Chapter 18

Snow

“God, I’m so tired...” I whisper to myself, rubbing my eyes. I’ve been pouring over hundreds of intelligence briefs, trying to find something that help us overthrow Moira, and my brain feels as if it’s about to melt.

Just look at me — a few months ago I was just a silly princess, more worried about Yoga and beauty pageants than anything else, and now here I am. Reading through a mountain of documents while millions of lives hang in the balance. My father always tried to prepare me for hardships, but this is something else...

Princess Snow, the Rebel. What a weird thought, isn’t it? But that’s the truth I’m living right now. And, even though I should be longing for my peaceful days at the palace, that hasn’t happened even once. I’m living right in the middle of the Lost Wood with seven rough men, and I’ve never been happier. More than that, I’ve finally found purpose in my life.

I’ll do everything in my power to protect the people of St. Carlta — my people. Even if that costs me my life. My seven protectors were hesitant about allowing me to be a part of the operations, but I stood my ground — I knew they needed me, and I was right about it.

Sure, coming in and out of the Lost Wood fortress is a risk — but if I hadn’t been doing it, we would have never secured the allies we needed to turn the rebellion into a force to be reckoned with. Moira might not know it yet, but if the plan we designed works...Well, let’s just say she won’t be sitting on my father’s throne for too long.

Ah, I can barely wait for the moment I’m face-to-face with her. Not content with usurping power, her short period a rule has showed everyone that she’s the biggest threat St. Carlta ever faced. Forget about war, recession, or what have you — a bad ruler is the quickest way to throw your country into the mud.

“Snow,” I hear someone say behind me, and I turn around on the chair to meet William. He has strolled inside my chambers, and there’s something different about the expression on his face.

A couple of seconds later, I hear a couple of heavy footsteps echoing throughout the corridor that leads to my chambers, and then Derek and Tyler step inside my bedroom. Just like William, there’s a certain tension showing in the lines on their faces — even Derek, who always seem to act so casual about everything, seems to have a tense smile.

Standing up, I turn to face them. They remain there, in complete silence, and then it hits me.

“Is this it?” I ask them, and suddenly my heart is racing. Anxiety is gripping me tight and, for the first time since I met them, I’m feeling truly afraid. Not for myself, but for them. This is the riskiest thing we’ll ever do in our lives, and knowing that I might lose one of them...God, I can’t stand that thought. After everything that happened between the eight of us, losing one of them would be like losing my own heart.

“Fucking right,” Derek nods, exhaling sharply. Even though he must be stressed because of the operation we’ve put together, I know he’s been aching for this. Like a wild beast, he doesn’t deal well with being caged in. He wants to go out and rips his enemies apart. And by God, that’s something I’ve learned from him — sure, I’m afraid, but I can’t wait to see Moira’s face the moment she realizes what we have in store for her.

“That’s right. It’s our turn to make some moves,” Tyler adds, taking one step toward me and placing both his hands on my shoulders. Looking me straight in the eyes, he offers me a grin. I try to focus on his eyes, but it’s hard to do when his delicious lips are so close to mine. “We’re ready, Snow. You’ll be back at the palace in no time. That’s a promise.”

“Maybe then I’ll be able to show you my room there” I laugh, looking back at Tyler. Then, allowing my gaze to wander across the room, I look at the rest of them. “And none of this would’ve been possible without you...I don’t even know how to thank you.”

“You don’t need to thank us, Snow,” William tells me softly, and I find my heart skipping a beat as I notice the rugged outline of his muscles hiding under the fabric of his shirt. Of course I need to thank them — and I know exactly how I can do that.

Smacking my lips together, I take a deep breath.

“Your jackets,” I start, moving past Tyler and standing in front of the three of them. “Take them off.”

“Wh—”

“Just take them off,” I repeat, gently chuckling. Looking around, they just shrug and start removing their jackets, piling them up on the chair where I was sitting. I run my tongue between my lips, watching the rope of muscles in their arms move as they take their jackets off, and I feel my pussy growing wet with each time my heart beats.

“Good,” I whisper, taking one step back and feeling the edge of the bed against the back of my knees. “I want to celebrate,” I continue, my voice quivering with excitement. Lowering my eyes, my heart almost explodes as I notice the bulging shape inside their pants. And all that because of me.

“Is that so?” Derek asks me, flashing me one of his cocky grins. “And how exactly do you want to celebrate?”

Fully knowing that none of us knows if we’ll be alive tomorrow, I feel a reply forming on my lips. We’re walking barefoot on the edge of a blade, and I don’t want to waste a single second of whatever time we still have together.

“I want you inside of me...all of you.”