonight. Just when I was going to slow down, Master Sergeant O’Connell was there motivating me to keep going.

When I think I have nothing else to give, he pushes me...

I walk into the empty showers in nothing but my towel. It’s a large, open area with multiple sections and no barriers. As soon as I near the silver knob, I hook the towel and set it on the showerhead next to mine.

With purple hands, I twist the knob until steam filters through. I step underneath it and groan when the water sprays me.

It feels so good against my sore body. My fingers snake into my hair, scratching and massaging my scalp that’s always abused by the constant tight gelled buns and ponytails.

“Well. Well. Well. Look at this, boys. She gets an entire fucking block to herself. Even the showers look cleaner in here.”

Cringing at the nails-on-a-chalkboard voice, my eyes pop open, and I halt my movements.

Willis.

I whip around to see that Preston and Daniels are by his side, with the same sinister intentions flickering through their darkened eyes.

It looks like my time spent alone is over .

I rush for my towel and wrap myself up in it. My breasts are tucked in, and the end of the towel barely covers my ass, and less than half of my thighs.

“Willis. What the hell are you doing here?”

“You know…graduation is less than twenty-four hours away, and our names aren’t on that list.” They all circle me like sharks, waiting to bite.

“That sucks,” I sarcastically remark.

“Yeah, it sucks for you,” Preston chirps from the right side of me.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Suddenly, two of them lunge forward. Preston grabs my wrist, but my training kicks in, and I twist his hand until he cries out in pain. I throw him over my shoulder as I let out a high-pitched grunt.

Daniels takes advantage and grabs me by the neck and slams the back of my head into the wall until I’m seeing stars. I lose my breath as my vision goes black for a split second.

“Let me say goodbye, Violet.” Willis’s hand sneaks up my thighs. “Let us all say goodbye…what do you think? At the same time, or do we each get our turns?”

“Fuck you!” I spit.

“Exactly,” Willis whispers into my ears, and just when I think he’s about to push his fingers forcefully into my vagina, he’s off me.

As soon as I’m free, my fist connects with Daniel’s throat, making him fall to the floor.

Before I can get another well-deserved punch thrown in, he scrambles.

Slipping on wet tile momentarily, he finds his footing and runs out before I can finish what they started.

I turn around to see O’Connell’s boot planted on Willis’s face, crushing his cheekbones.

“Who the hell do you think you are coming onto my student against her will?” He has one of Willis’s hands twisted upwards as he continues to pin him to the ground with his foot.

“I’m sorry, sir! We were scaring her, you know, fucking around? She wanted me to. She wants us all, too!” he exclaims, turning bright red.

Lies !

I shake my head. “You fucking lia?—”

Kade gives me a death stare, warning me to shut my mouth. His ice-cold eyes could freeze the entire room. My jaw clamps closed, and I step back as Preston gets up, dazed and limp, to exit the showers.

He returns his glance to Willis on the floor and grins ominously. Willis’s face pales when he watches Kade shift into the sadistic fiend the entire military knows.

Suddenly, a loud pop echoes against the walls. Willis screams in a feminine pitch and starts to convulse on the ground. He tries to escape Kade’s hold, but it’s useless.

“One broken finger for every lie,” he roars.

“Fuck! My finger! You broke it!” Willis agonizes.

“You want another fracture? Lie to me again,” he dares—an unhinged smirk unfolding across his mesmerizing features.

“I’m sorry!”

“It’s too late for that word now, Willis.

So, I’m going to ask you a different question.

” He presses his combat foot harder against his face, forcing him to whimper louder.

I have to forcefully stop myself from enjoying this a little too much.

I palm my mouth and narrow my eyes at Willis.

Watching him squirm and cower from Beast gives me life.

My gosh, Roberts wasn’t lying about how fucking unhinged this man is.

“You lie to me again, and it’ll be your nose next,” he warns. “How many seconds will it take you to get the fuck out of my sight?”

“Uh, uh, I-I,” Willis sputters uncontrollably.

“Those aren’t numbers, Willis.” He grabs another finger, about to bend it unnaturally, when Willis gets a hold of himself again.

“Three seconds, sir.” Tears leak from his wide eyes.

