Thoughts of the last couple of days are running rampant in my mind. It took us time, but we found the asshole, now I need to talk to Paige about him.

Once the cab pulls up to Sam and Freya’s home, I pay and exit the vehicle. As soon as I reach the door and knock it swings open and I’m met with cobalt eyes. He holds out a hand. “Kael, I’m glad you came. I didn’t want to do this alone.”

“Anything for my girl,” I offer a smile, shaking my brother’s hand in camaraderie. “It’s good to see you.” He steps aside, allowing me inside his home. I’ve never been here and I take a moment to flit my gaze over it.

It’s so homely. Warm and inviting. We head into the living room and I’m assaulted by the scent of freshly brewed coffee. Freya enters with a beautiful smile. “Kael, so good to see you,” she wraps her arms around me, and I can’t help hugging her close.

“I’m sorry it’s not under better circumstances,” I say. She nods, stepping back to look at her husband.

“I’ll leave you two. Goodnight Kael.” With a kiss for her husband, we’re left alone with piles of folders and files, as well as a large pot of caffeine.

“I’m sure the kids will be happy to see you.” Something in that moment makes me want to apologize. I’m not sure what for, but we both settle on the sofa before I speak.

“Look, Sam. This was never an easy thing for me. You took to life with Harlan like it was your destiny. I wasn’t built that way. I wanted love, a family.”

“I know. I never blamed you. Yeah, I was pissed when you left, when he threw you out, but that night something in me snapped. I couldn’t be in that house alone. You were always the one who I knew would make it out. There’s something I need to confess. When I met Freya, I knew it was time I got out. When I stopped being selfish and broke her out, something happened.” He’s silent for a long while, but then he meets my gaze. “I haven’t told Theia yet, but, one night Dad made me watch a recording of what he did to my woman, I lost it in that moment. I guess all my anger and rage from the years of abuse at his hand finally got to me. Dax didn’t kill dad, I did.”

Shock slams into me. I open my mouth to respond, but I can’t find the words.

“Dax was there, he helped me cover it up. Thing is, because the FBI was involved I didn’t want to implicate you or little Wolfe.” He uses Theia’s nickname I gave her when we were teens. “I choked him. I watched the light in his eyes flicker out like a flame and I didn’t care. The remorse I felt was because I didn’t do it sooner. And taking a life, even one as evil as his, was difficult.”

“Sam, we’re family. You should have come to us. We’re blood. No matter what the fuck happens.” A connection I’ve never felt with Sam is there between us in this moment. A sense of kinship. Friendship. Brothers.

“I need to figure out how to tell Theia I killed our father,” he says quietly.

“We will. Let’s sort Harkin out and we’ll talk to little Wolfe together.” He nods, and we spend the next few hours going through the documents. By three in the morning, I’m exhausted, but I look at him and ask for the main reason I’m here. “Can I see the recording of Paige?”

“It’s hard to watch,” he warns before popping open the laptop and inserting a portable drive into the slot. He clicks on the one titled “Paige” and when the screen fills with a scene playing out, I’m ready to rip someone to shreds.

My blood simmers, then reaches boiling point as anger and rage race through my veins while I watch what they did to my girl. My vision blurs, all I see is red. The need for revenge runs rife, choking me with emotion I can’t explain. “We need to find this fucker, I want to watch him bleed. Prison is too good for him. He needs to fucking burn.”

“I agree. We’ll find him, Kael. I promise you brother.” And just like that, the two Wolfe brothers have joined forces to bring down the last remaining filth in our family.

Finding my uncle was luck, but when I finally laid my eyes on him, I wanted to watch him bleed to death. Fury made me slam my fist into him until he was a bleeding mess. Sam pulled me off and told me we needed the girls to decide his fate. He’s right. I needed to talk to Paige first. Both Freya and Paige need to put their past behind them.

I’ll tell her I saw the recording of what he did to her. Just thinking about it makes me want to murder. To slice him to shreds and bathe in his blood. Jesus, get a hold of yourself.

We’ve got a plan, though. He’s gone to talk to Freya, and I’m going to talk to Paige. They’re the ones who need to decide what they want to do. If they want revenge, we will most certainly stand by and support them. But, if they want us to do it, I’m ready. I’ve been ready for a long time.

When Sam told me he killed our father, first shock hit me, but then relief. What kind of son would feel relief hearing his brother killed their father? Me. And guilt was nowhere to be found because that piece of shit deserved it. Fuck, he should have been maimed and tortured.

Paige pads barefoot into the kitchen, and I can tell she’s uncomfortable. Her body is craving release. I can tell by the shimmer in her eyes—they’re alight with desire. But, before I get to play, we need to talk. Let’s see how she handles that butt plug in her cute ass while we have a relaxing conversation about what the fuck she was thinking getting piss-ass drunk while I was sorting out shit with my brother.

