Page 68 of Promised in Blood

Alexandros is waiting in the den when we get home, his rage so palpable I could take hold of it and fashion it into a weapon to punish us with.

“Exactly how stupid are you all?” he asks, his tone so even and controlled that it makes every hair on my body stand on end. His cold brand of anger is worse than shouting. At least him raging would dissipate some of his temper. Instead, he directs every single ounce of it at us.

I shoot a worried glance at Malachi and Axl while I keep Ophelia’s hand clasped in mine.

Ophelia speaks first. “It was my f?—”

He holds up a hand and glares at her, and she clamps her mouth shut. “I asked you all a question.”

I take a deep breath. “Not stupid at all, sir.”

He scowls, his dark features appearing murderous. “Pardon?”

Ophelia trembles beside me, but I tip my chin. I’ll take his wrath for her. “I said not stupid at all, sir. We made sure that no one was around. There was a small fire, and the ground moved a little, but?—”

“I am not talking about you animals fucking in the woods!” He roars now, the lid on his temper well and truly blown. I guess I was wrong about the raging thing. I’m certain the entire house rattles on its foundation.

I blink in confusion and see Malachi and Axl glancing at me in my peripheral vision. Meanwhile, Ophelia drops her head, embarrassed. Fuck him for making her feel like that. “Don’t you ever call my girl a fucking animal.”

His eyes turn blacker than the darkest pits of hell. Oh sweet motherfuck, he’s going to kill me. He inches forward, and I flinch.

“It was my fault, sir,” she blurts. “I was so tightly wound after our lesson, and we…”

He trains his fierce glare on her, and she trails off. “I am not talking about you all having sex, Ophelia,” he growls, but his tone is much softer for her.

“So what did we do wrong?” she whispers.

He rolls his neck, the thick vein on the underside of his jaw throbbing. His eyes dart between me, Axl, and Malachi. “Youhuntedher?”

Oh shit.

“You allowed her to run from you without any thought as to what would happen if you could not find her, just for the sole pleasure of you hunting? Yes?”

“Yes sir,” Axl replies.

Ophelia shifts from one foot to the other. “But I?—”

“And you!” he barks. “You thought it would be fun to mask your scent and your emotions to stop them from being able to track you?”

Her heart rate doubles. “Yes sir.”

His cracks his neck, and the noise makes me wince. “And none of you thought this was a terrible idea that could put Ophelia in considerable danger? Not even for a second?”

We all shake our heads, chagrined.

“I have never been so disappointed in any of you as I am this day.”

Ophelia swallows a harsh sob.

“Sorry, sir,” Malachi and Axl say in unison.

But not me. Why can’t I fall into line with the rest of them? Why can’t I just be the person he wants me to be? Because I’m not, that’s why. And I never will be.

“Fuck this. I’m not sorry!”

He focuses all of his considerable rage squarely on me. His eyes shutter closed as he visibly works to stop himself from removing my head, and when he reopens them, he seems to have regained control. He cups Ophelia’s jaw in his hand. “We are all animals, little one. I did not mean to cause you any shame.”

She offers him a faint smile. “I know.”

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