Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 140462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 702(@200wpm)___ 562(@250wpm)___ 468(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 702(@200wpm)___ 562(@250wpm)___ 468(@300wpm)
“Sure thing, sweetie,” Mom says and pats my shoulder before disappearing into the kitchen again.
“Please be careful,” Sylvan says, breathing hard when the jaws of the cutters close on the band around his neck.
Even though nothing bad will happen, and he’ll get a scratch at best, it still unnerves me to see him so vulnerable next to my brother. He really needs me. I can be important to him.
The thought alone makes my heart beat faster.
Wolf squeezes the cutters, making an unpleasant sound reminiscent of a screech, but the metal won’t budge. He tries again, and several violet sparks pop into the air as if in warning.
Wolf pulls back with a frown. “The fuck?”
Chapter 11
Sylvan
“Stop it! That’s enough!” My skin is burning where the purple flames fall, and I shoot to my feet, brushing my chest in an attempt to shake off the sparks. What if they set me on fire? Hurt me? Scar me for life? What if Lord Kyran already knows I tried to remove the collar without his permission?
“I told you it’s no use,” I yell as the tool clatters to the floor.
Wolf shows his teeth as if he really is his namesake, but it’s Fox who speaks from his armchair.
“This is what happens when you try helping whinging children like him. You should have learned that from your last boy toy.”
Hawk slams his mug on the table, and some of the hot chocolate spills down his fingers, onto the wood. “Shut the fuck up! I’ll never see you again, and that’s what you have to say?”
I straighten my back to seem at least that little bit taller among these damn giants. “Why should I cower and not speak my mind when I am more informed in the matters of my own collar?” I’m so frustrated that I can’t even explain to them what it is. No shackle forged by a grimsmith, from the royal Umlaris Band, which has the power to contain the force of Sunlight, to the most ordinary dream bracelet, can be removed by sheer force.
Wolf waves the cutters in front of me. “What fucking ‘matters’? I’ve been working with metal half my life when you’d struggle to even use these.”
Hawk rises and shoves his brother back. “Don’t get in his face!”
“Or what? He won’t put out later?”
“Fuck. You,” Hawk growls, and while I can sense he wants to leave my side and go after his brother, he refuses to budge.
I place my hand on his back, because knowing he’s so close calms me down. I’ve never had someone stand up for me this way. When I made the impulsive choice to speak my mind, I was prepared for a smack from this uncouth man, but Hawk is there, like a wall of muscle. If I had access to my shadowcraft, I could have surprised Wolf with razor-sharp claws for the insolent way he speaks to me and my promised. I might not have much talent for shadowcraft, but I learned to use what little I do have to its maximum potential.
But with the collar still firmly around my neck, Hawk’s sturdy presence is the only thing between me and Wolf’s brute force.
“Truth hurts,” Fox laughs, not even caring to get up.
I loathe the way they’re trying to humiliate my man in front of me. It reminds me of all the times my own siblings picked me apart for anything from my size, to my lack of love life, and my puny shadow.
“Nothing you say matters,” I say, eyeing Wolf with cold fury. “How dare you insult your brother! Soon enough, we will be gone to enjoy a life of immeasurable respect, cherished for our bond, and wanting for nothing while you rot in a house in a forest, forgotten by all within a century.”
I barely get to finish the sentence when someone grabs the collar of my shirt from the back, so hard he lifts me and the fabric rips. “Listen here you little shit!” Hawk’s father yells. “We have everything we need here, and as far as I understand, you’re homeless and wanted by the cops!” The fabric digs into my flesh, choking me, and I freeze, because I can’t expect Hawk to confront his parents for someone he’s only just met.
But he spins around, grabs his father’s hand where it’s holding me, and stares at him above my shoulder. “Let go. He’s mine.”
A hot shiver trails down my spine, and as it darts farther, it almost feels as if Hawk is teasing my hole with his fingers again.
I shouldn’t be finding this moment arousing, but when his father lets go of me with a huff, I fall into Hawk’s embrace, ready to fulfill his every wish. This submissive side of me is a shame to my family, but I can’t help how I feel next to a man so big and strong.