“Why do I have to wear a butt plug?” She pouts as she settles on the stool. Her actions are slow and I can’t help grinning. With each movement, her body will feel the heaviness of the plug which will taunt her. Today she’ll learn to never fucking doubt me or my love for her. Ever.

“Because you’re being punished. Can you tell me why I feel the need to do that?” I question. She stares at me. I can see the wheels turning in her pretty little head. The petulance dances in her eyes. She wants to retort, but she should know better and she does.

“I was stupid to think you’d leave me,” she mumbles. Good girl.

“Yes, for being bad, for jumping to conclusions, and for not trusting my love for you,” I inform her while placing a mug of coffee before her. She gratefully lifts the steamy cup to her lips, and I watch as she savors the liquid.

“But—”

“No buts, unless it’s yours,” I interrupt, offering her a smirk. Swallowing the last of my coffee, I regard her earnestly. “I needed to talk to you about something, though. It might bring back memories.” My voice drops, and I watch her reaction. “Bad ones.”

“Kael, I’m a big girl. What’s wrong?”

Inhaling a deep breath, I reach for her hand, and when she slips mine in hers, I start my story. “I left two days ago to see Samael. He called me and told me that my uncle was still alive.” Lifting her hand, I plant a soft, chaste kiss on her knuckles. “When Caged closed down, Sam found some recordings of the girls, he showed me one of you, from the day after I left…”

I allow my words to taper off, hoping she’ll be honest and tell me the horrors she faced. I’ve seen it, every minute, each moment of her debasement. The depraved things he did to her in those parties. Six men to one girl. All the recordings were the same, each girl went through the same vile ordeal.

“If you’ve seen it, why do I need to tell you what happened?” She pulls her hand from my grip and rises from the stool. Her body shivers with what I can only guess is fear. Of course she doesn’t want to recall those horrific things, but I need her words to fuel her.

I need her angry, so when I tell her that we’ve got the fucker holed up in the basement of his house, she’ll be ready to do what needs to be done. For her to get the revenge that she deserves. I also want her rabid, because I need to fuck the anger out of me and into her.

The craving to take her and climb inside her, just so I can hold her soul while she screams my name when she comes undone, is vicious.

“When you left, Sam came to my room the next morning. He told me he’d be training me since you’d been told to leave,” she starts.

Her voice is a million miles away, and I wonder if she’s walking back through time. If she’s in that room at this moment.

“He allowed me to dress, then he walked me to this room, bound me and left me there to be hurt by your father, even though he was in a mask I recognized his voice. There was another man though. I didn’t know him, he also wore a mask. There’s something not on those recordings though. There were other times where a man would collect me. One who wasn’t Sam. He used to take me to a part of the mansion none of the other girls knew about. I’d asked them. The man who ran these parties wasn’t your father, at least I didn’t see him there. This man who was hurting me wasn’t him because his voice was different.” She falls silent and I’m certain this is my father’s wing, which Samael had mentioned. Growing up, I don’t remember ever knowing about this section of the house.

“And then what happened?”

She turns to me then, her green gaze pinned on my brown ones. “There were these parties. Six men, always six,” she murmurs as if saying it softly will make it a bad dream. “They would…” Tears glisten in her eyes, and I make my way to her, but she holds up a hand, stopping me in my tracks. “Each man would take turns. Sometimes, there’d be more than one at a time. The worst was when they hurt me just to hear me scream. When I had two of them in one of my…” It’s then that she breaks down, and I can’t not hold her. Closing the distance, I grab her in my arms and plant a soft kiss on her hair.

Her sobs are otherworldly, and I regret asking her to relive it. But she needs to let this out. “That man. The one who...”—I can’t say the words—“with my father. His name is Harkin Wolfe, my father’s twin brother. I saw what he did to you baby, but I need you to listen to me now.” I step back and cup her face in my hands. Lifting her head, I meet her stare dead on. “We found him. If you want revenge, you can have it. All you have to do is say the word and we’ll go there and you can torture him as much as you want to.” My words halt her tears and she’s silent for a long while. Moments pass. Minutes tick by. Then she nods.

“I want to.”

I nod my understanding with pride. “Then it’s settled. I’ll let Sam know. We’ll go with you.” Pulling her into my arms again, I inhale her scent. From her freshly showered skin, to the sweet scent of her shampoo. My perfect woman. “Now”—I release my hold on her and glance at her body—“this isn’t the best time to do this, but I need you. I need to take all those memories and rid you of them. I’m yours, you’re mine. I’m your fuel, you’re my fire, and together, baby, we’re going to burn the past from your mind.”

