Page 57 of Awakening the Beast
As we drive through the dark, deserted roads, the world outside feels as distant as my thoughts. I slip my heels off, the cool air grazing my bare feet, while I fix my gaze out the window beside me, trying to untangle the mess inside my head. I need to think smart, but the anger simmering beneath the surface is clouding everything.
“I thought we agreed you'd fucking listen to me,” Arlo's says, cutting through the silence, sharp and irritated.
I raise an eyebrow, my tone flat, masking the fury underneath. “Yeah, well, kind of hard when that bitch was taunting me.”
“And you’re just gonna let every person who taunts you catch a bullet? It’s been one day, Wren. One fucking day.”
My brows pull together, my eyes narrowing as I look at him, the anger clawing its way to the surface. “Don’t you dare throw that at me. How many times have you acted on impulse and killed someone? Huh? I bet it's a lot more than once, Arlo.”
He turns his head slightly, meeting my glare with one of his own, his voice colder than ever. “You ain’t me.”
I scoff, rolling my eyes, the bitterness dripping in my tone. “Clearly.”
His knuckles turn white as he grips the wheel harder. “What the fuck is with your attitude? What did she say that’s got you acting like this?”
My heart pounds in my chest, the hurt blending with rage and I shoot him a pointed look. “I don’t know, Arlo. Why don’t you tell me?” I bite out.
He’s quiet for a moment, the tension rising until I can barely stand it and continue. “The week I left you because you were marrying her—ring any bells?”
Suddenly, he swerves the car off the road, pulling over onto a deserted stretch of dried mud before he cuts the engine. The abrupt stop jolts me, and a surge of fear and anger hits like a freight train. Before I even know what I’m doing, my hand dartsin my bag, pulling out my gun, and in a blind rage, I aim it directly at him.
The air between us turns electric, charged with the raw threat of violence. My chest rises and falls as I pant heavily, staring into his dark, cold eyes, but of course, he doesn’t flinch. He never does.
“I suggest you put that fucking gun down,” he growls, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. There’s a seriousness in his tone that makes me second-guess myself for a moment, but I don’t lower it. Not yet.
Instead, I tilt my head to the side. “How about I just kill you, Arlo?”
As soon as the threat escapes me, his lips curl into a sinister smirk—a look that sends chills through me. Before I can even process what’s happening, he moves faster than I can track. In one fluid motion, he disarms me, wrenching the gun from my hand in a way that leaves me startled.
Now it’s him pointing my gun at me.
“You were saying, you fucking idiot?” he snickers.
I clench my teeth at his words, my pulse pounding in my ears as we lock eyes in icy, intense silence. Eventually, I tear my gaze away and look forward, biting back the fury swirling inside me.
“Now fucking speak.”
“There’s no point,” I spit out, trembling with anger. “You’ll just deny it.”
He chuckles, a dark, mocking sound that makes my blood boil. I whip my head to the side, glaring furiously, but he just shakes his, unfazed.
“She said we fucked.”
I stare straight ahead once again, refusing to engage. The truth is, I don’t know what to believe anymore. My thoughts are a mess, my emotions all over the place.
“How many times are you going to believe that stupid cunt, Wren?” he asks before continuing. “She’s getting in your head, and you’re letting her. You’re letting her fucking control you.”
My eyes flash with fury, and I finally snap. “Maybe this time, I fucking believe it, Arlo.”
His smirk disappears immediately, replaced with something colder, darker. His jaw clamps down, and his eyes harden.
“Get the fuck out.” He barks sharply.
The words hit me, and for a second, I can’t breathe. My brows furrow in confusion as the gun remains aimed on me. His face a mask of annoyance as he presses the button on his door and both of our doors lift.
He suddenly shouts, his tone booming with a fury I haven’t heard from him in months. “I said, get the fuck out!”
My heart pounds erratically as I notice the aggression and severity in his eyes, a side of Arlo I thought had long been buried. With a deep swallow, I take a slow step out
