Page 89 of Scavenger's Oath

Myles backs up a step, like he can outrun the words. He’s breathing hard now, chest rising and falling as he realises what he’s done. “Phoenix… I… I tried to…” he trails off, voice hollow with a grief he doesn’t know how to express.

He can’t even say it.Good.Let it burn inside him.

“It doesn’t matter what you were trying to do,” I snap. “None of that fucking matters now. Someone out there still wants her.”

I turn away, breathing harshly as I search for the control I let slip through my fingers. My chest is tight and there’s a lump in my throat making it hard to swallow.

What’s happening to me?

She’s ripping through every restraint I’ve meticulously built. Myles and I may throw punches, but I’m never emotionally invested. Not like this.

I swallow hard and take a deep breath before I force myself to continue. “Zane said he thinks there’s still guys out looking for her. So you need to get your fucking shit together. Stop fighting against us and fight beside us.”

Myles growls, finding a feeling he’s comfortable with. “If someone gets a hold of her—”

“They won’t,” I cut in, whipping around to face him. “Because she’s not going back in that fucking cell.”

His head snaps up. “What?”

“You heard me. She's not a prisoner. Not anymore.”

“The cell is the safest place for her! You don't get to make that call,” he scowls.

“Yes. I do,” I deadpan. “I'm the leader for a reason and I have logic behind my decision. We’re not gonna treat her like a pet that needs to be caged when she wanders too far.”

His fists curl at his sides. “You were the first to call her apet! You don't get to just—”

“Enough,” my voice drops low, blunt. “The decision is made. We’ll keep her and protect her, and we’ll keep a close eye on her but she won’t be sleeping in that cell anymore.”

“Oh, so, you think she’syoursnow? Had a little taste and wanna claim her for yourself? I fucking knew it!” His possessiveness flares again.

Too bad. I’ve seen behind his roaring flame. This isn’t just possessiveness. It’s panic. Regret. He’s spiralling.

I can match thatwithoutlosing control. Where he’s volatile, I’m composed. I’m in control. I have to be.

Harnessing that feeling, I speak clearly. “You don't get to decide what you share with me. What's yours is mine, Myles. Remember? And yes, I have atastefor your precious little stray now. And I want more.”

His lips curl back like he's going to say something cruel, but I don't give him the chance. Shoving him hard into the wall, he grunts but doesn't fight me. I press my body into him, hand fisting his hair, the need for dominance simmering under my skin.

“Have you forgotten whoyoubelong to? You think I forgot whatyoutaste like?” I whisper, close to his ear. “You think it didn't fuck with me when you stopped crawling into my bed? Like she erased everything we had?”

Myles doesn't answer but his breath comes hard and fast, chest rising against mine. His eyes gleam with something conflicted. He knows I’m not going to let him off easy. Not this time.

Yanking his head back a little further, just enough to bare his throat, I press my forefinger under his jaw.

“I own you,” I growl. “You want to stake a claim on her? Then you remember who claimedyoufirst.”

That does it.

He snarls and lunges for me, crashing his mouth against mine, rough and demanding. Angry but full of desire.

Myles never could resist the way I knock him back in his place and loves to give me reason to do just that.

Such a brat.

It's not tender or soft. It's punishment and possession and so much fucking history. Old scars, old need, reawakened like a wound torn open. It lights me aflame.

He grabs at my shirt, fighting for dominance and I push him back harder into the wall. I grind into him until he groans into my mouth, cock hardening against my thigh. One hand in his hair, the other gripping his waistband.