Page 62 of Claimed By the Damned

Drake shook his head, refusing to accept her rejection. He wasn’t going to do it. He didn’t go through all of the things he did just to lose her now. “We aren’t just going to let you go, Amara. Tell me what he said to you.”

Her head dropped, and her shoulders slumped as if she were trying to make herself seem smaller. “He said he would kill you, Drake. He said, if I don’t end things with you guys, he will execute you and force me to watch. I’ve seen what he’s done to rogues in the past, and I… I won’t let that be you. If the only way to save you is to reject you, then that’s a price I’m willing to pay.”

“That’s never going to happen,” he said, his fists clenched at his sides. If he thought that his rage was bad when he first saw the bruises, that was nothing compared to what he felt now after what she said. No one threatened his friends or his mate.

“Not if we get to him first,” Knox chimed in. This time, he could understand his friend’s anger and his desire to kill. He was feeling the same thing.

“I’m sorry,” Amara whispered, tears rolling down her cheeks. “I thought I was strong enough to stand up to him. But I’m not. I tried. It just… it didn’t work. I can’t risk anything happening to you guys because of me. I would never forgive myself. We have to end this.”

Zeke pulled her against his chest carefully, knowing she was more injured than what they could see on the surface. “Giving in isn’t an option for us. You’re it, Princesa, and no one is going to take you away from us. Give us a minute to come up with a plan. Hmm?”

Despite Zeke holding her, she stood stiffly with her hands at her sides. It was so unlike her. She was usually warm toward them, and she didn’t even sound like herself when she said, “There’s nothing you can do, Zeke. He won’t let me go. He will kill you. Don’t you get that? You all mean too much to me to let anything happen to you.”

Drake crossed his arms and looked to the floor, his jaw clenched. She seemed determined to cut things off with them, and he could understand why; she was scared. In her mind, she was trying to save them, but he couldn’t stand the feeling that was growing in his chest. Like it was cracking open at the very idea of her letting them go. Being gutted with Knox’s butterknife would feel less painful than this.

Didn’t she know how much she meant to them? Didn't she know that asking them to walk away from her would never happen because of how they felt about her? They would kill for her. They would burn the world for her. All she had to do was ask, and it would be done.

The room was quiet again before Amara cleared her throat and stepped back out of Zeke’s arms. He knew the only reason Zeke had let her go was because she was hurt, and none of them wanted to add to that.

“Look, I will always cherish the time we had together. It was the happiest I have ever been, and I will never forget it, But,” Her eyes met his eyes then as if what she had to say was directly at him. “I should have listened to you from the very beginning. I should have rejected the bond between us from the moment I discovered what you guys were to me. I knew my situation, but I was selfish and listened to my heart instead of my head. I will never be able to tell you how sorry I am.”

“Don’t you get that I fucking love you?” he growled once he’d had enough. He wasn’t going to let her do this, he couldn’t. He wasn’t strong enough to survive it. He needed her like he needed air to breathe, and it was time she knew that.

Amara blinked at him, her lips parted as she was clearly surprised by his admission. But then, she pressed her lips together and shook her head. For a moment, he didn’t know if she just didn’t believe him or if she didn’t want to believe him, but it was the truth. It may have taken him a while to admit it, even to himself, but he meant every word.

“Don’t,” she whispered. “Don’t do that. Don’t make this harder, Drake. Please.”

He finally managed to get his feet to move and closed the distance between them in a few strides. She continued to shake her head and back away until her spine hit the wall behind her. He towered over her, one hand braced against the wall next to her head, as he gently pressed a kiss to her lips.

“I am doing this, Amara. I love you – we love you – and you’re not going anywhere.”

“But my dad –”

“To hell with your dad,” Knox stated, also crossing the room toward them. “We love you, little bunny, and we will handle whatever that fucker throws at us. He’s lucky he isn’t already dead for laying a finger on you.”

It was working. He could see that her walls were beginning to crumble. She had shown up determined to end things with them, but now he could see the doubt and hesitation in her eyes. She didn’t want this any more than they did, and they were so close to convincing her to choose them. She was only trying to protect them, he knew that, but she didn’t need to protect them because they knew how to handle themselves.

“He’s not going to stop,” she told them. “If I go back and he finds out that I didn’t end things with you guys…”

“You’re not going back,” Zeke replied as he reached up and brushed his fingers down her cheek.

She blinked again. “I’m not?”

Knox scoffed. “Hell no.”

Tracing his fingers down the side of her neck, Drake smiled at her. “You are staying with us. We will get you what you need, clothes, shoes, the necessities. You don’t need to worry about anything else. Least of all your father.”

He watched as she swallowed hard, her eyes looking between the three of them, but none of them were backing down. This was what they all wanted, and they would be damned if they let her father come between them or put his hands on her again. As far as he was concerned, if he ever saw her father, he was a dead man. He crossed the line, and Drake had killed people for much less.

After several moments, she let out a breath, wringing her hands in front of her. “Okay.”

Their combined relief filled the room as Zeke took her hand in his. “Come on. You are in no condition to work today. Let’s go home.”

“Okay,” Amara muttered again softly.

“Oh, and by the way? I love you too. Can’t let these guys be the only ones to speak the truth,” Zeke added, beaming at her.

A small watery smile crossed Amara’s lips as the four of them headed out of the bookshop and back toward the apartment so that they could get their mate situated in her new home.

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