Wrath (EBOOK)

Kate

I was dreaming. I knew I was; I’d experienced this dream many times before. It was a flash between three separate memories. Some of the worst moments of my life. 

The first was me at fourteen, being shoved down a set of concrete stairs at school. My body thumping loudly, pain exploding across my hips, back, shoulders, and thighs as I rolled to the bottom of the staircase. I’d picked myself up, tears streaming down my face, body screaming in pain. At the top of the staircase, arms crossed stood a boy, eyes cold and emotionless as he glared down at me. 

“Guess I didn’t push her hard enough. She’s still walking.” The people around him, the popular people, the ones who hung off his every word, chuckled nervously as they watched me scramble to collect my things. Something wet hit the side of my face. I'd reached for my cheek. 

Spit. 

Laughter came from the stairs. 

“Get out of here, Kate. No one wants biker slut trash like you here.” I'd scrambled, grabbing books, papers, and my backpack, and ran.

The dream moved ahead a few years. Prom. Blake Jimson had asked me. I was excited, thrilled. I'd worked overtime at my shitty waitressing job, scrimping, and saving for a dress. I'd known my mother, God rest her soul, would have wanted me to have this experience. Blake had picked me up at the end of my driveway. My dad, Gus, had been off doing something with the club. His old lady, Mama, hated me. I'd left with her yelling that if I'd got knocked up, I was out on my arse. 

The plan had been to get dinner first, then head to the dance. 

We’d never made it to dinner. Instead, he’d taken me to his girlfriend’s house. I'd thought they were exes. A group of guys and girls had watched, laughing, as he’d pulled me out of the limo. In a flouncy jade dress and kitten heels, I’d been no match for him. He’d pulled me into the middle of her yard and proceeded to hold me down as each of the guys pissed on me. Five of them, one after another. Then they’d zipped their pants, grabbed their watching, laughing, dates, and taken the limo.

I'd assumed the driver had been paid off at some point, it was really the only reason any decent human wouldn't have helped me.  

I’d sat on the curb. My phone in the clutch they’d tossed at me as they drove off. I'd pulled it out, debating who to call. Mama wouldn't give a shit. She'd tell me it was just what I'd deserved. Gus wouldn't answer my call, not if he was off doing club stuff. I called the prospects. Three of them arrived. Despite my asking for a car, they’d come on bikes. Stinking of piss, I’d mounted Wrath's ride. He hadn’t complained. Hadn’t said a word as I’d pressed my face into his shoulder and cried. 

They’d taken me to the club gym, I’d washed and changed into workout clothes from my locker and then strapped my hands. I’d exited the change rooms, starting to warm my body before heading for a punching bag. 

“You want me to take you home?” Wrath had asked, icy fury in his gaze. 

I'd shook my head, eyes on the bag not on the big boy-man beside me. “I’m good.”

“Kate—" 

“Gus said curfew was 1:00 a.m. I’m meant to be at dinner with Blake till seven then prom at seven thirty till whenever then afterparty. Then I’m meant to be home by 1:00 a.m. I am not going home until that time.” I glanced up at him then back at the bag, pulling my hands up into sparring position. “They can’t know about this.” 

“Why?”

I didn’t answer, just started beating the shit out of the bag, determined to never be in that position again. 

The dream shifted again, this time moving backward. Back to the night when my world ended. 

I was home, dancing in my underwear, singing at the top of my lungs as I tidied the house. It was something I did regularly to help my mum. Underwear, old loose t-shirt, and the rocking tones of whatever band I felt in the mood for. The knock on the door was unexpected but not unwelcome. I threw it open with a grin expecting my mum, having forgotten her keys again. No one ever visited us, but we didn't mind. 

“I didn’t lock it you could have—" I stuttered to a stop. Face stricken, Ice stood in the doorway. 

“Ice?”

“Kate.” His voice was soft. “Let me in.”

“Kate?” His voice sounded distant as I'd stared at him, knowing. Knowing she was gone. 

“Kate.”

“No.” My voice broke. “N-n-no. N-no, no, n-no, n-n-no!”

“Kate!” 

I jerked up, pulling away from the hand on my arm. I rolled off the chair, hit the floor, and came up swinging. 

“Whoa!” Ice held up his hands from his position on the hospital bed. “It’s okay.”

“Ice?” I shuddered, my eyes flicking from him to the room at large then back. “What?”

“You passed out.” His lips quirked. "You should have gone home like I told you."

“Right.” I dropped my hands, groaning as my back protested the slight movement. “God. My mouth tastes like arse.”

“You know that for a fact?”

I raised my middle finger in reply. 

He grinned, his ice-blue eyes watching me with an unsettling intensity. 

"What?" I asked, running a hand through my hair. "Did I drool?"

"You're scared."

My stomach clenched but I pushed through, offering him a shrug, and settling back on the chair beside his bed. "Of course, I'm scared. You got hurt. We're leaving the safety of the compound. We have no idea what the next few months will look like." 

I reached out, squeezing his hand. "And I'll miss you."

He snatched my hand, pulling me up and across the bed, crushing me to him. "You be careful, sis."

Sis. My insides warmed at the open acknowledgment that we were related. For years we'd had to hide the connection. Ice wouldn't have been safe if Gus had known he had another child. Instead, people had assumed we had some kind of interest in one another. 

When I'd left, only Ice knew where I'd gone. Gus had set Ghost on my trail, but Ice had dealt with it, which had allowed me five blissful years of independence. 

Returning to the club hadn't been easy. I knew I'd be making a sacrifice. I just hadn't realised how big a sacrifice that would be until now. 

"You should go pack," he told me, his arms loosening around me. "Summer's coming but it's still cold and you're gonna be roughing it for a while."

I blinked back the tears stinging my eyes and nodded. "Okay."

"Don't cry, sis. You'll be fine, I'll recover, and we'll catch up when you return." He reached up, giving me a noogy. I pushed his hand away, laughing. 

"Alright, I get the message. Don't hit on the nurse." I waggled a finger at him. "She deserves better than the likes of you."

"And yet Aella continues to touch me." Ice raised his hands linking them behind his head, grinning. "I'm just irresistible."

"Yep, must be that and not the hole in your leg." I leaned down, giving him one final hug. "I'll catch you later, brother."

"Be safe, Kate. Love you."

"Love you too." I pulled back, wiping at a stray tear. I immediately turned, heading for the door. 

"Kate?"

I paused in the doorway, twisting to look at my brother. "Yeah?"

"Be kind to Wrath. He's been through a lot."

I nodded, biting my tongue. 

"I'm serious, Kate. Since the world ended, he's seen shit. It's left a mark."

I paused; my tongue suddenly thick. "Okay, I'll try."

He nodded. "Thanks. And send Aella in when she's free. I think I need a sponge bath."

I laughed, flipping him the bird, and with one final look, I left.