Page 59 of Shadow Bonds

“Oh, this is lovely. How are you settling in?” she asks as I try to keep this short and sweet. I can’t risk them delving in too deep and figuring out anything.

“It’s good,” I tell her.

“That’s wonderful,” she says patting my arm, and I relax a little, relieved they don’t think I’m anyone other than the Sena they’ve raised. Now I just have to make sure it stays that way.

The older male gives me a tight smile that I ignore. Maybe Sena and her father never got along. This is probably all normal, and they seem nice enough.

We walk down another hall, and it takes me a moment to realize I’m the one being led instead of leading this little impromptu tour. And it looks like we’re heading to the wrong area. Nobody comes down here.

“We’re clear,” Tyler says and in the matter of seconds everything changes. The hand on my arm quickly grows sharp and tight. I glance up at the woman and see her façade quickly fade revealing her true nature.

“Where is it?” she demands.

I try to pull my arm from her grip, but it tightens making me wince. “Where is what?”

“Don’t act fucking stupid,” she grits out. “You had plenty of time to get it. Hand it over.”

I frown trying to break her hold. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

My so-called brother steps forward. We don’t look a thing alike. “We heard you had a little accident. But you forget we know you. So cut the little act. We know your secret. But not only that, we have information on your mates that would send them back to the Void for a long time.”

My heart drops. “How do you know about the Void?”

He laughs, a cruel vicious laugh that makes my stomach churn. “Cut the act, Sena.Yousent them there.”

My mind shutters to a stop as everything slows down. My heart. My breathing. When it finally picks back up and his words register, my heart nearly shatters there and then.

I… I sent them to that place. Well, Sena did. But they don’t know I’m not actually her. And she… Oh, God. No wonder they hated me. She sent then to fucking Hell on earth.

The older male rounds on me, and before I even open my mouth, I’m shoved up against the wall with his hand wrapped around my throat.

I quickly block my mates out, not wanting them to rush over here and cause a scene.

“You have one week, or I’ll make sure your world comes crumbling down,” he hisses as he tightens his hold, making me gasp for air. I reach up and try to pull his hands off my throat, but a hard punch to the side has me immediately stopping and trying to curl away from the pain.

“Get the fucking device or I will end you and your four mates,” the older male warns as he sneers at me. His grip tightens on me, and I start to see dark spots. Before I pass out, he quickly releases me, but not before shoving me to the ground, face first, and kicking me hard in the ribs.

CHAPTER 18

Hiding out in my secret spot in the forest, I ignore the guys as they try to reach me, still needing time to process everything.

Wrapping my wounds, I try to conceal them as much as possible but give up when my stomach turns for the fifth time.

No wonder they hate me…hatedme. They still should if I’m being honest. I thought the Wastelands were horrible, but they spent years in the Void on and off.

The other Sena sent them there for probably no other reason than she didn’t want them as her companions. And now she’s wrapped me in another one of her messes. If I don’t find what her parents want, the four of them could end up back in the Void.

The thought alone makes me physically ill.

None of them know I’m not her—the real person who sent them to the Void—and yet they’ve already started to show me signs they care.

I can’t do this to them. I can’t drag them into this mess. Not when they’ve already suffered so much by these hands.

If they end up in the Void again and this time because of me, I don’t know what I’ll do. It’s already killing me that the old Sena had a hand in sending them there.

The day passes quickly with class and combat training being nothing but a blur.

Strange looks from the other females start making me feel a little paranoid that they all know what Sena did.

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