Page 162 of Viper

These men turned my body against me. Turned my mind against me.

They’ve ruined my life.

They saved Cora.

That scream finally breaks free, shredding my throat, and I buck once more, weeks of bottled-up agony breaking me open. I’m so fucking angry, more at myself than them. Enraged that I can’t trust myself with this desperate need blooming inside that feels like an addiction.

My arm slips free of Breaker’s grasp, and I twist, attempting to roll him off, but Reaper clutches my wrists, flattening them to the ground with one large hand. Breaker’s weight leaves, and the cold blasts across me. He straddles my thighs, then grips the waistband of my leggings and tugs. Freezing air slaps my heated skin.

“Fuck you,” I seethe. “Get off me.”

“Fuck me?” Reaper asks. “Or fuck you?”

I press my forehead to the ground, grinding my teeth, and fighting tears, but I fail, and they slip out. My teeth gnash together as I choke back a strangled sob. My nails dig intothe dirt, trying to ignore the heat blooming between my thighs, begging for what they refuse to say out loud.

That they care. That they are as ravenous and consumed with the need to own my heart as I am desperate to own theirs.

“Was that little whimper a beg, Sweetheart?” Viper asks.

Dirt sticks to my cheeks as I twist, meeting Viper’s eyes. His mask sits slightly askew, the fanged mouth grinning at me cruelly, but as our gazes lock, the same softness I saw days ago turns the turquoise color brighter. Knowing. The fact he knows how badly I constantly want all their roughness and hard edges, reignites the fire in my chest.

“We’re trying to keep you from dying at his hands.” Viper’s focus shifts briefly to Breaker, to Reaper, then Striker, before landing back on me.

“But you’re too fucking stubborn to see it,” Reaper says, hand tightening on my wrists, as if trying to force his words to sink under my skin. “Everything I’ve done was to ensure your safety.”

“Everything you’ve done to me issick.” I hate how my voice cracks. Hate this pain lacing through me. “Your plan, the mind games.Fuckingme.”

Breaker jerks my pants even lower, exposing my rear and thighs to the winter winds whipping through the trees, stealing my breath. His large palm lands sharply on my rear, hard enough to sting, to shock me, but not enough to hurt.

The fact that Breaker, out of all of them, spanked me, makes my vision blur.

“How long do you think he could have hidden his hunts from you?” Striker snaps. “Because he has been spiraling out of control for years.”

My angry growl earns another sharp smack on my ass.

“You’re too smart, Delilah,” Reaper grates. “He couldn’t hide it from you much longer. And then what?”

I shake my head, refusing to answer.

“You have no idea how cruel he is,” Reaper says. “Or what he’s already done. The choices he’s made.”

“You made the choice to involve me,” I snarl, my lips dragging across the dirt. “You made me a part of this.”

“Rune made you a part of this long before you discovered the truth,” Reaper says. “He—” His voice cuts off like he’s stopping himself from saying more.

“What would he have done if you had found out about the hunts before we prepared you?” Striker asks.

Viper leans over, making sure I’m paying attention. “We know what you would have done. We’ve watched you long enough. You would have tried to stop him.”

“Alone,” Striker adds.

“Then,” Breaker says, “he would have killed you. No hesitation.”

“That’s right. I’m no good to you dead,” I snarl, bucking, but Breaker flattens his palm to my back, and another slap sears across my rear. Fingers weave into my hair, and my head’s yanked back hard enough that pain tinges in my neck.

Reaper’s black eyes bore into me. “You’re going to fucking listen now,” he says. “The purpose of this mission has always been to avenge my brother, neutralize Rune, and ensure the safety of our girls.”

Our girls.