Page 27 of Tyrant

All the blood drains from my body. I feel like it all runs to my hands as they ball up into fists.

“He needs a wife,” my father says.

My nostrils flare. I grit my teeth. Des stands there wearing his mask but I know he’s fucking smiling. He’s fine with me fucking the new arrival. Punishing her. I get to eat her cunt, fuck her ass, tie her up, bring her to within seconds of death only to let her live. I’m her fucking God… but then Des gets her.

Broken. Loyal. No fucking work to put in. My father’s hand grabs my throat.

“Are we clear?”

His hand squeezes tighter. And tighter.

“Answer me,Tyrant,” my father says.

I nod. That’s the best he’s going to get. He pushes at my throat and steps back. I flick the gold coin in my hand into the air and my father snatches it.We’re done.

“Good to see you,Son,” my father says with an evil smile.

I turn and exit thePerg. I am not meant to be here to break in a new arrival for someone likeDes. That is not my fucking purpose here. There is one way around this thing…

If I go too far and kill Serafina, then nobody gets her.

Chapter Twelve

SERAFINA

Naya standsat her open window, smoking a joint, looking really pretty and really mean at the same time. She has that aura about her. The one where a guy can lose his mind just staring at her, knowing she’s wild in bed.

“Have some,” Naya says to me, extending her hand.

“I’ll pass,” I say. “I’m going to one of the libraries.”

“Do you need me to walk with you or something?”

“No. Just letting you know. Not sure why.”

“You know why. You’re terrified ofTyrant. And what his next move will be. You’re claimed, Sera. There’s no escape.”

Naya takes another deep hit off her joint and I back out of her bedroom. Her words make me nervous. Fuck. They scare the hell out of me.

The apartment feels too small even though it’s probably the safest place for me. Lia isn’t here. She went to a Pilates class an hour ago and is then meeting up with friends for coffee. She offered for me to come with her. I fucking should have.

Fuck.

I leave the apartment and walk briskly. I refuse to look around, not wanting to know ifheis following me. Or watching me. Fuck, for all I know, he’ll be waiting at the library for me.

My heart races faster and faster. The first library I find, I rush into as though there’s a hurricane outside chasing after me. The huge door closes with that cliché softthudthat echoes everywhere.

There’s nobody in the library right now. I take a deep breath, trying to calm down. The smell of the library helps with that. That soft, subtle, old page scent that lingers around. The smell of the wood. The soft color of the large chandeliers attached to the high ceilings. There are tables, desks, chairs, each with their own reading lights.

As I pass by the first row of books, I can see they are very old books. Gently weathered spines, but a sense of prestige and time. Out of curiosity, I pause at a random Shakespeare book and touch it. I can’t help myself when I take my phone out and look up what this book is worth.

I let out gasp when I realize the book I’m touching it worth like twenty thousand dollars. And it’s just out on display here like a normal twenty dollar book.

This place is so intense.

As my mind speaks the wordintense, I conjure images ofTyrant.I haven’t seen him in a couple days. Not since…the nipple incident.

I bite my bottom lip and swallow hard. My left nipple still hurts. It’s sore, extremely tender. I lick my bottom lip and look around the library. I’m totally alone right now.

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