Miscreants: Next Generation by Natalie Bennett (essential reading .txt) 📗

If there was one positive about this mess she’d just created, it was that these deaths showed how loyal my people were. Though, to be honest, I wasn’t all that impressed by it. Loyalty was one of the only values I held to standard.

I’d surrounded myself with ruthless miscreants to ensure that what was strong never weakened. The people that had been here for me from the beginning, and those that ultimately proved themselves, were devoted to me down to their volatile cores.

I would never be ungrateful for them, and I didn’t take a single proselyte for granted, but I also wasn’t going to sit around and cry over a single fucking one. If that made me heartless, oh well.

None of us could be classified as ‘good’ people. I’d always found the definition of that word to be subjective, anyhow. It was a label. After being falsely labeled for half my life, I’d stopped giving a fuck what anyone thought about me a long time ago. People would only see what they wanted to see, and their judgements always roared louder than my truths.

I stared out at the lake’s glass-like surface, taking a few minutes to get my thoughts in order. If I didn’t reign in my temper, I would begin slaughtering everyone around me.

She fucking left.

I knew she would, but she actually fucking did it.

I wasn’t an idiot. Confined to the indoors for half of my life, I’d had nothing but time to study the ways of the best of the best. The devil himself had been my mentor. He was the one who encouraged me to construct an empire beneath the noses of those at the very top—not excluding himself.

Suffice it to say, I didn’t make it this far by not being smarter than anyone who thought they could outmaneuver me. This had been bound to happen. I’d predicted it months ago. But that didn’t make it any easier to accept. Knowing I was losing Lilith couldn’t compare to the reality of it.

Last night, having her in my arms had brought me a comfort I constantly craved and only she could give.

At the same time, holding her while my dick throbbed at the idea of feeling her wrapped around me again…that had been a new kind of agony.

There was no way I was turning down being inside her. Holding and touching her incredible body, watching her every expression as I made her come, was a hobby I was quite passionate about. I could be on my death bed and would request her pussy as my last wish. If I were too hurt or sick to fuck, I would still shove my face in it.

I shouldn’t have been so gentle with her.

If she couldn’t walk, she wouldn’t have been able to run away.

I knew fucking her until she couldn’t feel her legs or utter a single plea wouldn’t fix the issues between us. Words alone wouldn’t be enough either. That worked in my favor, though. I wasn’t good with words to begin with.

It would be those and my actions making my intentions crystal clear, revealing to her what her role to play was.

“They’re here,” Amo stated, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I uncrossed my arms and turned away from the lake to watch the small procession of proselytes. Brody and Aurora had seen that the three in question made it here in one piece, along with two lags from the pens they’d recaptured but hadn’t killed yet. Dawn trailed behind them, a frown marring her face.

“They were talking of leaving before we caught them,” Rory announced.

“We thought it’d be best for everyone,” a proselyte explained.

“You thought it’d be best for everyone? I could’ve sworn that it was me who made the decisions around here.”

“She meant no disrespect,” the proselyte to the left rushed to her defense, “but we know what happens when one of us fails.”

“Then you were going to run scared like little bitches?” Amo asked.

“Calling them bitches is too much of a compliment,” Rory objected. “Bitches have loyalty, and they’re much cuter.”

“We don’t have time for this. Burn their masks to set an example and then make them watch each other die.”

“What about the two from the pens?” Dawn asked. “They’re the only ones left. The rest have already been killed.”

“You just answered your own question.” I removed my blade and walked up to a man damn near cowering on the ground.

With a quick jab, I split open the side of his neck. Turning to the older woman beside him, I repeated the motion, paying no attention to the plea she gave me to spare her. Stepping over their spasming bodies, I addressed Amo, Rory, and Dawn.

“Handle those three and then pack any random shit you’ll need. We’re heading out before nightfall.”

Leaving them to it, I walked away from the docks and headed for my cabin.

It was strange being in here, knowing Lilith was gone. She was the one who made anywhere we were feel like home.

Usually when I crept inside, she’d be sound asleep, never once waking as I stood over her and watched. Even knowing she’d be gone, I left her flowers where I always had. The same ones that made me think of her.

Wildflowers.

They thrive in the harshest conditions.

They’re resilient—strong yet gentle. That was Lilith. I’d caged her in my prison of thorns, and she’d still found a way to bloom.

Staring at the blood on my hands, I sank down on the sofa and rested my chin on my knuckles. If my uncle could see me now…

I laughed to myself at the thought of that. It had been a long time since I’d come across anyone from my past. I wasn’t sure they’d recognize me. What they expected and what I