Page 128 of Reaper Flame

“You bastard!” Rocky yelled, kicking out.With a flick of Hiram’s wrist, he was gargling on his own blood again.

“It showed me what I knew all along,” Hiram said with a triumphant flourish. “That you are just like me.”

I shook my head. “No… it can’t be…”

“My blood flows through your veins,” Hiram said. “My blood! We are family.Realfamily. Isn’t that what you always wanted? A real family?”

My chest heaved as I struggled to breathe. It is what I always wanted. Something I’d been looking for my whole life.

“You have that with me, Kitten,” Hiram said. He put his hands on my shoulders. “I will never let you down. It doesn’t matter how far you run, you can’t escape who you really are. I’ll always be there to bring you home.”

“Why didn’t you tell me before now?” I asked. “You had years to tell me the truth.”

There had been countless opportunities for him to share it, but there had been even more chances for him to kill me… and he hadn’t.

“I needed to be sure you were ready,” Hiram replied. “Being my successor comes with responsibility. You’ve shown me tonight that you’re ready. You have led these men and women. You’ve convinced them that they’re ready to die for you.”

“Don’t listen to him,” West growled. “He’s insane!”

I’d been trying to avoid looking into Hiram’s eyes, but I couldn’t help it. I stared into the soulless abyss. The more I looked, the more similarities I saw. How hadn’t I noticed it before?

“You can see now, can’t you?” Hiram asked, seeing a flicker of acknowledgement across my features. “You see that we are the same.”

“There’s more to family than blood,” Zander spoke up. “He’s manipulating you.”

“Just like you’re trying to do?” I turned away from Hiram and addressed Zander. “It’s easy for you to say that when you’ve always known your family. I never had that!”

“They do not have your best interests at heart as I do,” Hiram said. His fingers closed possessively around my shoulder to pull me back to him. “How many times will you allow them to let you down? They have served their purpose, but you’ve outgrown them. It’s time for you to leave them behind, to let me guide you. I can give you everything. I would never betray you, you know that.”

“We would never—” West began, but he was kicked in the stomach and winded instantly.

“Look at all of their faces,” Hiram said, spinning around. “Each one of them would betray you in a heartbeat. How can you trust them? They’ve hurt you before, they’ll do it again. A future with them will only end in heartbreak. Why put yourself through that? I’ll only have to be there to pick up the pieces again. We are the same, you and me. We have each other. Together, we are a family. An unstoppable one.”

Tears filled my eyes as the painful memories rushed back. The rejections. The betrayals. Was Hiram right? Was a future with the Sevens setting me up for misery? How could I ever be happy with them knowing who I really was? The blood running through my veins was tainted by a monster I hated, but who I was destined to become.

“You’re right,” I murmured.

There were cries of objections from the Sevens, but I didn’t hear them. I was only listening to one person.

“I’m the only real family you will ever have,” Hiram purred. “The only person who has never given up on you. Are you ready to come home for good?”

I held my head high. I’d made my decision.

“I’m ready.”

“Tell them,” Hiram ordered. “Tell them all.”

I looked at the people who had taught me the most important lessons.

“I’m choosing to leave,” I declared without wavering. “I’m choosing to go home with the only family I have.”

Mieko whimpered, allowing tears to fall silently down her cheeks. Vixen shook her head, looking at Mieko but unable to reach out and console her. West and Rocky were too busy struggling and being beaten for me to see their faces, but Zander stood frozen. His shoulders slumped as if his entire universe collapsed, and all the fight left his body.

Hiram clapped and stretched his arms open for me to walk into.

I did.

“You’ve made the right choice,” Hiram said, closing me into his embrace.

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