Page 64 of These Dangerous Fates

Sam doesn’t speak until he drops me into his office chair. “You made that entirely too easy.” He smirks at me. His brown eyes swirl green with his magic as he binds me to the chair.

It burns. Fire branding my wrists and ankles, seeping into my skin to the bone. It’s just like the times he’s raped me. My heart accelerates to the point where my vision starts to go dark, and I’m scared I may pass out. I close my eyes and take a deep breath, trying to stop my thoughts from their downward spiral. Allie knows I was taken, and she’s probably already called the guys. I’m sure they are searching for me at this very moment. I can’t imagine what they’re thinking, how furious they’ll be with me for just walking away. Sam’s right. I made it way too easy for him.

When I open my eyes, some of the panic has receded. It still sits just below the surface, waiting to bubble up again, but I’m able to think a little more clearly. I do my best to keep my expression neutral, not wanting to give Sam anything to use against me.

I’ve been in his office before. It’s sparsely furnished, with just the usual office furniture—desk, chair, shelves, filing cabinet. Books sit on the shelves, books I’m sure he’s never opened in his life. A picture of us mocks me in its shiny silver frame. Taken before I knew who he was and the lie he was keeping from me. I look content, smiling with his arm around my shoulders. We look like the perfect, happy couple. I want to smash the picture into a million tiny pieces and shove the sharpest glass shards into his eyes.

Sam sighs and sits down on the edge of his desk, too close to me for comfort. “Do you know how much you hurt me, Ellis? And I’m not talking about when you stabbed me, although that did hurt. I’m talking about you not wanting to marry me.” His brows furrow and a frown pulls the corners of his mouth down. “I only want to keep you safe. Why won’t you let me do that? Why won’t you let me provide for you and give you everything you need?”

He’s such a good fucking actor. If I didn’t know him, that sorrow-filled speech would have swayed me. His voice rings with hurt and his eyes shine, like he’s holding back tears. I know better, though. Instead, I grind my teeth together to keep myself from saying anything. There is no point in trying to talk to him. He knows exactly what he’s done to me, and he doesn’t care. Nothing he says will ever make me think he cares for me. I’m hoping the more I keep him talking, the more time it will give the guys to find me, and the less likely Sam will be to touch me. I just can’t make him angry.

He hums in his throat. “Playing that game, are we? That’s fine.” That quickly he turns off the act. He flips the switch, and the monster comes out to play. “You don’t need to talk, just listen.”

He pulls me closer to him and I can’t prevent myself from stiffening. Tremors make my entire body shake as he reaches out and tucks a curl behind my ear. The gesture is soft and sweet. At least, it would be, if it came from anyone else but him.

“Ellis, you ar—”

The door to his office opens, and my heart jumps in my chest. Is it them? Have my guys found me already? But no, it's another mage who pops his head in. He barely spares me a glance, and my heart drops as the hope I had goes up in smoke.

“Sorry to interrupt, sir, but there’s been an incident at the warehouse. They’ve requested your assistance.”

Sam sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. “I’ll be there shortly. I have to take care of something first.”

The other mage leaves, and Sam turns his gaze back to me. He studies me like he wishes he could peel my skin back and examine my insides. His eyes heat and he lifts his hand to rub his thumb along my lower lip. Bile climbs up my throat, burning as much as Sam’s magic does. I don’t think I can survive more of his abuse. I thought I’d escaped, that I was free. My breath catches, and I can’t force it out. Tears build on my lashes unbidden. They only fuel his fire.

Sam brushes his fingers over my cheek and down my neck. The movement causes my hair to shift, exposing the bruising on my neck. Sam’s gaze lands on the two overlapping bite marks, Kai’s and Sterling’s, and his expression shifts. It’s terrifying how fast he goes from calm to enraged, making my blood turn to ice in my veins.

“What the fuck is this?” He leans forward and runs his finger over the mark. “You let that fucking blood sucker bite you?” His eyes flash and his words are low and harsh. “You spread your legs and let him fuck you while he sucked your blood?”

I’ve never seen him so angry before, and that’s saying something. I can’t even remember all the times Sam has yelled at me and degraded me. A vein throbs in his forehead and his face is steadily turning a darker shade of red. I keep myself still and clamp my lips shut. Making him angrier will only end in more pain for me. He trails his finger over the bruise again and the sensation causes goosebumps to break out over my skin.

That mark is so sensitive. I feel it all the way to my core. Against my wishes, my pussy throbs and I whimper. It’s so wrong to have Sam touch that mark, to be the one drawing forth these sensations. He rubs it again and I squirm in the seat as much as the bindings allow, desperate to relieve the ache that has formed.

Sam’s lips curl in disgust, but he pulls his hand back. “That may come in handy. What would it be like to fuck you without needing lube?”

His eyes glitter with need, and I swallow. I say nothing, but inside I’m begging him. Please, no. Don’t use that mark against me. It’s one of the few bright spots in my life. Don’t ruin it.

Sam leans back and crosses his arms over his chest. “You know, there is one question I have asked myself over and over since I first met you.” He pauses dramatically, but I don’t give him what he wants. He’ll tell me when he’s ready. His gaze travels over my face and down my neck, expression tightening as he looks over my mark. He rakes his eyes over my body before returning to my face. “What is so special about you? How did you, a human, gain the interest of Noah Martin?”

I snap my gaze to him. Noah Martin? That’s the alpha of Sterling’s old pack. Sam notices my recognition and his eyes light with curiosity.

“You know the name. Interesting,” he muses. “I assume your dad told you about the night your mom and sister were killed?” He doesn’t wait for an answer. “The Iron Shadows pack carried out the orders. Everyone always assumed Noah was hired to remove your family from the picture. He wasn’t. He was the one who wanted you and your family dead.”

Wait, what? But why? I don’t know this man. I’ve done nothing to him to warrant that kind of attention. Did my mom do something? My dad? I try to think of anything that could have happened to make someone want to hurt my family, but I’m too overwhelmed. Too much is going on.

“But why? Why did he want to kill you?” Sam continues lazily, echoing my own questions. “What is so special about you that he was determined to end your life, as well as your mom and sister’s?” A cruel smile spreads across Sam’s face. “I have asked that question countless times. I think after all these years, I may have finally found the answer. Of course, as is the way of things, the answer only leads to more questions.”

In my head, I’m shouting at him to just say it already. What is the answer? What has he found out? On the outside, I’m calm and uncaring. I don’t understand why he’s telling me this. My first guess is that he’s trying to throw me off balance, and I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t working.

Sam tilts his head to the side and squints at me. “I can see it now. You so strongly resemble your mom. I never would have noticed it without finding that document in Noah’s desk.”

The world tilts around me, and I gape openly at Sam. He can’t be saying what I think he’s saying. Everyone always says I look just like my mom did when she was my age. And in pictures, the only way to tell me apart from my sister was the height difference. All three of us were clearly related. I’d heard whispers around the house from staff that they thought we weren’t really my dad's children. We look nothing like him. Not one single feature.

I look at Sam and I cave. “What are you saying?” I whisper hoarsely.

“It makes sense,” he replies. “Your mom was almost more powerful than your dad. How could they ever produce two human children?” He laughs. “They didn’t. You know what happens when two different species procreate?”

Of course I do, and holy shit. Why hasn’t that ever crossed my mind? Two different magical species cannot procreate. Their offspring will have no power. They will be, essentially, human. Like me. Like my sister was. In my 26 years of living, that thought has never occurred to me.

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