Page 21 of Unhallowed

“Father,” I greet him through gritted teeth. “How did you find me? What the fuck has happened?”

“Well, for one, it looks like you’ve seen better days.” He looks down my body to notice my torn clothes and bloody knuckles. Yeah, Killian may have drugged me, but it took multiple men to get me here. And I didn’t go down without a fight. “And Killian confessed where you were. But I have bad news.”

I already know the bad news, so I don’t reply.

“You were nowhere to be found.” He says as if he regrets what he’s done. But I know better, he knew. So why the fuck is he lying? “Someone else took your place.”

My blood boils, knowing the ceremony wasn’t canceled. Not that I expected it to be, I know how shit works around here. Even still, I reply, “I know exactly who took my place. Killian drugged me and threw me in here. He took from me, and I won’t stand for it. He said,” I smile but it’s not warm, a stiff feeling to my face, like the muscles don’t want to work, “yousanctioned his union tomygirl.”

“Killian is your soulmate, what’s his isyours—”

“Bullshit,” I growl, and my nostrils flare with anger. “I want a council meeting. I demand it. And I wantyouout of it.”

Silas is quiet for a long moment. He knows I have the right to this, especially after what just went down. Killian should’ve never intervened or tampered with my marriage ceremony. I want to know why he did it, why he got it in his head to marrymyfucking girl.

“Very well.” He agrees. “You deserve that much.”

I’ve complied with everything he’s ever demanded of me, so I agree. “Yes, I fucking do.”

He takes steps forward until he comes toe to toe with me, and we’re at eye level. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.” His voice is low. You weren’t there, and the rules are the rules. Someone had to take your place.”

“Get out,” I say through gritted teeth, ready to lose my cool. “I want to see the council right fucking now.”

“They’re probably drunk on sex and blood.” He smiles, and my hands itch to strangle him, throw him on the ground and beat him to a bloody pulp. I know I could do it; he’s getting fucking old. “We just burned the virgins. The last thing they want right now is drama. But I’ll make it happen, son.”

The virgins.

It sickens me what they do, what I have to do every single year. Gather virgins and cut their wrists, drink their blood. The adrenochrome brings a high with it, an undeniable feeling of euphoria that anyone could become addicted to. But I don’t want to think about that. I don’t want to think about how they burn their bodies after fucking them. All over a show ofpower. Because they want to—because theycan. Once they open the circle back up, a Samhain ritual, they come to take what’s theirs in the middle of the circle. Fuck in their blood pooling into the pentagram. It’s fuckingdisgusting.

I just now notice the stench of charred flesh on him, and I gag. My nostrils flare in an attempt to get the smell out of them, but it doesn’t work. Instead I just take in more air. This yearly tradition always makes me want to throw up, but I’ve learned to play my part in every ritual, tried to be the golden boy who never disobeys. Just look where that’s fucking gotten me. “I don’t give a fuck about how drunk they are, Silas.” I call him by his name, something I’ve never done before.

“You don’t get to talk to me that way, insolent boy.” Now he’s angry. Good. “But I’ll have them show up for you. They won’t be happy about being interrupted though.”

“Then maybeIshouldn’t have been interrupted either.”

Duxwalks up the stairs and away from me without a backward glance, clearly pissed off by my disrespect. He leaves the door unlocked now. How nice of him. That being said, I have no intention of leaving this place until the council meeting takes place. I don’t know how I’m going to make it happen, but Angel will be mine. She always has been, always will be. I don’t care what she did, but thinking of Kill fucking her is making me sick to my stomach. She was supposed to staymyAngel, never his.

Does he hate me? Is this some kind of revenge for how I was forced to fuck him in one of the rituals? Yeah, we’re fucked up, all our rituals are. But he seemed to be enjoying himself if the way he was fisting his cock and going insane were any indication. So maybe that’s not it. Maybe it’s jealousy? Maybe it’s the way my father thinks that what’s mine is my soulmate’s as well? I don’t know. But Firefly was the only thing I didn’t want to share, and he couldn’t let me have just this one.

No, instead he took her, marked her, branded her. All forhim. I’ll never be able to have that now. He took it from me by force. It’s unforgivable. And the worst thing? Soulmates are forever. I can’t even get rid of him.

I pace the basement for who knows how long before the council opens the door and shuffles down the stairs. My knuckles tighten at the sight of them, and Ifeelmy neck and face flush. I can just bet I’m bright red with rage. But it’s more than that, I feel my temples throbbing as the evidence of my anger takes over my body. My heart beating out of my chest.

I take a few steps back to put some space between us, needing it just in case I flip the fuck out. If the rage I’m feeling is any indication, the more space between us the better.

Men in black robes with silver snakes on the hood stand in front of me, forming a line, their faces obscured with how they lower them over their noses. But I know who they are, I’ve known them for years. The Fellowship is ingrained in my mind. I count them, noticing there’s twelve of them instead of thirteen, and I relax slightly. My father did as I bade and didn’t come. The twelve founding families left are my audience, but theDuxtaking my father’s place will have the last word.

“Explain.” Samuel Rothschild says, my father’s soulmate. Although his face is covered I can imagine his stern face right now. His blond hair. Deep blue eyes scrunching at the corners with anger for interrupting their little party. But his familiar features don’t scare me anymore—it’s been a while since anything has. Even though I have to admit he is a scary motherfucker with his rugged features, strong nose, and square jaw. His build is equally intimidating, and his height too, being about two inches taller than me, and I’m six-three.

They look pissed off that I took them away from their festivities. From the depraved shit they like to do. Or maybe it’s over. Or they’re drunk as fuck on blood and adrenochrome. I don’t give a damn.

I want what’smine.

“I was supposed to marry Angel tonight, but Killian drugged me,” I growl, beginning the painful confession. Painful because he betrayed me. He didn’t care about us or what this might mean for our future. But I also feel anger, a rage that’s uncontrollable in my chest, making me want to fucking detonate into a million pieces, blowing him up right with me. “Brought me to this basement, and took my wife for himself.”

“She’shiswife now, Draven.” His face is serious, no trace of an expression judging from the bottom half of his hood. Except maybe an eye roll I can’t see. “We both know that can’t be undone, and there’s nothing we or you can do about it.”

“Yeah,we live by the rules, we die by the rules,” I say our motto through gritted teeth. “But what if I was betrayed? What if he’s the one who fucked me into losing her? And hedid. I brought her here. I bought her and bound her to me. She’smine.”

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