A Coalition Story

Fifty-Eight Days

"Fifty-eight days," Lev commented, falling into step with Ravyn. Her posture stiffened and her fists clenched. Fifty-eight days left to save herself. Fifty-eight days left of guaranteed freedom. Fifty-eight days left until she married the man she once thought she loved.

"Not gonna happen, Zima." She looked straight ahead and continued walking when Lev stopped until he grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards him roughly. Yeah, that was gonna leave bruises.

"Don't say your future name with such hatred, baby girl." His tone taunted her as much as his words. Lev knew she hated him, and if he hadn't grabbed hold of her other wrist, too, she would have socked him where Alice stabbed him weeks earlier.

"Not going to happen. I'm not marrying you," Ravyn spat out. His dark chuckle worried her as he pulled her flush against him.

"You're the one who wanted me so badly, remember? I'm all yours now, so I don't see why you're so upset," Lev whispered in her ear. Dropping her wrists, he snaked his arms around her waist and kissed her neck where he knew was her most sensitive spot. As much as Ravyn hated to admit it, he still made her want to swoon when he touched and kissed her like this. But he knew her body as well as his own at this point, so of course, he knew how to affect her the most.

She tried to resist the shudder that shook her spine, but Ravyn knew she failed when he chuckled again.

"You want me still. Don't even try and deny it." Oh, how she wanted to push him away! But after last time, well, Ravyn had learned her lesson. So she pulled away as best she could instead.

"I hope you die."

"Good luck making that happen, baby girl. I doubt any of your little friends could make that happen, not with my rank." He was the third-best assassin in his age group, and even if Cal and Tori were numbers one and two, respectively, he was still important enough.

"Go away, please." Ravyn's words serenaded Lev with desperation, but this only made him hold on tighter.

"I'm not letting you go any time soon. You're mine now, just like you wanted, and I don't plan on changing that. Ever. You can go for now, but do go far. I'll find you wherever you are." Lev dropped his arms from around Ravyn and stepped back. She stared after him in horror as he turned and left the way he came.

She was officially screwed.

////

This was the first time Atticus had ever seen Ravyn scared. He'd seen her before nerve-wracking, dangerous missions, and she'd been calm as still water. He'd seen her deal with a drunk and angry Excalibur after a breakup with Torin, and she'd been just as calm and collected then. Ravyn didn't get scared. Ever. Until now.

"He's going to do worse than kill me, Ace. He's going to be worse than my dad ever was with my mom. I'm not gonna yet the mercy of murder with Lev. He's too sadistic, too cruel," she breathed out heavily, pacing back and forth across his dorm. Atticus sat on the edge of his bed, excellently masking his anger with Lev and showing only his concern for his best friend (with whom he was completely in love).

He stood as soon as he noticed the tears welling up in her eyes. Atticus could count on one hand how many times he'd seen Ravyn cry before. No, he could count how many times on one finger. It was after some enormous fight with her father that she'd shared minimal details about, but from what Ace understood, knowing more would only make him want to kill her father. So yeah, he was worried more than angry at this point.

"Ravyn, we're gonna get you out of this," he breathed out, pulling his best friend into a hug as he tried to believe his own words. They had to get her out of it, and when Ravyn began to sob aloud, he knew they didn't have any other choices. Atticus could never let Ravyn marry Lev. He could never doom her to a lifetime of torture and abuse and assault. He couldn't do that to his best friend, let alone the woman he loved.

Ace pulled her tighter against his chest, stepping back so he sat on his bed and she was on his lap. Slowly, he rubbed her back, trying to soothe her as his own heart shattered over and over again. At this point, Atticus didn't care if he killed Lev or got killed for killing him; Lev was never getting near his girls (or any girl) ever, ever again.