Page 10 of Haunted Nights & Savage Sins
I guess that’s a dream that will never come true.
I slow my pace, trying to take in as much of my surroundings as possible, the trees, the animals, the dirt. How long have I spent not appreciating these little things?
Tears stream down my face silently as I look up ahead and see a soft glow. Fire, a light for us to find our way.
I’ve never been more scared of the unknown in my life. I drag my feet, and my father has to reach to the side and drag me along.
Silently, I whisper a prayer to a god I haven’t spoken to since I was a young child. He didn’t listen to me before; I doubt he’ll listen to me now, but I have to give it a shot.
My lips are moving a mile a minute when we finally make it to the space where the makeshift wedding is to take place. There are several members of security, a man I recognize to be Niall O’Sullivan, and another man standing with his back turned to me.
He’s large. A bear of a man. All that’s missing from him is the fur. Swallowing down hard, I make my way to his side, but I keep my eyes down.
Another man comes out from the group of security with a pad in his hand and a holy man’s attire. I’ve seen his kind in the churches. He comes to stand in front of me and my soon-to-be husband. None of us speaks for a second. I’m guessing none of us knows what to do.
Niall O’Sullivan is the one to break the silence.
“We should get on with this, no?”
“Yes, of course.” The holy man in front of us nods his head enthusiastically, but I can see his hands shaking. He doesn’t want to be here either.
He opens the pad that he has in his hand, and before I even have a chance to read what the paperwork says, I know that it’s the contract I’ll have to sign to give my soul to the devil.
Another tear makes its way down my cheek, but I don’t dare say a word. I’m scared if I open my mouth I’ll curse everyone standing here. Then I’ll be dead.
The man presiding over this sham of a wedding starts his speech and brings out a long thin ribbon that he presents to myself and Cormac. We’re supposed to lay our hands over each other’s, and the priest will bind them, signifying our unity. I squeeze my eyesshut and wait for a miracle I know isn’t going to happen until my father clears his throat and pushes me forward.
Cormac raises his hand, and I gently put my hand on top of his. It’s not so I don’t hurt him; I just don’t want any part of my body touching his.
Finally, I turn to look at him in the same second that he turns to look at me.
I gasp and my eyes widen when I get a good look at his face.
The rumors were true. He is a monster.
The light from the few candles illuminating the space flickers in his eyes, but it’s almost as if his darkness snuffs out the light before it can take root. There is a deep evil to the man. My new husband.
The priest goes on with the ceremony, and the both of us say the words when we’re supposed to say them. There are no smiles, no comforting words, just the two of us going through the motions as both of our fathers demanded of us.
It’s all over way too quickly.
I turn to go back over to my father, but Cormac grabs hold of my hand and pulls me back in his direction.
“No. You’ve already said your goodbyes. You’re mine now.”
4
BRENNA
This truly must bewhat the first layer of hell is like.
In less than twenty-four hours, I’ve been ripped from the one home that I’ve always known, married to a man who stares at me like he’s about to rip my face off, and flown to a country where I don’t know anyone. To top it off, the mansion that I’ve heard so much about turns out to be nothing more than a dark and dreary, broken-down shell of a home.
He spoke a few times while we were on the plane, mostly just to tell me what I’m not allowed to do when I got here. Rules upon rules.
I wonder if anyone told him I don’t do well with rules. One of the rules that seemed to stick out more than the others was the fact that there was a whole section of the mansion that I’m simply not allowed to go in. I wanted to ask him why I wasn’t allowed to be in that area, but that would’ve meant that I would have to talkto him. I’m not about to do that. We can live our entire marriage in silence for all I care.
The issue with that is it doesn’t seem that my silent treatment is having the effect I’m hoping for. He doesn’t want to talk to me any more than I want to talk to him.
