Chapter 58

***Alicia ***

This plan could blow up in our faces, but we can’t sit around and wait for a chance to present itself. We need to act now. Rowan left an hour ago to grab one of the Oyster Boys and I’ve been pacing my room trying to come up with the best way to break him. There’s a chance he can signal Wendell as soon as Rowan grabs him, but it’s a chance we have to take. We’ll face the consequences as they come. For now, we need to act like nothing is wrong.

I’m standing in the bathroom examining my different colored eyes. It wouldn’t be the first time I've worn contacts, but there is a part of me that doesn’t want to hide anymore. Still, it would be a huge clue that I’m not the Alicia I once was and I can’t give away the change in power just yet. Wendell needs to feel confident and comfortable until I’m ready to break down everything he’s built. I can’t help the smile on my face when I think of bringing him to his knees and ending his hold on us for good.

His clutches don’t hold me back anymore but my guys…I don’t know if my transformation changed their dynamic with Wendell. No one truly knows how his “deals” work. Just another thing I need to ask the Oyster Boys about or maybe…

No, asking Lilith anything would be a risk and I doubt she would tell me the truth. She got into bed with Wendell hoping to be handed Wonderland but ended up a pawn like the rest of us. She no doubt thinks she still has a chance at power by living under Wendell and earning her freedom back. Like fuck. No way am I letting that witch touch Wonderland again. When Wendell dies so does she. There is no way this ends with a single one of them alive. Saying it in my mind sends a shiver down my spine. It shouldn’t feel so good thinking about ending someone else’s life, but hell…it does. Those two hurt and murdered so many. There is no end where they do not pay for what they’ve done.

“Beautiful.” Cree purs wrapping his arms around me and resting his chin on my shoulder.

I catch a glimpse of his sharp canines and smile. He’s sexy as fuck, but also adorable. I reach back and give his head a scratch eliciting a purr from him quickly followed by a groan. He’s getting hard against me and I smirk. My boys are insatiable and I love it.

“Coming to fetch me handsome?” I ask him.

He blinks his cat-like eyes at me through the mirror and nods. “But I don’t want to let you go just yet.”

His hands move so that his palms rest against my stomach. My eyes flutter close when one hand slips through the folds of the towel wrapped around me and I gasp when his hand touches my bare skin.

“You smell delicious.” He says nipping my ear and making me gasp.

The feel of it going right down like a shock of electricity between my legs. I can’t help but rub my thighs together at the sensation. My need for him only grows when the hand rests against my bare stomach and slides down further.

“Mm…I can’t resist you.” He says before his hand is gone and he spins me around to face him.

His mouth is on mine in an instant. The kiss is hard and desperate. My blood heats from the energy he’s passing through me like gas on a flame. He grabs the towel and rips it off leaving me completely bare in his arms. I clutch the shirt he’s wearing and try to anchor myself but he breaks the kiss and drops to his knees. My head is swimming in a haze as I look down at him and he gives me a wicked smile.

“Hold on my love because I’m starving.” Before I can say a word he grabs my legs and pulls them over his shoulders.

I cry out the second his mouth is on me. He licks and nibbles on me until I’m writhing and begging for more, but he doesn’t stop or give me anymore. No, he tortures me with crushing pleasure until I’m almost limp and barely able to hold onto the sink any longer. Then he carefully sets my legs down and lifts me into his arms. My body feels weak and relaxed when he carries me to my bed and lays me down. I think he’s just going to disappear but he climbs over me and settles between my legs. He rests his hands on my stomach and his head on top of them looking at me with a soft smile on his face.

“You’re a dream little Alice.” He says making me laugh.

“Not Alice and I’m definitely not little anymore,” I tell him.

Even if I can’t remember the Alice they do, I know who I am thanks to their stories. I was important to them then and even more so now.

“You will always be my Alice. The light of everything good.” He says sweetly.

I slide my fingers through his soft light brown almost blonde hair and hum. “Maybe once, but I’m the dark now.”

He smiles. “You’re a burning flame. An all-consuming fire. A light far brighter than ever, but deadly too. You’re powerful. You are a queen among men. It is an honor to belong to you.”

My eyes burn from his declaration. I feel the power inside me. The ability to stand above everyone and call their attention and demand their respect, but there is part of me that fears that. I don’t want to be a monster, and yet the monster is the one who can right the wrongs that have been done. What if that monster is all I’ll ever be again? What if people will fear me? What if I doom Wonderland even more?

“Cree…I’m scared.” I whisper.

He watches me for a long minute and then moves up my body leaving a soft kiss to my lips.

“You are perfect. Everything you fear is only a small part of who you are. There is so much more to you than the darkness you fear. You are Alice even if you’ve forgotten who that was. The light still lives inside you and I see it every time I look in your eyes. You are beautiful.” He leans in and kisses me again making me forget all my doubts even for a little bit.

He breaks the kiss when someone clears their throat.

“Cree, you need to get your ass downstairs. You’re late.” Walker says harshly.

Cree smiles down at me and kisses my nose before climbing off the bed and disappearing instantly. My eyes move from where he had been to where Walker stands in the doorway.

“Have you come to scold me?” I ask not bothering to cover myself.

Instead, I lift myself on one arm and rest my head in my hand watching him. His eyes move over my naked body before he locks eyes with me and smirks.

“Why? Have you done something bad?” He asks.

The low smoky sound of his voice makes me shiver. Walker isn’t the warm cuddly type like Cree or a sweet talker like Hale. He grunts and scowls instead of using words and when he does they come out clipped and harsh. It makes him seem unpredictable. When we’re alone, which to my dismay isn’t often, I am always wondering which Walker I’ll witness. His body looks tense but the smirk on his face is playful.

“I got a little sidetracked but if I’m late I can quickly get ready,” I tell him with a shrug.

“You’re definitely late, but I’ll spare you some time if…”

“If what?”

“If you’re a good girl, I’ll let it slide.”

A rush of heat moves over my skin when he steps into the room and closes the door behind him. I hear the flip of the lock but I can’t take my eyes off him.

“You know sharing has never been my strong suit. Having those assholes all over you day and night drives me mad, but my time has come. I have you alone and there is so much I want to do to you.” He stops at the edge of the bed and looks down at me. “Come here.”

I move to my knees and crawl across the bed until I reach him and then sit back on my feet looking up at him. He reaches out and circles my neck with his large calloused hand. Then he slams his lips against mine so hard our teeth knock together. He pulls my bottom lip between his teeth and tugs on it making me whimper and gasp from the pleasure and pain before he releases me.

“It’s my time now.” He says before taking my mouth again.

We are definitely going to be late now.