[Tatiana’s POV]I watch as Massimo and Knight remain in place, clearly debating whether or not they’re actually going to listen and come have a seat so that we could try to clear the tension that is so thick you could cut it with a knife.“If ya are gonna just stand there, then fucking leave,” Sebastian huffs.“Who the fuck are you to tell us what to do?” Knight snaps, letting out a low growl of warning. “I’m fine staying just where I am.”“I am as well,” Massimo agrees. “Tatiana, you really shouldn’t let your guard down with these people.”As he speaks, I snap my gaze to Winley and then back to them as my anger bubbles due to the one that saved me from being judged.“I’m fine,” I assure him.“Look what you did!" Ronda sighs, rolling her eyes. “You let a band of violent assholes into our home. We should just go ahead and kill them.”“You can try,” Knight warns, extending his claws.“Don’t forget,” Ronda giggles, spinning her dagger between her fingers. “I can kill you before you even

[Massimo’s POV]“You’re fucking weak,” Knight spits, giving me a look of disgust. “You’re afraid of making a single woman upset.”“Not a single woman,” I correct him, realizing just how fucking wrong he was for Tatiana. “The woman I love, and if you’re done with your threat, I’m going to check on that woman because she didn’t look too good back there. You can do whatever the hell you want, but if you touch her with your disgusting hands again, I'm going to fucking break them."“We aren’t done,” he hisses, reaching out and attempting to grab me. "I still haven't..."Whirling around, I grab his wrist and pull, then stab my elbow between his shoulder blades as he stumbles forward from shock. Applying pressure, I bring him down to his knees and begin to lift his arm until I know it is about to snap.“Don’t fucking touch me,” I growl, applying more pressure. “I’ve been lenient on you until now because you helped me escape, but there is only so much I will put up with. I explained to you th

[Knight’s POV]I stare at Tatiana, trying to control the urge I feel to grab her, pull her against me, and not let her get away. But I ignore it. Who the fuck was I to force her to stay?“Stop playing with my heart,” she continues. “You’ve made it clear that you have no intention of being with me, so stop haunting me!”With that, she turns and makes her way back into the compound while I continue to simply watch.Once she was gone, I let out a snarl of frustration and punch the trunk of the tree I had just been lounging in. Pain shoots up my arm and zips through my body, clearing away the discomfort that I’m feeling in my chest, but the hollow feeling remains.“Fuck,” I hiss, running a hand through my hair. “What the fuck am I doing?”I needed to get my shit together. This all had to be that bastard Massimo’s fault for what he said. He was the one who provoked me and left me feeling out of control. I needed to quickly take back my pack so that I could get away and not have to deal wit

[Tatiana’s POV]My eyes widen as Knight’s word hits me like a ton of bricks. So this was what he was up to the whole time. He wasn’t actually trying to approach me because he was interested in me. E was only interested in the child in my stomach, and I was sure that was because he was now well aware of my bloodline.“You’re the worst,” I whisper, feeling my new-found energy beginning to build. “How dare you think I’ll just let you take my child?"Letting out a snarl, I let the energy explode from me so that Knight loosens his hold enough for me to break free.Whirling around, I shove hard enough to make him stumble, and then I rush out of the room. However, when I reach the main alcove, where everyone else is lounging in many different phases of waking up, I continue to move.No one attempts to follow me as I make my way out of the hideout entirely and then burst into the abandoned hospital.By the time I stop, true panic has taken over, and my heart feels like it is going to beat out

[Massimo’s POV]“Wait!” I gasp, feeling like a fucking idiot for even begging. “What I promised you was that Obsidian River would join hands with you?”Growing quiet, I wait as the sound of Giovani moving around on the other end fills the silence.“How can a banished member of that pack do such a thing?” He finally asks, going straight for the gut. “You no longer have your power, boy; don’t waste my time with empty promises.”“Do you really think I’m incapable of taking my position back?” I demand, trying to ignore the offense I feel. Did this bastard truly think I was that weak?“Are you saying you’re willing to kill your father?”If it meant saving Tatiana, I was willing to do anything. Anyway, he was more than willing to kill me and intended to do so.This was how our world went; only the strongest survived, and it was kill or be killed. My father made his choice, as did I. Our familial attachments were no longer in place, and if I had to take him out to claim my place in Obsidian