The Rightful Heir
QUINTON
I throw another bruising punch at the metal bars before stepping back, feeling exhausted to the bone.
Behind me, Gwen tells me, “Stop it, Quint. This isn’t going to get us anywhere. You’re just exhausting and hurting yourself.”
Deep down, I know she’s right. I slump on the nearby mattress and watch her from across the cell. The silver anklet she has on, the same as mine, glints even though it’s dark and the only source of light is from the tiny window so high up that it’s close to the ceiling.
I’m tired and angry that I feel this way. I wish I could bend the metal with my hands and free us from this place. It’s been days. I’m enraged that Walter Hart managed to gain the upper hand so easily.
We didn’t even give him a fight. Fuck, what’s Bruce been doing? Why isn’t that man dead yet?
In here, we have no news. We have no idea what’s happening. Was Opal found? Is there a war going on or something? Things were pretty bad before we got locked up. I can’t imagine that things are calmer now.
If they were, we wouldn’t be here.
“What’re you thinking about?” Gwen asks.
I take a deep breath before speaking. “Bruce. Why the fuck we’re still here.”
“There’s a high chance that he’s been trapped just like us. Walter outsmarted everyone.”
“Yeah, but Bruce is…”
I trail off because I don’t know how to finish this sentence. I’ve always seen my brother as a superhero. I’ve always envied him for being effortlessly strong and great and charismatic. Everyone trusted him more, even our father.
Over the past few months, things changed, though. I no longer felt resentful toward him. I started admiring him.
Fuck, I know he’s smarter than Walter, so what the hell could be going on?
What does Walter have on him?
“Just a person,” she claims. “Don’t be so hard on him. It’s all going to be okay.”
“We don’t know that.”
“We wouldn’t be alive if the opposite were true.”
“We don’t know why he’s keeping us alive. It could be for any reason.”
What if my entire family is dead as I speak? What then? The thought makes me sweat all over. Goddess, I want to stand up and punch the walls all over again.
But my knuckles are all bruised and split, and all I managed to do was put a small dent in the metal. Dammit, we have to get out of here.
Suddenly, the sound of a door opening several feet away grabs our attention. This only ever happens twice a day—in the mornings and in the evenings. The shit guards bring us meals we have no choice but to eat.
But this…it’s not dinner time yet. I’m sure of it.
Someone is approaching. Gwen and I sit up straighter, and in no time, Walter is standing on the other side of the cell, and he has the audacity to smile.
“Son of a bitch!” I rage, standing up and slamming my fists against the bars. “Let us out of here right now!”
“Calm down, boy,” he retorts calmly. “There’s no need to be so aggressive. Your mother told me all about you, Quinton. I thought we could talk for a bit.”
“Talk?” I spit. “What the fuck…if you hurt my mother—”
“Hurt her? Heavens, no. I would never hurt her. We’re engaged.”
His words leave me so cold that I don’t know how to react for several moments. Gwen touches my back, and I have to admit that the contact grounds me a little.
“Your mother and I have loved each other for a long time,” Walter continues. “We have a lot of things in common, and you know what’s one thing we both always agreed on?”
I don’t answer him and he takes it as his cue to continue.
“You should’ve been the Alpha King,” he claims. “Not your brother. Bruce wasn’t even a legitimate son. He was the son of some whore. You should’ve been his rightful heir.”
Gwen’s grip on my shirt tightens and I know what she’s thinking. Walter is giving me an option. I know it even though he hasn’t mentioned anything yet.
I have to agree with him because that’s clearly what he wants to hear.
“My mother told you all this?”
“Yes, of course. She has always hated Bruce. She didn’t think he belonged in the family. Your sister is having a hard time understanding this, but she’ll come along. I’m sure she will. Of course…this all depends on what you think.”
I’ve never felt more proud of Megan than I do now. “So, what’re you offering me, here? What do you gain from all this? You presented yourself as the enemy. You locked us in here!”
“It was simply because I wanted to give you a chance to calm down and really think about things. You have a golden opportunity to be king here. You have to think about it. Your brother would’ve never made a good leader. He was tempted by my niece. He let her ruin him. He could’ve had everything if he’d just played along. Are you a better player than him? That’s all it comes down to.”
I let a few beats of silence pass, then I look over my shoulder at Gwen. Her eyes are wide, but she’s not saying anything. I ask Walter, “What about her? She’s with me.”
“Who? Gwen here?”
“Yes.”
Walter chuckles. “Well, she’s a much better match for you than my half rogue niece was for your brother, that’s for sure. If she promises to behave, she’s free to tag along with you.”
“She will.”
“Perfect, then.”
“When will we get out of here?”
“Soon,” he claims. “I’ll have my guards prepare everything, and then you’ll leave tonight. Does that sound good?”
“It sounds perfect.”
“We have a deal, then.”
He extends his hand and I don’t give myself a moment’s thought. I shake it. He steps back, clearly satisfied, saying, “We’ll discuss everything once you’re out.”
“What happens to Bruce?” I question. “What will you do with him?”
“We were hoping you’d help us decide.”
My heart skips a beat. Of course. He wants to know if I’m truly in this or not. “He’ll have to disappear. I don’t know how, but he’ll have to.”
“Atta boy.”
“What about the rogues?”
“Oh, that’s settled,” he claims. “There’ll be a pardon, and we’ll gather them all together in the city’s square in a day.”
“They’ll be pardoned?”
“Something like that,” he replies with a cruel look in his eyes. When he walks away, Gwen and I exchange a look.
“This is bad,” she whispers.
“Really bad,” I agree.
We’ve got to get out of here.
And when that happens, we have to find a way to warn people of what’s going to happen. Walter can’t get aaah with this.
He just can’t.
So, when the guards come for us, we play along, then try our best to outsmart them and get away.
We give it everything we’ve got.