Rezso’s POV
The hand gripped my arm tightly, and I felt a surge of panic as I was yanked into the building. I could barely catch my breath as I was pushed against a wall, my back hitting the cold stone with a thud. A strangled cry escaped my lips.
“Dixon, it’s me!” I cried out, my hand wrapped around his fingers on my neck, struggling to break his grip from my neck.
Upon hearing my voice, his grip on my neck loosened and I could feel his hot breath on my face.
“Rezso? It’s you?” Dixon whispered, his eyes widened in shock as he completely let go of my neck, gently pulling away from me.
“Ahh,” I gasped for air, my fingers were gently pressed to my beck, caressing the part that was hurting me.
“You?” Dixon hissed, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me to his body, placing my head on his hard chest, “What are you doing here?” he groaned, his hand going up to my neck, softly rubbing on my neck.
“I came because I saw you coming here,” I moaned into his chest, his pheromones were still thick and I was beginning to feel relaxed in it, but that didn’t change my mind from asking what I came there to do.
“What are you doing out here, this late at night?” I raised my head, staring at Dixon who was nervously biting on his bottom lip.
“I came to see someone,” he grumbled, his hand going to his back, shoving the bottle he took from the strange guy into his back pocket.
“I can see that,” I sighed and tried moving away from him, but Dixon held me back, tightening his grip on my waist. “Why?” I asked, not knowing if the question was for why he had to meet the person in secret, or because he wouldn’t let me move away from his body.
“Please, don’t say anything.” Dixon grumbled, his breath was bumpy and I could feel his hand on my waist, shivering as he held me closer, “Don’t say anything, I beg you.”
“Why?” I yelled, forcing myself out of his grip, “First it was about the tattoo and now it’s…”
My words were cut off as Dixon suddenly turned me around and pushed me up against the wall. My back crashed roughly against the wall and I was struggling to breathe since his weight was on me.
My heart pounding in my chest. His grip was tight, and I felt a wave of panic wash over me. He leaned in close, his breath hot on my cheek, but he didn’t speak. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen next until I felt his lips on mine, capturing my lips in a rough kiss.
Dixon pulled away from the kiss, his face was inches away from mine, staring at me with his eyes full of concern. “Please,” he mumbled, his voice strained. “You can’t talk about the tattoo with anyone. I’m in too much trouble already. If anyone finds out…”He trailed off, and I could see that he was worried. “Please,” he begged, “just keep it to yourself.”
I scoffed, the royal Beta was right after all, “so it was true,” I smiled, my hand went to his face, cupping his cheek in one palm, “You’re the bad guy!”
Dixon gripped my hand and slapped it off his face, “what?” he shrieked, his hands were trembling in fear as he took a step backwards, “what do you mean?”
“No, I will ask you instead. Who are you?” I took a step closer, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulled his face closer to look at me, “Tell me who you really are.”
“I…”
“Please, don’t lie to me, I’m willing to keep it to myself, so please trust me with your secret.” I gulped, my heart was hammering in my chest as I leaned in and pecked his lips, if I wanted to know about his dirty secret, I should at least make him trust that I was on his side.
“Who do you think I am.” Dixon sighed, he was looking a little bit down but I can’t help but think of him as the bad guy that he was.
“You? You’re Eruba, no?” I smiled, flashing him a toothy.
“Eruba?” he chuckled, his hand crawling up to my arms and forcing them off his neck, “how can you think so low of me? I may be a bad guy, but I’m not a cowardice bastard like him.” he moved away from me, his back heaved as he smacked his forehead on the wall.
Huh? It was true, that bastard was one of the rogues. Be it Eruba or a mere subordinate, the fact that he got himself involved in the rogues’ scheme made him a bad guy, regardless of his relationship with the infamous rogue leader.
“If you’re not him, then who are you?” I asked, my eyebrows furrowed angrily as I stared at his rigid back.
“Since you already know that I’m not him, why don’t you use your brain and think about who I could possibly be?” he barked, his shoulders jerked up angrily and I gulped down nervously.
“If you’re not the leader, then you must be working for him, no?” I asked, my voice low and tricky. I grabbed his arm and spun him around to face me, staring him down. “What made you do this? You’re a good person. Why would you let him use you like this?” My words were laced with disbelief, and I could feel my anger rising. I wanted to understand, but a part of me also wanted to hate him for what he’d done.
“Stop trying to guilt-trip me,” Dixon snapped, his voice harsh and raw. “I’m not doing this because I wanted to. I didn’t accept to be his subordinate because I wanted to.” His shoulders tensed, his jaw clenched tight. He looked like a cornered animal, defensive and ready to fight.
“I’m not some mindless puppet, blindly following orders,” he spat, his eyes flashing with anger. “He fucking messed with my body, making me dependent on some potion. I don’t have a choice. I’m trapped, and I don’t know how to get out.” His voice cracked, the last words barely audible. His body trembled, his eyes glistening with unshed tears.
“What?” I gulped, my shoulders heaved as I stared at him, not understanding a bit of what he was saying. “What did you mean by…”
“Yes, I have been wiping out his mess all these while,” he gulped, his chest tightened as he slowly bit on his bottom lip, “He fucking made me do dirty work: I attacked my people, subordinate like myself, he made me cut off their tongues, preventing them from speaking a word.”
My jaw dropped open, and my legs were trembling as I watched him pour everything out to me.
“I did unspeakable things,” he cried out, his voice breaking. “I kidnapped the Queen, I fucking injected her with that stupid silver acid, knowing it will permanently blind her eyes if she didn’t take some fucking potions, and I watched as he cut off her toe. I even delivered her toe to the king, like some kind of twisted servant. I acted like I didn’t know anything, but I was a part of it all.” He looked down, unable to meet my gaze. I could see the shame and self-loathing in his eyes, and I could tell he was struggling with what he’d done.
“What? The Queen is…”
“If you want to hate me, please do so, but I’m doing this to survive. Here,” he grabbed the cloak and yanked it off his body, his body looked deadly pale and I could see blood oozing out of some part of his body. “I have to do what he says, or I won’t get the tonic I need. If I don’t have it, I’ll die a slow, painful death,” he sobbed, tears running down his face. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small vial, holding it out to me. “See? I’m trapped, and there’s no way out.”