The Rise (The Kings and Gods #3)

Chapter 17

Hunter

“I got a few hits on that post,” I inform Hoax as we sit in the office going over a few things.

“Really? Think any of them are them?” he asks, and I shrug.

“Only one way to find out,” I tell him as I type out my response to each one. I make them sound different just in case they’re the same assholes trying to catch me up. I hit send, and then we wait once more. I’m on edge today, and I can’t figure out why. Maybe it’s because I’m going to make Lana wish she never met me when I find these assholes. They’re going to know she doesn’t belong to them anymore, and I plan to make a show of it. I almost hate myself for thinking about doing it, but they all need to understand she’s mine now, including her.

“You ready for this shit?” Hoax asks me.

“Yeah. I hate she still fears them, Hoax. I hate that she has an ounce of fear in her. They’re not shit, and I plan on showing them that. I just need her to be on board with it,” I tell him, knowing she isn’t going to. This is her family, the man she may have even loved.

“You don’t think she’ll agree?”

“I don’t know if she’ll want to agree. She had a thing with this guy, Gabe. She says it wasn’t shit, but she was pregnant once, and he wanted it, so I have a feeling it goes a little deeper than I know.”

“Fuck, Hunter. You’re going to make her watch,” he says as I laugh now.

“I’m going to make him watch.”

“Oh shit. That’s even better,” he laughs this time. I check the time, and then I stand, adjusting my suit jacket.

“You ready for this?” I ask him.

“I should be asking you that,” he says as he stands and adjusts his jacket.

“How long until this is you?” I ask him with a laugh.

“Shit. I have to get the girl first,” he replies.

“When is that?”

“Soon, brother. Soon.” I nod my head as we walk out of the room and stop dead in my tracks. Lana is walking into the main room at the same time in a black dress that molds her body. I stop to take her in, and Hoax whistles next to me. I elbow him in the chest, making him laugh as Lana looks between us. Her hair is pulled up on top of her hair, a few strands hanging loosely around her face.

“Is it that bad?” she asks with a smile that kills me. I wish I could see that smile on her face all the time, but I know that’s going to take time, and that’s all I have is time.

“Bad? There’s nothing bad about that dress,” I tell her, motioning for her to come to me. I watch her walk across the room and stop when she’s directly in front of me. Even in her heels, she’s shorter than I am. “You look amazing.”

“You do tend to pick out the best dresses. Where are we going this time?” she asks.

“It’s a surprise.” Hoax chuckles, which catches her attention.

“What?”

“The man is joking when he says it’s a surprise,” he tells her before walking toward the door. I grab her hand in mine and lead her out, too. We climb in the SUV, and Hoax takes off driving as I watch out the window. I know what I’m about to do, and I know she isn’t going to agree to it. Thank fuck the Gods don’t care if the woman agrees or not, and I can force her into what I want.

The ride to the chapel doesn’t take long and when Hoax pulls up, there’s already a ton of people here. We climb out and I grab her hand, leading her inside the chapel. Lana gasps as she glances around. The chapel is beautiful, with stained glass windows and all the decorations.

“What is this?”

“It’s called the chapel,” I tell her. She doesn’t ask any other questions as I lead her closer to the altar. I stop and greet the Kings and the other Gods before we step up on the stage. She seems nervous but that doesn’t bother me one bit.

“Hunter Gram, as a God, you have chosen your forever. You have brought her forth today to make this a legal and binding marriage. In the eyes of God, you will be one. In the eyes of our Gods, you will be her protector. As we stand here today, you are vowing to love, cherish, and dominate this woman for the rest of your lives.”

“What?” Lana blurts out. Malcolm, the God in charge, laughs before looking at me.

“Am I correct in saying this?” he asks.

“You are.”

“Then vow,” he says. I don’t have to look at Lana to know she doesn’t understand what’s happening.

“I vow,” I say. Then he turns to Lana and waits.

“Now’s the time for you to say, you vow,” I tell her. She pulls against my hold when a few of the guys step up behind her. They grab her, holding her steady so she can’t escape.

“Whether you say the words or not, he’s already vowed. There’s nothing that will change this,” Malcolm informs her.

“You can’t do this! I didn’t agree to this shit!” she yells.

“Maybe not, but in our world, the woman doesn’t need to agree,” he informs her.

“This is bullshit!”

“Just say the words, Lana,” I tell her.

“Fuck you!”

“Later. For now, say the words,” I tell her once more. She ignores me, fighting against the hold the guys have on her. I eye her, and she watches me.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she hisses at me.

