Turner has only one thing on his mind—killing the man who chained him and made his life hell. The problem is that Turner can’t exactly announce what he’s up to, and he can’t ask for help, even though he sorely needs it. He can only continue training and hope it won’t take him years to get his hands on Alpha Rhodes.
Raven was there when Turner was rescued, and he cares about the man. When his alpha’s son asks him to check in on Turner, he can’t say no. When his alpha asks him to train Turner and keep an eye on him because he knows what Turner is up to, his answer is still yes.
Neither of them expected to fall in love.
Turner can’t afford to focus on Raven, and Raven can’t allow Turner to kill anyone. Is their relationship doomed, or will they be able to find their way through the anger and need for revenge and realize they already have everything they need—each other?
Turner was going to die. His lungs were on fire and he couldn’t breathe, yet, he continued running. He put one foot in front of the other, avoided a root poking from the ground, and tried to suck in a breath. His legs trembled and felt like they were about to break down on him, but nothing could stop him.
He would get his revenge.
He didn’t care how long it took him or how much he had to train and put his body through this torture. Alpha Rhodes thought he was weak, but Turner wasn’t. He’d never been, not even when Alpha Rhodes had forced his parents to hand him over so he could sell him. Turner needed to be stronger, though. If he was going to kill his old alpha, he needed all the strength and training he could get.
Unfortunately, he was doing it all on his own. He doubted the badger alpha would take it kindly if Turner explained what he wanted. Thomas was a good man, and he wouldn’t want Turner to do this, not because of Alpha Rhodes, but because of Turner himself. He wouldn’t want Turner to have to change himself to kill his old alpha, and Turner understood why.
That wasn’t going to stop him.
He’d been thinking about killing Alpha Rhodes for so long that some days, it felt like he already had. Alpha Rhodes would never expect him to be able to get his hands on him, and Turner was going to take advantage of that. First, though, he’d become stronger.
He would never let himself be vulnerable again the way he had before. He would never allow anyone to trap him again, no matter who they were. He’d rather die.
He continued running through the forest, puffing and sweating. He’d been doing that since the carriers were allowed to leave the Bishop house, and with nothing better to do, it was perfect.
He knew that if he asked, Thomas would find him a job. He was tempted to look for one just because that way he wouldn’t have to spend all his time at the Bishop house. But finding a job would mean focusing on something else, and he wasn’t ready to do that. So instead, he spent most of his days running around the forest, then using the gym the badger enforcers used to keep themselves in shape. He’d gotten his fair share of strange glances, but he didn’t care. He didn’t owe anyone an explanation of what he was doing.
Turner should have been relieved that his current alpha was a good person, and he was. He knew Thomas would never hurt anyone, but he still couldn’t ignore the fear something would happen to him and the other carriers if he wasn’t careful. It didn’t matter what kind of person Thomas was. After what Turner had been through, he knew what alphas were capable of.
And he hadn’t even had the worst of it. Many of the carriers he’d been living with at the Bishop house had it worse than him, yet, they were dealing with it better than he was. That made him feel guilty, and at the same time, he wanted to protect them. None of them should have gone through what they did, not even him.
But he’d only been taken from his family and imprisoned in a shed. He hadn’t been fed, and he’d known he would be sold as soon as his old alpha found a buyer. But what was it next to what Philip had gone through? Or Julian?
Turner was so focused on his thoughts that he didn’t see the second root. He should have been more careful. He’d been running in the forest long enough to know how harsh the ground was.
His foot caught, and he tilted forward so quickly he didn’t even have the time to put his hands in front of him. His face hit the ground, pine needles and earth digging into his skin.
“Fuck,” he muttered.
He stayed where he was, trying to get his breath back. If he’d been trying to hide what he was doing from everyone, he would have failed. Thankfully, the badgers were used to seeing him around the forest and at the gym, so they probably wouldn’t even notice he was hurt.
Well, most of them wouldn’t. Some definitely would, and Turner would have to deal with them. They’d have questions, and even though he could try not to answer, they’d push and push until he did. He supposed that was what being part of a group of people who cared about him meant. He wasn’t used to it, and he wasn’t sure he ever would. But in the meantime, it was kind of a bother.
He got back to his feet, wincing at the pain in his cheek. When he touched it, he felt dampness, which he was pretty sure was his blood. That was confirmed by his bloody fingers when he peered at them.
Great. Now there really would be no way for him to avoid talking about what had happened.
He rubbed his forearm against his cheek, streaking it with blood and dirt. He wasn’t done running yet, but he didn’t feel up to it anymore. He should continue, because if he gave up, he’d never get what he wanted. But he was so fucking tired. He’d been exhausted since he’d started training, and considering how much he’d done already, he doubted that taking one afternoon off would do damage.
Or at least, he hoped it wouldn’t.
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