Married To The Wrong Brother

ster, I raised my tiny knee and

s sound and staggered

jarred and my lungs emptied. I dropped to a crouch, clutching my ribs. From the corner of my eye, I saw the second one approaching.

eeling back with a howl, b

e up, laughing and flashing b

o

the night air like a whip

something human flicker behind his irises... fear. No, confusion. It felt like he didn't

stomach, as it thickened and darkened the white of his suit, s

t went completely loose. I pulled away and stumbled back, my he

the other men sh

r snapped, and I heard them both moving

gh, I continued backing up and breathing so fast that my hands were trembling

sness. They were louder than the first that it

ach. My eyes squeezed shut before I forced them eye

. I couldn't see through the tears, nor could I feel my legs. My entir

trils, the metallic taste like rusted coins melting on m

that broke halfway. My knees folded as I finally dropped completely

d before, now two bodies were in front of me

ver me, I saw him approach me, and my anxiety

e crickets stopped and the breeze pulled back, only left to hear was th

word. Just like the rumors said, there was nothing soft about him, with piercing green eyes like someone

adow of stubble crawling up the side of his jaw like ivy. An emerald pipe hung lazily from the corner of his mouth, the smoke curling along the edges of his cheekbone as

d rolled slightly to one side. I heard him groan agai

he stone tiles and the other still clutched around my own stomach. I couldn't stop

at, the wrinkles around his mouth, the way the veins in his wrist rose wh

oved his wris

man's head. Blood splattered onto the stone ti

rentiis," He adjusted his c

ay. My entire body shook violently now, full-bodied tremors

to my eye

" his voi

idn

repeated with

My body decided it wanted to live,

e sounded cruelly amused. "You lay do

lock of hair from my

e he fisted the hair at my cro

ut, and a grunt painf

growled lowly, "but I'll do it

d he took them

irl," h

impe

nowing you've disappointed th

a reply, and I didn

rose to his feet, gestur

roached, an

ut hoarse and helples

ft me no choice." He twirled his right fingers, and th

before I could react, a leather strained agai

bit into

avy boot caught the inside

stood back. "Flip h

~~~

t didn't matter. My hands were shaking too hard to push myself up

no more t

I wouldn't need to see him. He told me I got lucky. That sometimes, punish

ve heard what he could do and I w

I was

ar before forcing his way with me. "So be

emembered hearing before he

avior. He did save me

wo, th

of world this was. I'd grown up hearing stories and warnings. This was what happened when girls like me got caught in the cracks between men like them. I wasn't

of kings and killers. What do you say when you learn your

ght of

ed when anyone looked at me too long. I told myself he'd feel it in his bones that something was wrong, and he'd miraculously show up,

hated myself for st

air stung my skin. My shawl had fallen somewhere, and I couldn't rememb

looking up meant seeing the bodies

ootsteps echoed, drawing cl

bothered to watch this world

s left to take