Page 50 of Velka Manor

He nods his head over to a corner of the room near where the dead body lays and there are two duffle bags. “Already figured my time here was done. I never expected to last as long as I did. I just wanted to see you before I went.”

Ah, he was already planning on going and not sticking around. Figures.

“Take care of yourself, little mouse.”

“Goodbye, Ghost.”

I walk away, not looking back, settled in the last conversation I will have with him. I doubt I’ll ever see him again. He’ll have to lie low for a while, seeing as he betrayed the head of the bloodline, and I doubt he cares enough to risk coming back.

Coming up from the stairs, I spot Dorian and Bastian leaning against a wall in only their boxers, arms crossed, waiting for me.

“Little sister, breaking the rules again?” Dorian tuts.

“Isn’t that what little sisters do?” I smile, rushing towards them. They catch me in their grasp, holding me so tight, I know they will never let me go.

“I think we need to kill the bastard right fucking now,” Bastian growls, and I laugh, shaking my head.

Knew it.

“No,” I tell them. “He’s leaving. I had to have one last conversation with him before he left, but he’s going now, and he won’t be coming back.”

“And you’re okay with that?” Dorian asks, studying me. They cup a cheek each, making me look at them, checking to see if I’ll lie.

“I’ve never needed anyone but the two of you. My demons of Velka Manor.”

“Only yours,” Bastian whispers, pulling me between them.

“And you are only ours,” Dorian growls as they consume me in their embrace, giving me no room to breathe, move, or see any of the world outside of them.

I wouldn’t want it any other way.

26

Octavia

Iwas born for my brothers.

That is why I exist: to belong to them.

Our damage is something you can never fix, the wounds scarring our souls until they’re ruined beyond repair. We’ve been twisted up from the inside, but in the darkness, we found each other, forging our broken parts together until we are only whole together.

I was born for them, but they live for me. Every decision, every action, I am at the centre. They don’t do anything unless it benefits our life together. Without me, they would be lost. They would have no peace, no love, just darkness until the sweet release of death took them. Without them, I would be nothing—a shell without a soul, drifting through life until it ended.

I wasn’t supposed to love them, and they weren’t supposed to love me, but the world pushed us together in a way I will never regret.

“What is our blushing bride doing out here all alone?” Dorian whispers in my ear, his haunting voice sending goosebumps down my spine as I admire the beautiful art Bastian paintedon my nails the night before—pink and black roses with blood dripping down thorns. I’m obsessed with them.

“Not thinking about running, are you, pretty girl?” Bastian growls, coming up behind me on my other side. “Because we would be more than happy to hunt you down.” He grazes his teeth over my bare shoulder, biting down until I moan, tilting my head back into his chest.

“You’re supposed to be waiting for me at theendof the aisle,” I whisper, melting into their touch.

“Did you really think we would let you walk down the aisle without having a taste?” Dorian groans, placing me between them with him at my front. “You’re all dressed up like the most beautiful treat I’ve ever seen.”

He eyes up my blush pink wedding dress, running his fingers over the exposed skin of my chest. Bastian cups my breasts in the corset, gripping them tight, running his lips over the shell of my ear. “I want to stand at the end of the aisle with you all over my fucking face.”

“Do you want your big brothers to eat your pussy and your ass before you tie yourself to us for the rest of our lives?” Dorian asks, tipping my chin up with his finger.

“Yes,” I moan, panting as Bastian pulls up the big skirt of my dress, bending down and cursing as he gets a glimpse underneath.

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