With one last squeeze, the sound of a second broken finger reverberates through the air. Another blood-curdling scream from Willis makes Beast sneer like he’s having the time of his life. Willis smacks his hand against the tiled floor, holding in his words.

“If you fucking breathe the same air as Violet, look at her…if you even think about her again, I’ll carve your eyes out of your skull,” he keeps his tone dangerously calm with a deep growl in each word that sends shivers down my spine.

He pushes Willis away, and he goes flying.

Willis holds his wrist to his chest and walks backward, glancing over his shoulder as though afraid that Beast will chase after him.

“One.” Beast starts a countdown, his tone dripping with wrath, almost…possessively.

Willis’s mouth gapes open, and he nods vehemently. He sprints out of the showers, crying feebly, leaving Beast and me alone.

The water is still running behind me. The steam fills the room, creating a thick fog around us. I can’t see the exit of the showers anymore.

“Assholes,” I mutter, grasping my towel tighter. “Thanks.”

“Are you alright?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, Master Sergeant.”

I dart my eyes to the scar across the side of his face. Curiosity gnaws at me, and I can’t stop the raw question that pours out of my mouth.

“How’d you get that? Did you get it while you were in?” My fingers smooth over one side of my face, mimicking his scar.

“War,” he says. “That’s all you need to know.”

I gulp while fleeting sorrow runs through me as all the different scenarios flood my mind on how someone could get that close to Beast.

I nod in acknowledgment.

“I’ve been in for almost twenty years. I’ve watched countless friends die. I’ve held them in my arms as I watched them take their last breaths.” I shiver as I picture a skull-masked Beast holding onto his teammates. I’ve never seen him wear it, but from what I know, he only does during operations.

“Some of us get to make it back home. Return to our daily lives, but our minds are still in a warzone.”

He spews each word like trying to get me to run or quit.

“You don’t scare me. I know what I signed up for, Master Sergeant.”

I swallow as he inches closer to me, and those damn butterflies flock away inside.

“I know you better than you think.” There’s a husky edge to his voice.

“How so?” I quirk a brow.

“You’re not a shark.”

And there he goes again, trying to get under my skin and in my head. I thought he was finally warming up to the idea of me passing, but I was wrong.

He continues to stalk forward, and I take one step back, gripping the towel tighter. The tension is thick with burning glares from both of us. I’m getting sick and tired of him and his rants.

“You’re not cut out for this field. You’re prey. Bait. Small and weak-minded. I had to step in and protect you. Everyone circles you?—”

“And then they end up on the floor bleeding in regret,” I interject. “I didn’t need you to protect me or fight for me. I had it under control.” He looks down at me, and I watch his Adam’s Apple bob.

“You could drown in this military world. It’s dark and unfair, and then it’ll be my son who picks up the pieces!”

Is he not hearing me? How dare he? A shot of adrenaline hits my heart, and I’m done biting my tongue. He may scare me and everyone around him, but I’m not going anywhere.

“Adam and I aren’t together anymore!”

His eyes grow wide, and a lump hits my throat. He stops breathing for a second as he processes my outburst.

“He didn’t tell me.” He raises his chin.

“I know he didn’t, because you guys don’t talk, do you?” I retort. I’m being unforgiving, but maybe he needs a dose of the medicine he ruthlessly gives me.

“I don’t need anyone’s help to pick up my pieces because I don’t break.

I don’t shatter. I don’t quit. I don’t need Adam.

I don’t need anyone’s help. I can do this alone, like I’ve been doing from the start.

My mother left. My father is dead. My grandmother is here, but she isn’t here at the same time because her Alzheimer’s and cancer are taking her away.

I’m my own family, sir .” I spit the last word out.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to finish my shower because tomorrow is the last day here, and I intend to get a good night’s rest before PT in the morning.

” I uncover my body, removing my towel, no longer caring.

My full breasts fall free, and my nipples harden.

My brows knit together in defiance. He clenches his jaws and locks his mismatched eyes on my brown ones, refusing to look elsewhere.

The tattoos on his biceps flinch when he flexes.

“Maybe in your eyes, I’m not good enough to be here, but I’m going to try like hell to prove it every day I wear that uniform. ”