Mated to the Beast of the Wasteland novel Chapter 43

Chapter 43 Black Rick

Chapter 43 Black Rick

“Merrick, I want to go. Everyone’s waiting on me for dinner.”

“Lucian’s terms aren’t good enough?”

Merrick had assumed his little wife was about to give in. He’d assumed wrong.

Gillian’s gaze lingered on the silent connection running between Merrick and Lucian.

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She understood how hard this was for him, with a brother who’d shed blood beside him on one side and her on the other.

The two of them might be lawfully bonded, but they’d known each other a grand total of three days.

“Merrick, if I save Tristan tonight, here’s what I want from you. The day I ask for a divorce, you sign. But the house in base housing stays mine, because I have… my grandmother to take care of.”

That was the real play. Gillian wanted the leverage in this marriage in her hands, and since Lucian was Merrick’s captain, he had the authority to make it stick.

“Gillian, you want to divorce me?”

Nothing on earth could have prepared Merrick for that demand, and his face went stone cold in an instant.

“Yes. You agree, I save him. No retaliation, no targeting me, and my grandmother and I get to live peacefully on the 9th Legion’s base. Do that, and I hand Tristan back to you alive and kicking.”

Just look at her. Just look.

A bitter laugh tore out of Merrick.

How sharp she was. She wanted to dump him and forbid him from striking back? Was that supposed to sound reasonable?

The color drained from Lucian’s face. “No, ma’am. You can’t end your marriage over Tristan.” “After the divorce, I won’t bond with anyone else. It won’t affect him at all.”

Gillian had learned this lesson in her last life. When love showed up, she took it. When it left,

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Chapter 43 Black Rick

she didn’t grieve it. At the end of the day, she was her own person.

+5 Free Coms

Merrick fought down the urge to kick both foxes out of the buggy and pressed his hands onto Gillian’s shoulders.

“Gillian, you can’t do this to me.”

“Merrick, this is better for both of us.”

Gillian shrugged his hands off her shoulders. This way Lucian wouldn’t come back at him later. Call it her parting gift.

“If you agree, I’ll save him!”

Merrick was Sovereign Guard. He’d be shipping out on missions at any moment. How could he protect her for life?

Lucian wasn’t like the Graysons. Wasteland City was his turf.

The one thing she hadn’t factored into the equation was that Tristan had a powerful older brother.

A man like that could finish her and her grandmother off later with one quiet command.

Saving Tristan was the smartest move. Gillian had known that all along. She just wanted to walk away with more in her pocket.

“Forget the surgery. Let him die. Lucian, take this thing and get out of my sight right now!”

Merrick’s eyes burned with murderous intent, and every word out of Gillian’s mouth cut into him like a blade.

Of all the rotten luck. Whether his wife saved this dying fox had nothing to do with him, so why was she using a divorce as the bargaining chip?

“Gillian, save him if you want, don’t if you don’t, but why bring divorce into it?”

Merrick locked Gillian into the circle of his arms, and a frost crept into those bottomless eyes. The message was clear-push the divorce one more inch and he would tear her apart.

Merrick was visibly seething, and the sight stopped Gillian short. He was willing to let his captain’s brother die?

“That’s your captain’s actual brother. You don’t save him, and Lucian will make your life hell. I’m doing you a favor here.”

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Chapter 43 Black Rick

“So this is for my benefit, is it?”

+5 Free Coms

Merrick could hardly explain the truth. “He’s not my captain, and he’s not going to make my life hell. Gillian, you don’t need to think about me on this.”

“Ma’am, please don’t divorce Black Rick. Pretend I never asked for any of this.”

Tristan was still Lucian’s only brother, and the words came out laced with pain.

Lucian pulled the car door open and started out with the metal case in his arms.

“Black Rick?”

A jolt ran through Gillian’s body, and she turned stiffly toward Lucian.

“Lucian, don’t leave. Spell it out. What do you mean, Black Rick?”

Were her ears playing tricks on her?

Hearing her voice, Lucian offered no explanation. He simply snapped to attention with a textbook legion salute, aimed at Merrick beside her, and walked off carrying the white fox.

Gillian’s chest lurched with alarm. She started to chase after Lucian, but Merrick’s leg blocked her path.

“Gillian, ask me instead of him.”

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