Farren's Point of ViewWe stood in the driveway and watched as the real estate agent pulled out her car. Drove away. My heart was twitching inside my chest. Palms sweaty. Neither came from my anxiety or a looming attack. Oh no. It came from the fact that she had given her number to Rafael. Or tried to.She had assumed that because I was the one buying the place I was just his friend. That he had helped me pick out a place to live. All of this came after I had transferred the money into the business account she provided. It also came when I leaned in to hug Rafael out of joy. Which made my temper spike. I had snapped at her. Hurried her along to do the paperwork for the transfer of ownership. And get out of our fucking hair before she lost hers. Rafael had only smiled at me through the whole ordeal. Until she touched his arm. Pressed her chest against him and tried to convince him that she would make the perfect wife.Rafael had lost it then. Told her how I was his mate. That this hom
Farren's Point of ViewRafael looked at me with a raised brow. Tilted his head to the side as he took in Louisa again. Sighing, I placed my hand on his shoulder. Smiled at him lovingly."It's fine. He most likely wants to hear how my hunt for a nurse had gone." A blatant lie. My first one to Rafael. I hoped and prayed I wouldn't make a habit of it. That one day he would understand why I kept certain parts from him.Benicio couldn't care less about whether or not I found a nurse for my mother. I knew he wanted to know where I had been last night. Why Rafael was here. The two worked together and my brother most likely knew the car. I just wanted Rafael to stay out of the argument that would surely come. He had enough things to worry about in life, adding to them would be an injustice."Want me to come with you?" He asked, pleading in his tone. Had her picked up on the stiffness in my body? The way my voice pitched higher than normal? I shook my head. Kept the smile on my face."I'll be
Farren's Point of ViewSeveral hours of packing left me drained. Sleep pushed me gently into its waiting arms. I couldn't stop it from happening, no matter how much I still had left to go. After two weeks of staying in this house, I had more stuff to pack than when we had feld Makatza.One never truly realizes how much you buy until the day you need to pack it all up. But sleep was a solid comfort I enjoyed. Although, my dreams were riddled with unknown faces. Men telling me that they were my father. Rafael breaking Leon's arm. The terrible escape from the royal palace. So much blood that I was sure I would choke to death on it. It was a dungeon filled with nightmares only my mind could conjure up. But it was a solace nonetheless. A peace I needed after everything that had happened these last few days.Until my throat was burning from being too dry. And my bladder screamed at me to relieve myself. I woke to my room being in total darkness. Even the moon outside was obstructed. Not a
Farren's Point of View I slept with one eye open the entire night. Stirred at the slightest of sounds. Turned the noise this way and that within my mind until I was sure no one was going to come for me. This left me tired in the morning. Drained of all the energy I had had yesterday. But I wasn't going to rely solely on a small lock. Werewolves had a much higher power-to-mass ratio than humans. One lock wasn't going to keep whoever wanted to take me out of this room. So, I had shoved one of my mother's antique dressers in front of the door as well. Waking up was difficult. My bones were tired. Eyes puffy and red. There would surely be black bags beneath my eyes but I wasn't going to stick around long enough to examine them in the mirror. Last night's encounter with whoever had been in my house left me feeling unsure of this place. If Camilo and his men could get in here they could get me anywhere in Lupitum. Except for my home. Once Priamos and his family showed up, I would be
Farren's Point of View I winced away from his sudden proximity. Tried to turn my cheek more to the left so that he couldn't see the slight blooming of a blue mark. But it wasn't enough. Camilo was past enraged. Wandered closer and closer to insanity. The sparks in his eyes were enough to set the world on fire. His lips tugged into a sneer. "Dammit, Farren, let me see your fucking face!" He growled. Launched himself into the car when I opened the door. I yelped. Recoiled. Hooked my leg over the gear lever and tried to get into the passenger side. Out that way and away from this deranged mate of mine. None of it worked. Camilo followed me in. Blocked my other leg from also coming with me. Grabbed my hand on the steering wheel so I couldn't move it. His fingers forcefully laced into mine. Kept me there. I was trapped. But Leon was going to die if I didn't play this right. If I couldn't get away. "Just hold still!" He growled again. Forced his other hand past my ear. Rough fingers
Farren's Point of View Two men came forward out of the crowd. Bound Leon's hands together in front of him without even asking for permission from their Don. Knew that this was what he had wanted in the first place. Nodded at Camilo as they dragged my brother outside. His legs had gone slack beneath him. Terror had set in and bravery had fled. The fear in his eyes would haunt me for the rest of my life. Knowing I was the reason he was getting punished felt even worse. He wasn't a horrible brother. Not like most men I knew. He had just gotten angry. Lost his temper when I hadn't backed down. Who could blame him for his actions? I had always just been a nuisance in the family. Caused my mother and siblings irrevocable pain. And when the time was right, I would leave. Leave them to deal with whatever damage I had caused them. Mended their broken pieces and tried to carry on. But I always came back. Made it worse for them as time went on. My brother's blood would fall on my hands tod
Farren's Point of ViewI took off like a dog on fire after that. Headed into the house. Shoved myself through the throngs of men still lingering close. Laughing. Taunting. I wanted to sneer at them. Spit in their faces. How could they enjoy the suffering of one man? Feed off of his misery.But Leon had been beyond repair. Had lashed at me to leave him alone instead of accepting my help. He blamed me. Rightfully so. He had also proven to Camilo and Rafael that he was incapable of changing. Even when I had begged inside my heart that he would. Even when Camilo had just torn his back open, he remained the same.Some part of me knew that Camilo and Rafael had been right. But what had happened outside was an act of cruelty beyond belief. I wouldn't be able to forgive them for it.Maybe I couldn't forgive them because I had thought them better than that. At least I had thought so about Rafael. Walking deeper into the house, I took the stairs two at a time. Wiped furiously at more tears dri
Rafael's Point of ViewThe maids cleaned the blood off of the porch in the wrong way. They used normal soap. Shitty soap, might I add. No hydrogen peroxide. No thick bleach and a whole lot of scrubbing. Oh no, that would be too much work. Would take too long. Instead, they threw the closest soap they could find on it. Which was Camilo's body wash. The don hadn't been amused by it but let it slide. Because his mother was due home any minute and she hated the sight of blood. Besides, she would ask what had happened.Not that Dominique wouldn't rat us out eventually.But if there was going to be a UV light in the area, this spot would light up like a Christmas tree. Not that I would help them out. At the end of the day, we could blame anything on Dominique if we wanted to. Although the police in our area were lax at best. "You missed a spot." I mused, picking at my nails. My shoulder dug into the brick. Became numb after a short while. The two maids looked up at me then turned their he