Dark Shadow (Book 1 in the Original DARKNESS Duology) ✔

Forty-Two: Queen of Darkness

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I can't stop staring at Nigel. The steamy stare on his part was entrancing, and the shivers rolled throughout my entire being with a low growled purr slipping from behind my lips.

"Tell me, Quail Wolf..." Madilynn paced slowly behind Nigel while peering at me. A smile teased her lips. She stood on his other side, letting a finger slide down his forearm again with her gray eyes on me. "Can you feel it? The strength in him?"

My eyes narrowed on her finger still grazing down Nigel's forearm; all the way down to his wrist. I lifted my eyes to hers and clenched my jaw tightly. Madilynn's grin widened and with her touch still on him, it was almost on purpose to get me to react. Which I did.

"Don't touch him, Madilynn!" came out with a rough growl as I took a step forward.

The she-wolf lifted her finger off Nigel and raised a brow at me. She squinted, feigning a burn as she teased,  "Oo... I hear a bite in your tone, Quail Wolf."

Again, she circled him, this time grazing her fingers from one shoulder to the other as she walked around.

"Does it bother you that I touch him?"

I didn't answer. Just growled at her.

The blonde woman smiled, furrowing her brows as she gave a wave in Nigel's direction.

"You'd be a fucking moron to not react as you are now. After all..." She gave a nod in Nigel's direction while placing her hands on her hips and looked at me. "Nigel's rightfully yours."

Her gray eyes shifted behind me, "Just as you are his."

The snarl I heard made me glance at Nigel whose dark blue eyes illuminated to those of the Quail Wolf and he took a defensive stance to snarl back at the offender. 

Whirling around, Ridge was growling and already started forward. He told Madilynn that she was out of line, and that Nigel wasn't to lay a finger on me. 

I immediately side stepped to stand in front of Ridge with a hand out and my Quail eyes took over, giving him a hard stare as I growled through grit teeth. "No."

Ridge stopped, frowning at me while I growled again. This time giving him a warning of, "Don't fucking touch him."

There was this... stunned look on his face. The alpha's features hinting at hurt, too. 

It was sad to see, to be honest. My wolf seemed to get into my head that when I had been so in love with this man I suffered. When giving my everything to him, in the end, I got nothing in return.

There were still the memories though. Perhaps I wouldn't allow her to tarnish those which is probably why I still had a tiny part of me still irrevocably in love with Ridge Beaumont. It was why I slowly lowered my defenses; letting my hand drop to my side before allowing my natural brown eyes to return. 

"I can't let you hurt him, Ridge..." I warned softly. 

The alpha was still stunned, still confused and hurt. His brows furrowed, jaw clenching as he shook his head. "Gianna..." he whispered.

The cackle from Madilynn made us both look over to her walking around a curled-lipped Nigel to lean forward as she cried, "See?! You know what you want, Quail Wolf! And the alpha is not it!"

Swallowing as I stared at her chuckling again, I turned back to Ridge and his hurt look. I shook my head, sighing to him that he didn't even remember me. That he didn't remember what we had but that that was okay. I shook my head though that just because he didn't remember me didn't mean he was going to dictate who I could or couldn't be with.