“I told you I wasn’t letting you go, little rebel. I wasn’t joking when I said it,” I tell her. She keeps tugging, but they don’t let her go, and they’re not going to.

“You didn’t say like this, Hunter!”

“What’s the difference? Either way, you weren’t leaving me.”

“How do you know this is what I want? You’ve only known me a few months.”

“I didn’t ask you what you wanted, Lana. This is how it is. I said you’re mine, and regardless if you say the words or not, you belong to me now.” I see the tears in her eyes but she still doesn’t say them. I shrug my shoulders and turn back to Malcolm.

“With all that I have vested in me, you are now Mr. and Mrs. Gram. Congratulations, Hunter.” The crowd screams and whistles for us, but Lana doesn’t say a word. I reach for her, grabbing her hand in mine and tugging her along with me. We walk down the steps and over to the set of chairs that sit off to the side. Malcolm meets us there and sits in one of the chairs as I sit Lana in the other. She doesn’t stay, of course, my girl tries to run. I smirk and pull her back into me, sitting in the chair and holding her in my arms. I wrap my legs around hers so she can’t kick as I hold her arms down with mine.

“What the hell are you doing now?” she yells. Fuck, she’s making my cock hard.

“Now you will wear the God’s mark,” Malcolm tells her. She tries to jerk free, but I don’t let her go.

“If you move and he fucks it up, I’ll make you pay,” I growl in her ear. That seems to get her attention. Lana breathes heavily as Malcolm tattoos our logo on her chest. For her first tattoo, she’s taking it well, or she’s just highly pissed off at me. Either one is fine by me.

When he’s done and cleans her up, she looks down at her chest. I can feel her sigh as if it’s all settling in now.

Once Malcolm is cleaned up, everyone leaves, ready to go to the party except us. I let Lana loose and she stands from my lap and paces the floor for a second. I know she needs a minute to process this shit, and I’ll give her that.

I stand up and let her pace the floor for a few minutes longer before I tell her it’s time to go.

“Where now?” she asks softly.

“To a party. Then home.”

“Do you even have a home?”

“Chaos is my home,” I tell her. She nods her head and walks toward the car with me right behind her. She doesn’t wait for me to open the door; she just pulls it open herself and climbs in. I love her firey attitude. It’s the Lana I’m falling for. The one who takes no shit and goes after what she wants. That’s the version of Lana I want. The one who slammed another girl's face into a table because she was near me.

I climb in, and we take off, driving away from the chapel and straight toward the party. Rylan let us use his parent’s old house for the party since there’s a pool and a lot of people wanted to swim. I didn’t mind at all.

I pull into the driveway and kill the engine before looking over at her. She’s pissed, and I understand why. This isn’t her world. She wasn’t raised like us and doesn’t know about the society the way we do.

“It’s just how we work, Lana.”

“And?”

“And this is who we are,” I tell her. She turns her head to look at me now.

“How you are, Hunter. Not how I am. Did you bother to think this would be harder for me?”

“Because of your boyfriend?” I ask her, trying to keep my tone as calm as possible when all I want to do is rip her apart for letting him touch her. It doesn’t matter that it was before we met. Lana opens her mouth, but nothing comes out. This is about him. “He’s done, Lana! He’ll never have you again. He won’t touch you, he won’t look at you, and he sure as hell won’t fuck you!”

“You can’t just make all these decisions without me, Hunter!”

“What decisions? He fucking used you, Lana! He didn’t love you, or he wouldn’t have let your brother touch you. He can’t touch you the way I can. He can’t make your heart race the way I do, and he sure as hell can’t fuck you like I do!”

“Is that all this about for you? Sex?” I scrub my hand over my face and sigh.

“No.”

“Then what is it, Hunter?”

“It’s about everything, okay? It’s about everything I never fucking had, and I want to give it to you! Why can’t you just accept it?” I roar before climbing out of the car. I’m halfway up the steps when I hear her slam the car door. I don’t look back, not until I hear her talk.

“How do you know I want it?” I lower my head for a brief second before I turn to face her.

“I saw you that day. The day you came in with those kids. I saw the hurt and the pain in your eyes, and instantly, I wanted to take it all away from you. I sat up that night trying to reason things out with myself. I didn’t know you. I can’t save everyone, but you know what? I can save you, Lana. I can fucking save you, and if it’s the last thing I do on this earth, then so be it.”

“You don’t know me, Hunter,” she sobs this time.

“I know what I see. I know what I feel. I know what I see when I look at you, and that’s everything, Lana! Everything!”