“Kael.” My name is a whimper, a plea, and I want nothing more than to devour her right here. Leaning in, I scoop her up, bridal style, and head up to our bedroom.

“I wanted to punish you all day for doubting me, but I can’t wait. You’re my one weakness, Paige Madden, and there’s nothing more I want than to be with you forever.” My words have her breath hitching. This is what I’ve wanted since the first time I laid my eyes on her. To make her Mrs. Wolfe. To bind her to me forever and watch her body swell and change as she bears my children.

“Is that your way of proposing, Kael Wolfe?” she quips. Her gaze still holds the memories she recalled, and I plan on fucking them out of her right now.

“If I was proposing, Firebird, you’d know. That was just a promise.” I place her on her feet and cross my arms in front of my chest. “Take off your clothes, bend over the edge of the bed, and wait.” She obeys beautifully, and I take in the soft curves of her ass with the sparkly plug sitting snug between luscious cheeks. “You look beautiful with my toys inside your body, Paige.”

“Are you going to stand there and watch me, or are you going to exact your punishment? When we’re done, I’d like to go and dole out my revenge.” Her tone is adamant, and I’ve never been more in awe of this woman. She’s been through hell—and that’s no exaggeration—yet here she is, sassing me about wanting to kill a man. I can’t help loving her even more. Every day that passes, I fall deeper, harder, and more in love with Paige.

“Oh, you’ll get your punishment, and I can’t wait to see you take charge and avenge yourself, baby. The thought of that makes me harder than rock,” I say, lifting the long, black feather from the shelf.

“Thank you.” Her words still me and she continues. “For giving me my life back.” With that, I decide the punishment I had planned will suffice.

I don’t respond with words, instead, I trail the feather over her spine, from her neck to her ass. Soft whimpers fall from her lips, but she doesn’t move. Good girl. I should tell her, but I wait. Another light trail over her hip, down her thighs, I allow my hot breath to fan over her drenched core. Her scent is heavenly as I inhale the sweetness waiting for me.

Grabbing the small pinwheel, I start at the base of her spine and roll it up along her back. The sensations that this elicits have her shuddering. With my free hand, I rain a swat on her ass, harsh and loud. Her moans are like music, echoing around us. Spurring me on, I slap her cheeks, left, right, left, right, until my handprints are evident. “Do you need my cock yet, Phoenix?” I hiss as she pushes her ass back against my rigid erection.

“Please, Sir. Fuck me, please,” she pleads. I know there are tears rolling down her cheeks, only this time, they’re not of sadness, but instead of pure pleasure.

“Open your legs.” She spreads them easily, and I kneel behind her. The silver of the pinwheel glints in the bright light streaming through the bedroom windows. With precision, I press the steel to her glistening lips and she lets out a yelp, fisting the sheets, while chanting my name, over and over again.

When I reach her clit, her cries become animalistic. I love watching her teeter on the edge. Her release just out of reach. It’s how I love to taunt her.

“Are you ready now, baby?” I ask against her sex and she practically screeches my name. Rising, I push my jeans and boxer briefs to the floor and grip my now steel shaft. Teasing her lips with the crown, I inch into her, the movement is slow and I know it’s torture on her body.

“God, Kael, please. Goddammit, please!” Smirking at her words, I roll my hips and slam into her, seating myself to the hilt, and the octave her screams take on must wake the dead. Her body convulses and pulses around me when I feel her soak my cock with her sweet juices.

“Did you just come without my permission, Phoenix?” I quip, and she nods. With that, my hand rains down four slaps to her ass cheeks. She must be overwhelmed. Filled to the max with the plug and my cock. I knew she’d come, but that just makes me smile, because I made her feel that good.

“I’m sorry, Sir. I just—”

I pull out and ram back into her, again and again, snuffing out the words she was about to utter as I fuck her. Gripping her hips, I hold her steady as all the anger, frustration, and memories I know she held gets ripped from her mind as I drive into her.

It’s animalistic. It’s violent. It’s unapologetic.

It’s us.

My Phoenix. My woman. My fucking pet.

Her body tightens and I know she’s close. “You’re going to come with me this time, baby,” I bite out, my jaw clenching painfully as I try to hold on to my own release until I know she’s ready. When my hips buck wildly and she pushes her ass against me, I realize she’s there. I reach for the plug, and as I command her release, I pull it from her body as I plunge into her sweet, tight, cunt. “Now.”

One word and our world tilts, her body tightens, my mind blanks out and everything around us explodes. We both detonate like a comet exploding in the sky as it reaches maximum speed.

Her cries, my grunts, everything thrums as I empty myself deep inside her. Filling not only her body, but her heart. And in that moment, I bind our souls, for the rest of eternity.