Page 33 of Awakening the Beast
“Well, I don’t want you to fucking lie, so tell me.”
His smile deepens, and I can see the admiration in his eyes as he answers. “She was a fucking force, Arlo. Handled herself like she’s been in the game her whole life. The Elites didn’t just tolerate her—they fucking respected her. She made moves, smart ones. Earned her place, no question.”
I side-eye him, adjusting myself in my seat, “Oh, yeah. How?”
“Well, at the first Elite meeting that your mom and I took her to, there was this one Elite running his mouth, talking utter shit about you,” Jasper explains.
My eyes snap to his, and before I can even ask which motherfucker dared to talk shit about me, he continues.
“Wren whipped out her gun, shot him straight in the head without a moment’s hesitation, and then went on to threaten every single Elite in the room. Told them if they ever spoke badly about her husband again, she’d do the same to them.”
My brows shoot up, shock and pride flooding my system. My girl’s got some serious fucking balls—pulling a stunt like that could’ve easily gotten her killed, but instead, she stood her ground and earned their respect the brutal way.
“From that moment on, they liked her,” he adds. “They’re still asking if she’ll be coming back because they like how she runs.”
I’m still trying to process this new side of Wren when he continues, “So, will she be returning?”
I weave the Lambo through a clearing in the road, my mind running, but my answer is clear as day. “Yeah, she wants to,” I finally say, my voice steady. “But that’s up to her.
“And you? Do you want her to?” Jasper presses, his tone digging deeper, trying to get at what I’m really thinking.
I pause, thinking about it because it’s complicated as hell. On one hand, I want her to stay the same woman I fell in love with. We balanced each other out in some strange, fucked-up way that just worked, but on the other hand, I know how quickly this shady world can suffocate you, pull you under until there’s nothing left but the darkness. I don’t want to lose her to the madness that’s surrounded me my entire life. Yet, there’s a twisted part of me that would love to see her right beside me, not just at home but as an Elite too. Maybe she can find a way to balance it, to stay grounded where so many have lost themselves.
When I finally pull up outside the meeting building in the heart of NYC, I cut the engine and shrug, trying to play it off.
“She can do whatever the fuck she wants. If she wants to return when she’s ready, so be it.”
Before Jasper can respond, the door lifts and I step out into the cool air. I glance around, taking one last drag from my cigarette, letting the smoke curl up into the sky before I crush the butt beneath my polished black shoe.
Jasper rounds the car as I straighten my suit, adjusting my tie as if I’m gearing up for fucking war. Which I could be. He follows behind me, and together we stride into the towering building.
As we reach the top floor, I walk toward the double doors with Jasper close behind me. Without hesitation, I push them open, the heavy wood parting with a forceful swing. Every pair of eyes in the room turns to me as I make my entrance, the tension clear. I stop at the head of the long table, where forty or so of the most dangerous men in the world are seated.
Some of them look at me with wide-eyed disbelief, clearly taken aback that the rumours of my existence were true. Others nod in acknowledgment, showing blend of respect and relief, but a few can’t seem to meet my gaze, likely processing their guilt and betrayal.
“Good morning, gentlemen,” I begin. “I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long.”
I pull out my chair and take a seat, leaning back with a casual confidence as I rest my ankle over my knee. Jasper slides into the chair beside me as I glance around the room, noticing that none of them have spoken a word since I walked in.
“So, what the fuck have I missed?” I ask, breaking the silence.
“Nothing much, Arlo. Everything has been running smoothly in your absence. It’s good to have you back,” one of the Elites to my right responds.
My eyes flick to him, and I give a small nod. “That’s good to hear.”
“Your wife seemed to have taken the reins pretty well,” another voice chimes in from my left. I turn to look at him, my expression unreadable, and give another brief nod.
“Anything I should be made aware of?”
“Our white supplier has been causing some issues, but we’ve got a potential replacement lined up. Better prices, but we’ll need your approval of course,” the Elite adds.
“Run it by Jasper,” I reply firmly. “We’ll get our testers in. Cheaper is good, but the quality needs to stay the same, if not better.”
The man nods in agreement, and the room settles into a more normal rhythm. As I answer a flurry of questions, I take a moment to scan the room, reminding myself that while I might have been away, nothing has changed. This is still my fucking city, my throne, and I’m ready to take back control.
“Arlo, could we have a word after this in private?”
The room falls into a tense silence as Viktor Orlov’s Russian accent cuts through the conversations. My eyes snap to the back of the room, where he’s perched, not noticing him before, and I feel my blood start to boil. The last thing I wanted was to lose my shit on my first day back, but seeing his face makes it impossible.
