Page 8 of Untamed Monster

“Gonna hit me, Pops?” Vargas taunted. “Come on. I’m itching for a fucking fight after you ruined my goddamn night.”

“Vargas,” Kasey snapped, drawing Vargas’s eyes to him. “Do not make this worse.”

“Take Rain to the fucking basement,” Winston snapped at Onyx.

Onyx looked at Vargas, then me. I could feel my adrenaline spiking, making me shaky. I tightened my hand around Vargas’s. I knew what happened in that basement. I also knew no one came out of it alive. While I cared little about my life, I didn’t want to leave Vargas. I’d just gotten him.

“If you fucking move,” Vargas growled at his younger brother, his mask slipping, “I’ll slit your fucking throat.”

“Do not threaten your brother,” Winston snarled. “Family above all, remember?”

“If you or anyone else touches Rain, I will turn this house into a bloodbath. They are off fucking limits, Pops.”

“Winston, let’s sit down and talk about this sensibly,” Kasey tried, tugging on Winston’s jeans.

“Sensibility left the list of options when Vargas didn’t take care of this problem the moment it arose,” Winston said. “So now, I’m dealing with it. Rain is a problem. They know too much. Onyx, put Rain in the fucking basement.”

Vargas dropped my hand, and my heart stopped. For a moment, I thought he was abandoning me. But then, he jumped over the coffee table, getting in Winston’s face. Onyx lurched off the couch, and I stumbled backward, thinking he was coming for me, but he grabbed Vargas instead, trying to yank him back.

“Vargas, come on. Don’t do this shit,” Onyx said, surprisingly being the reasonable one. From what I knew of the Dean family, Onyx was normally the one causing the drama, not trying to defuse it. “Don’t make me be the sensible one here.”

“Vargas…” I whispered, my voice shaky.

Neither Vargas nor Winston moved. They just continued staring each other down, daring the other to make the first move. On shaky legs, I forced myself to move, rounding the coffee table. After sucking in a deep breath, I forced my body between theirs, which was a feat since they were so close and refusing to budge, then wrapped my arms around Vargas’s waist.

“Please,” I begged, tilting my head back to look up at him. He wasn’t bothering to mask, so when he glanced down at me, his eyes were empty and soulless. But I stood my ground, refusing to budge.

His left arm banded tight around my waist so tightly, he damn near crushed my ribs, and then, his other hand cradled the back of my head, his fingers sifting in my hair.

“Rain is here to stay,” Vargas finally said, his voice empty. Shivers raced down my spine at the sound of it. It wasn’t human. “Do not think you can take them from me, Pops.”

“Let’s go outside and have a smoke,” Kasey said, tugging on Winston. Winston thankfully backed down, allowing Kasey to pull him toward the French doors that led out to a patio. “When we come back in, we’ll discuss this sensibly as a family,” Kasey told Vargas. “I’m sure you’re both hungry. Make sure Rain eats while I calm your father down.” Then, they were outside, the door shutting behind them.

“What. The. Fuck,” Sabbath said, looking at Vargas. His brow was arched, his eyes wide with disbelief.

Vargas ignored him and looked down at me. “You good, raindrop?”

I blew out a shaky breath. “Your family is terrifying.”

He grunted. “I’ll never let them touch you,” he swore to me. “You’re mine, Rain. And in this family, that kind of claim means something.”

“We’re not usually this fucked up,” Sabbath told me. I turned my head to look at him. “Pops was just blindsided, and he’s not a fan of secrets, especially in a family like this. He considers you a threat to Dad, and that’s crossing a line for him.”

“Only two things in this world Pops will become unhinged over,” Ike said, sounding bored as he played with Merit’s, his fiancé’s, hair. “And that’s Dad and Sabbath.”

I frowned. “That’s sad. You four are his sons, too.”

Wraith snorted. “We don’t particularly care either way, Rain. We’re not capable of feeling sad or angry over his lack of… possessiveness of us.”

“Come on. Let’s get you something to eat,” Vargas said, turning and walking me toward the kitchen with his arm wrapped around my waist. “You need it after earlier.”

Onyx whistled, and my cheeks heated at the reminder of him pinning me to the bed and fucking me into the mattress. This night had been the best and also most terrifying night of my life. It was exhausting.

“Dad made cookies,” Korain called after us.

Vargas settled me on a barstool, then plated three cookies before sliding them in front of me. “Eat,” he quietly ordered. A moment later, he set a bottle of water in front of me.

“Would your pops really kill me?” I asked quietly as I began eating.