Page 52 of Cruel Knots

“Callum dearest is at my door.”

I freeze against him. “My brother is here already?”

His finger hooks under my chin, forcing me to look up at his scarred face. “You don’t look too happy about it,” he says, watching me intently. “Does he scare you?”

I feel like I’m standing on the edge of a precipice and facing a vicious beast. Moving forward will get me killed. Stepping back will get me killed too.

It’s a matter of choice. Either way, the consequence is death.

“Do as I tell you or I will kill you,” he says, digging the knife at my back threateningly.

“Don’t you plan on killing me anyway?” I ask him, looking straight into his icy blue eyes. “Once you’re tired of me, you’ll get rid of me.”

“Your death doesn’t benefit me,” he says in a slow, clear voice. “Follow my command and I’ll let you live.” Pulling me tight against his body, he turns me toward the door and forces me to walk with him.

My heart pounds. Callum will go mad when he sees me on the arm of another alpha. He’ll tear me away from Damien and probably skin me alive to purge me.

Glancing up at Damien, I try to gauge his expression through the thick layer of scars marring his face. One of his arms is wrapped tight around me. He holds the knife against me in such a way that it is conveniently concealed under the folds of his large jacket.

He doesn’t need to threaten me. I’m never going to run to my brother.

Our relationship isn’t what it seems on the surface. Callum isn’t the overprotective brother he pretends to be. He’s only interested in chaining me to him so he can continue to obsess over me.

Damien leads me into a different corner of the manor. Unlike the previous area, this place has more décor. Ancient paintings of battlegrounds and nameless people from a bygone era dot the walls. I even glimpse a few armor displays along the way.

Who are these people? I wonder as Damien guides me down a confusing network of corridors. They’re all living in a place that might as well have been a fucking museum. It’s unbelievable to think such a place exists in our modern little town.

“Remember what I told you,” Damien growls as he leads me down a wide, sweeping staircase.

My fingers curl into the jacket, drawing it closer around me. Even though I want to escape these strange men, it feels worse to be confronting Callum.

He stops when we’re close to the ground floor. Looking ahead, I catch sight of Callum and about half a dozen men flanking him.

Leon and Mikhail stand closer to the bottom steps, facing my brother and his guards.

Callum’s dark eyes zero in on me the moment we get closer.

An icy chill runs through me as his piercing gaze sweeps over me. The pursing of his lips and the building rage behind his eyes tell me he’s going to unleash his wrath on Damien and his brothers.

I glance up at Damien. To my surprise, his scarred lips are stretched into a smile.

“I hope my brothers gave you a warm welcome,” Damien says in a deep, loud voice that echoes all around the vast hall. “Forgive me for being late. I went to get Lucia so she can join us in welcoming you to our home.” His voice is deceptively casual and polite.

“Come here, Lucia,” Callum says through clenched teeth.

The urge to follow his command is almost unconscious.

I feel the tip of the knife digging into my side threateningly. The poke is enough to remind me that Callum isn’t the master of this house. It’s the man standing at my side.

“Lucia,” Callum grinds out. “Now!”

“She’ll be staying here from now on,” Damien boldly announces.

Callum’s gaze shifts toward Damien. His expression slowly changes as he stares intently at his scarred face.

“Recognize my brother, asshole?” Leon asks, his voice dripping with venom.

Callum’s gaze swings toward him.

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