“With this blade, I create the bond,” I say with more volume this time, and he smiles down at me, loving every second of this. When I narrow my eyes at him, the grip on my wrist grows stronger.
“With this offer, I seal the bond?” he says with a huskier tone.
I repeat his words again, making sure to speak them with more confidence than before. As I say them, he brings the blade in my hand closer to his lips.
When I try to pull it back, he doesn’t let it falter as he slips his tongue out. The blade makes contact with it, and I gasp. My face must show every single emotion because he takes his other hand and caresses my cheek to soothe me. Blood puddles around the blade as it drags deeper, and he releases my hand.
I drop my hand to my side, watching his body dip down closer to me.
As his breath hits my face, I freeze. His tongue slides across my lips, all while he comforts me with his hand on my cheeks. His thumb sweeps over my skin, making me shiver. His wet, hot tongue invades me. The scent of copper, the mixture of blood and saliva, coat my lips. It feels like an eternity before it finally ends. My stomach turns in on itself, and I have to hold my breath.
The room fades, the view of Samuel’s face, his eyes burning through me as he doesn’t allow his gaze to leave mine while he laps at me. I can’t breathe.
He straightens up, giving me the distance I desperately need right now. His hand on my cheek moves to hold my chin instead. He looks down at me like he has never looked at me before. The hunger in his eyes is feral. It almost scares me, but he would never hurt me. But then again, I also thought he would never dothis.
“The bond is sealed.” His eyes are locked on me as he makes the announcement.
The crowd chants, “Praise the Divine.”
My eyes bulge at his words. He releases my chin, and I scramble back to my seat on the stage. My head is dizzy, and the taste of rust takes over my mouth as I lick my lips, forgetting Samuel’s blood is still on them. My stomach flips. I close my eyes to keep the nausea at bay.
“We will do the cleansing ritual in two days’ time, which will be followed by our wedding.”
Another wave of nausea washes over me, bile rising in my throat. It takes all of me to keep it down.
35
Kameron
Ialready had every reason to hate Samuel Donovan, but now I want to kill him.
I swear I will one day.
I will make it bloody and long and as painful as I can make it. I don’t usually go this dark, as that is more of a Marcus and Hunter thing. But I was willing to go that far for this fucking guy.
He claimed Elliott as his bride—well, he claimed Eden, but I wasn’t going to let that happen.
I don’t know how I’m going to stop it without completely discrediting myself and my spot in Everton. All I know is it needs to happen, so I’m going to make itfuckinghappen.
That was their plan all along. The reason they took Elliott into their home. It was always to be his fucking wife one day.An arranged marriage. But the bride had no goddamn clue she was raised like cattle to supply herself to him as an end result.
The look on her face when he announced to the room that she is his chosen bride made my heart break. She had no clue. It’s evident by the way her eyes widened and posture grew stiff. She was blindsided and publicly told her fate in this community had been sealed since she was all but ten years old.
I could feel the betrayal seep into her. Realizing how Samuel has to have known about this all, about her fate. All the while the rest of the community just look at them in awe. As if their whole world was coming together, just as it’s supposed to be. Like the stars are aligning in all the right ways.
Even though I had a feeling this was his plan for her the minute she told me she was adopted, a stupid part of me wanted to give her a chance to not be cemented more to this place than she already was. It’s foolish to hope, and I know better in these kinds of situations and places to even think otherwise, but it’s Elliott. Something about her drew me to her like a moth to a flame. So, yes, I hope my theory is wrong, even if the logical side of me knows better.
She didn’t deserve this. None of the people here do.
Keeping complete composure while I have to witness Samuel violate Elliott like that is one of the hardest things I’ve had to endure. He is making the list of body parts I wanted to rip off of him longer as the days dragged on, herein Everton. I don’t give two fucking shits if he all but pisses on her. She isn’t going to be his.
Samuel avoided me as he made his rounds after the service was over. People crowd around them as they make their way through the room, giving their congratulations and condolences all in the same breath.
It’s sickening.
Elliott, on the other hand, looked like a shell of herself. The shock took her over as she was guided by Samuel’s hold on her waist. She shook hands when they were offered and nodded at the appropriate times, but the smiles were forced and the eye contact wasn’t there.
I wanted to snatch her up then and there.
