Page 32 of Bound in Blood

A fresh wave of white-hot rage rolls over all three of them, and they growl their frustration.

I will fucking kill him before I let him lay a finger on you, sweet girl.

Me too, princess.

He’ll be dead before he gets the chance, Cupcake.

I force a smile, grateful for their protection. They mean every word of it, but the reality none of us wants to face is that, even with their full strength, they are no match for a two-thousand-year-old vampire and his army. Not with my powers dulled to almost nothing. If Giorgios plans to force me to…

I balk, unable to even consider such a heinous outcome. But short of escaping this place, there’s not a lot we can do to stop him.We need to get out of here.

But how?Xavier says.Every exit is constantly guarded by at least six guards.

And they’re all sired by Giorgios, which means they can all communicate with each other. It would take them less than a second to summon the rest of their army, Axl adds.

They’re right. We’ve tested the exits. We even discussed scaling the walls, but there are guards surrounding the entire perimeter.

Malachi runs a hand over his face.We’re fucking screwed.

No.I shake my head.I refuse to believe all these powers I have are useless just because we’re on the grounds of some ancient monastery. We’re smart. We’re strong. We’ll think of something. We’ve talked about escaping, but we’ve never been this determined. It’s imperative we consider every angle. There must be a weak spot somewhere. A blind spot we can take advantage of. If only I could get past the gate…I gather my resolve. There must be a way. I refuse to believe otherwise.

Chapter

Thirteen

OPHELIA

Giorgios’s dark-blue eyes narrow. “Why are you refusing to eat, Ophelia?”

I tip my chin. “I’m not hungry.”

“Perhaps I would believe that if your stomach were not growling like a mountain lion.”

Annoyed at my body’s betrayal, I press my hand to my belly and glare at him. Meanwhile, Axl, Xavier, and Malachi grow tenser with each passing second. “I’m not feeling well. I don’t feel like eating.”

He blows out a long, slow breath and takes his napkin from his lap before rolling it into a ball and tossing it onto the table. “Another lie,” he says, his tone unusually calm. The tension in the room grows so thick I can taste it.

We’ve got you, Cupcake, Xavier assures me.Whatever happens, we won’t let him touch you.

I glance at them and then quickly back to Giorgios. In their weakened state, I’m not sure the three of them are a match for the eldest son of House Drakos. But I remain forever grateful for their presence, which alone never fails to bring me strength and comfort.

“I don’t want to eat.” I push my chair back. “May I be excused?”

Giorgios brings his fist crashing down onto the table with such force all the silverware and crockery rattle in their place settings.

Xavier growls. Axl snarls. And Malachi rolls back his shoulders like he’s ready for a fight. “Have I not been a good host? Have I not protected you all from Lucian?” His face grows redder with each shouted question. “Have I not treated you all kindly? Yet you sit atmytable and disrespect me by lying to my face.”

My pulse increases rapidly, adrenaline spiking through my system. I’m hyperaware of my mates’ heartbeats, all of them racing like mine. This needs to stop. We need to discover exactly what Giorgios’s plan is and get the hell out of here so we can find Alexandros. Unable to contain the swirling vortex of emotion any longer, I slam my own fist onto the table. “Would a good host poison their guests?” I yell, my voice echoing off the walls.

If he’s surprised by my accusation, he doesn’t show it. “Excuse me?” he says instead, his demeanor so at odds with his angry outburst a few seconds earlier.

“You’ve been poisoning me, us, with blue poppy, Giorgios. Why?”

He runs his tongue over his bottom lip and drags his fingers through his beard. “I am surprised it took you as long as it did to figure it out considering how smart Alexandros told me you all are.”

The mention of his name has anger and despair surging up from my stomach, and I feel the same emotions raging a war inside the boys too. So much pain and rage contained in one room. It feels like we’re sitting in the core of a volcano that’s about ready to explode. If we’re revealing secrets today, let’s reveal them all. “Why did you lie about him being dead?”

Giorgios’s lip twitches at the corner like he’s trying to suppress a smirk. Axl launches himself across the table, but Giorgios stops him with minimal effort. With one meaty hand wrapped around Axl’s throat, he pushes him back down with ease. “Do not make me do something I will regret, children,” he says, sneering. “If you are going to sit at the grown-up table, then please act like one.”

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