Page 98 of Cruel Vows

“It is. You’re pissed because he made me a priority. For once, someone wasn’t running to you first.Ididn’t run to you first. I let my husband take care of me, and now you’re trying to punish him for that.”

“When the hell did you start to like him?” Aiden shakes his head, looking at me like he doesn’t know who I am anymore. “You’ve spent your entire life hating him and now you’re telling me that you’re going to put him before the rest of the family?”

“He’s my husband!” I jab a finger into Aiden’s chest, careful not to hurt him more. “And you’re the one who arranged that, so if you’re going to throw a fit about my starting to like Sean, you have nobody to blame but yourself.”

“I still can’t believe this.”

“Believe it or not, my marriage is one of the best things to ever happen to me.”

The door to the room opens as I’m ranting, and there’s a large groan as Sean is shoved inside, Noah following behind him.

My hand flies to my mouth when I get a good look at Sean. He’s battered and bruised, his sun-kissed skin covered in glowing red marks that are going to turn into deep-purple bruises in a matter of hours.

There’s a long cut on his forearm seeping blood. It looks like it’s going to need stitches, but I doubt Noah is going to bring me a first aid kit.

Sean looks up at me, the corner of his mouth twitching. “Knew you were starting to like me.”

My cheeks flame as he struggles to his feet. “You’re not supposed to be making jokes right now. Look at you!”

Sean shrugs and slumps down into one of the chairs. “This marriage has been the best thing to happen to me, even if you do annoy the hell out of me at times.”

Noah pretends to gag and crosses his arms. “I don’t have time for this right now.”

I focus on him, trying to pull myself together. “You wouldn’t have to if you would just let us go.”

He snorts and shakes his head, stalking closer to me, though his gaze is locked on Aiden and Sean. “None of you are leaving; however, you should know that your husband here is going to bleed out unless you do something to help him.”

“Give me something to stitch him up with,” I say, my tone firm even though I feel like breaking down and screaming until my voice goes hoarse.

Noah laughs and motions to one of the men standing in the doorway behind him. “I was hoping you were going to say that.”

One of the men walks forward with a glowing piece of metal.

The end of the rod is twisted into Noah’s initials, glowing white-hot and ready to be pressed into flesh.

The corners of Noah’s mouth stretch wider. “If you’re both going to live, you’re both going to have to wear my mark.”

I think I’m going to throw up.

Noah takes the brand and holds it out to me. “You’re going to have to make a decision quick if you don’t want him to bleed out. This is going to cool down in no time.”

He chuckles and drops the brand to the ground in front of me before spinning and heading out of the room, leaving us with only one guard again.

The guard clears his throat as the door slams shut, but I feel frozen in place. I can’t look at him even though I’m sure that’s what he wants right now.

Instead, all I can focus on is the brand glowing on the floor and knowing that I’m running out of time.

Aiden groans and rubs a hand down his face. “You’re going to have to do it, Ellie.”

Sean shoots him a sharp look. “She doesn’t have to do anything. El, you can just bandage me up, and then we’re going to get the hell out of here, okay?”

Bile rises in my mouth, the acidic taste filling my mouth as I glance between the brand and the deep cut on Sean’s arm.

He might not bleed out if I don’t cauterize the wound, but that’s a slim chance. I don’t know how much blood drained from him before they brought him back, but I can see the color is gone from his face.

At least, it would be if it weren’t for the other cuts and bruises.

I swallow hard, breathing deep through my nose as I pick up the brand and look at Sean. Tears blur the edges of my vision. “I don’t know if I can do this.”

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