Page 85 of Guarded By the Phantom

His anger made me hurt, but I couldn’t let out the whimper of pain that clawed up my throat. He was in control, and I was fading. I was weak, after all. Too weak to withstand him. Too weak to choose for myself.

And yet, a feeble flame of anger warmed my chest, lending me one last, small burst of strength. Because I wasn’t hisgood girl.Only one man had a right to call me that. Only one man had a right to tell me what to do, because only he did it out of love.

No,I thought again, smacking my lips together when they opened to seal my fate.No. I know what I want, and this is not it.

My resistance shocked him again. I felt his confusion. I should have given up by now, yet I still made a stand. His control slipped as he wavered, just for a moment. It was enough.

“No!” I roared, my voice echoing off the tall walls. “I don’t want to! No! No! No!”

I fell to my knees, breathing hard, while chaos erupted all around me. Adonis screamed angrily, people talked over one another, and the cameras clicked like insects. I blinked time after time, refusing to raise my head for fear of meeting those glowing eyes again. I wouldn’t survive another fight, so when someone gripped my arm and hauled me to my feet, I slammed my eyes shut, stumbling.

My limbs shook, my head swimming. Nausea boiled up my throat. As the person who grabbed me pulled hard, making me stumble again, I had no choice but to follow, too weak to put up resistance.

We crossed the church. I looked at the floor, keeping my head down. A door opened, then clanged shut after we passed through. The chaos of the church grew muffled.

“You little bitch,” my mother hissed under her breath, wheezing from effort and hate. “You ingrate! I tried to be good, and what did you do? Caused a fucking scandal!”

She dragged me through a maze of corridors until we arrived at the door of my bridal suite. She pushed me inside, and I fell on the carpet, heaving. Sweat poured down my back and into my eyes. I felt feverish.

“You will stay here while I fix your mess,” she said, her voice high-pitched from fury. “And once my hunters find your monster, they will drag him here and finish him in front of your eyes. After that, you will go back to that altar and do what you’re told!”

Her heels clicked away, the door closing with a thud. The key turned in the lock. I still couldn’t move, desperately trying to breathe while acid burned my throat. I shook so hard, I had to lie down completely, curling up on the floor. The world spun when I opened my eyes, the light falling in through the big windows hurting my eyes.

But that physical pain was nothing compared to the ache in my heart. What if they found Scarab, after all? I was sostupid, playing with his life like this. I should have just done what I was told.

But then, Scarab was strong, wasn’t he? And he was gone. It would take time to find him. Maybe I could warn him.

I braced myself, trying to slide my weak, trembling legs under me. After the third attempt, my body listened, and I managedto heave myself up onto my knees. Nausea tightened my throat again, and I breathed slowly through my nose to make it pass.

Carefully and with many stops, I managed to crawl up to where my bag was. I took out my phone with shaking fingers and called his number. I hadn’t tried it before, because my mother made it clear any attempt to contact him would end up with him dead.

But that didn’t matter anymore. Those hunters were after him no matter what I did. I could warn him now so he could hide.

I waited. Three rings. Five. Seven. The call ended without making it through, and I sobbed, calling his number again. He probably hated me so much, he didn’t even want to hear my voice.

“Please, pick up,” I begged shakily. “Please.”

He didn’t. After the call disconnected, I opened my messages, starting to type. My hands shook so badly, I hit all the wrong letters. I groaned, furious with myself, and started again.

A faint click from the window made me look up in terror. Did someone come for me? The mind manipulator? Or the hunters? Did they already catch him?

A dark shape loomed behind the window, but the light blinded me so much, I couldn’t see who it was. I squinted, getting ready to close my eyes if I saw even a hint of an orange glow.

The window swung open. A heavy bag landed on the floor, followed by a pair of black combat boots. I hiccupped, terrified and ready to beg for my life, until I heard his voice.

“Hello, doll.”

Chapter 29

Phantom

She blinked at me, her pupils blown wide, as if she was drugged. I swore, crouching by her side, but I didn’t touch her. Her words still rang loud in my head. The fact she didn’t want to marry the perfect human boy didn’t mean she wanted me, after all.

“You’re here,” she mumbled, blinking fast like she tried to see me better. “You can’t… Go away! You need to leave!”

I thought I could handle it, but the pain of another rejection shot through my chest like a bullet. I stood up, turning away from her while my throat burned with a scream of pain and rage that I couldn’t let out. I had to be quiet to stay undetected.

“Look, I’m only here to make good on my promise,” I said roughly, not looking at her. “I said I’d save you from being shipped off to an institution. Come on. We’re going.”

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