Page 25 of Claimed By the Damned

Without giving him a chance to respond, she rushed down the stairs, pulling the rob on as she went. She could only hope Knox did as she asked and stayed upstairs in her room.

Taking a deep breath first, she opened the door just wide enough to see her father standing on the porch, a look of irritation on his face. That was his normal facial expression whenever he was around her.

His salt and pepper hair was combed to the side, and his gray eyes looked down his sharp nose at her. He was a thin man with a broad build and weathered skin around his tanned cheeks. She looked nothing like him, having received almost all of her features from her mother.

“Morning, Dad,” she greeted weakly. “Everything okay?” He normally only came to her place whenever she had done something wrong.

“I noticed that you didn’t come home until late last night.” There was an edge to his voice that made the muscles in her back tremble.

“I had a customer,” she lied. “We got to talking, and I didn’t realize what time it was.”

“I told you,” he snarled a little, “You need to be spending more time with the pack, not with your precious book store.”

She frowned. He knew how important the bookstore was to her. It had belonged to her mother. It was the only thing she had left of her. She was working and donating over half her earnings to the pack as it was, and whenever she was home, she took care of anything her father asked of her. He didn’t really have any reason to complain.

“I’m sorry,” she replied instinctively after a while. “I’m just trying to give the shop the kind of love and devotion that mom did. I’ll do my best to keep my hours more reasonable.”

He opened his mouth to say something, but his eyes wandered down her face to her neck. His nostrils flared as he growled, “Did this customer happen to have their lips on your neck?”

“What?” she asked, not understanding what he was implying.

He pointed and snarled again. “You have a hickey, Amara.” His gaze lifted back to hers, and his eyes were so angry that she took a step back, afraid that he might hit her. “I didn’t peg my daughter as a whore.”

Her face blanched. She hadn’t realized that Knox had left a visible mark. “I…” She couldn’t come up with a plausible excuse or reason behind the mark. Instead, she let out a shaky breath and looked down at the ground between them. “I’m sorry.”

He leaned forward and inhaled. “I can smell him on you, you fucking slut. Clean yourself up, and learn to keep your legs closed.” And then he stomped off.

Eyes burning, she closed the door and rested her head against the cold wood. Her father had the ability to make her feel dirty and useless, and she hated it. If he thought her sleeping with one man made her a whore, how was he going to feel when he learned that she was mated to three of them?

She attempted to wipe the tears away and turned around to head back upstairs. However, after a few steps in, she stopped short. Knox was standing at the bottom of the stairs, arms folded and a pissed-off look on his face. This was the first time she’d seen him look so angry.

“H-how much of that did you hear?” she whispered.

“Every fucking word,” he growled. “The only reason he’s still alive is because I know you’d appreciate it if I didn’t rip his head off of his fucking body and feed it piece by piece to the crows.” His nostrils flared angrily as he took a step toward her. “How long has this been going on? How long has he treated you this way?”

She sniffed, a tear rolling hotly down her cheek. “Since my mom left,” she admitted as her cheeks flamed. She was beyond embarrassed. She was ashamed because she couldn’t believe that Knox had gotten an inside look at her everyday relationship with her father. It had been her hope to avoid that.

“Zeke was right,” he murmured, a dangerous edge to his voice. “You’re afraid of him. That’s why you won’t fully give in to the bond. That’s what you mean when you say it’s complicated, isn’t it?”

Twisting her hands in front of her, she nodded, afraid that, if she spoke, her voice would waver. She didn’t want him to see just how afraid of her father she really was. He constantly made her feel like a scolded child, even though she was a grown woman. If she were in Knox’s position, she’d leave. She wouldn’t want to put up with that kind of drama either.

A part of her was scared he would do just that too, taking away the only happiness she had felt in a very long time. The thought terrified her, and she hadn’t realized how much she needed the bond between them until that moment.

Sighing, he stepped up to her and wrapped his arms around her. With his chin resting on her head, he said, “I’m not good at this emotion thing, but I’ll gut him. If you want me to, I’ll go gut him and give you his heart as a trophy for breaking your own.”

She smiled through her tears. The thought was sweet in that twisted way she had come to expect from Knox. It was tempting too, but she shook her head. “That would cause a war. It’s not worth it,” she told him. “Just give me some time. I’ll…I’ll figure out how to get away.”

She could tell he didn’t like that answer because he gripped her a little tighter. “Do you want me to go with you to work?”

Tilting her head, she looked up at him. “No, that’s okay. I can’t risk my dad seeing you. Though, I wouldn’t complain if you decided to stop by at some point.

He gripped her chin and lowered his mouth to hers, nipping her bottom lip. “Then I’ll leave so you can get ready to go. I have some stuff to do, but I’ll find you later.”

“Okay. Just be careful when you leave. Don’t get caught.”

He kissed her between her eyebrows and gave her one more squeeze but didn’t respond. Instead, he headed out the door.

Chapter Eleven

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