Page 17 of Twinning and Sinning

"After my sister, Amelia, was married off for business reasons, my mom had me trained when my father wasn't around. Self-defense, gun training, fighting, combat, you name it. She didn't want me to suffer the same fate as my sister." Zoey covered her mouth as she leaned on Trey.

"I was kept pure, I was homeschooled, didn't have any friends but maids and butlers if you could call them friends. I didn't get to experience the world, but my mom made sure to teach me everything I needed to know if I was to survive outside my father's mansion.

I was never told what my father really did, just that he was a businessman and he had to have bodyguards around. I accepted it because they were my parents. They were supposed to be honest with me," Seraphina scoffed.

"There was an explosion at one of his warehouses that was experimenting with a new type of weapon. Some biotech sprays that could knock people out, lethally without having to release a single bullet. Once the warehouse was destroyed, my father lost billions, and that was when I came into play. Their 'oops' pregnancy turned into a business deal, and I was to be married off to someone that would rebuild my father's empire." A few stray tears rolled down her cheeks as I licked her face. Laughing, she rubbed my maw together and kissed my nose.

"Mother eventually told me what was going on and realized that my time was short. We went to go 'shopping' for dresses to meet my new husband-to-be. Luckily, my father had no idea what she planned to do, and she drove me all the way to Ireland, her home country. Unfortunately, father's men caught up to us. She was shot in the chest and forced me to go on without her. That was the hardest thing I could ever do, was to leave," a heavy sob wracked through her. Zoey ran over and hugged her tightly. Seraphina's grip tightened around Zoey's jacket as she held back another sob.

Seraphina

I couldn't tell them the whole story. My friends would feel even more pity as I explained every detail. I tried to keep my account as light-hearted as possible. Still, in the end, my heart was exceedingly heavy as the memory flashed before me.

"I need you to go, Seraphina, go now," my mother's Irish accent was thicker than I have ever heard it. Her rasps caused the blood to spatter across her lips.

"I won't leave you; we are so close!" The whisp of another bullet zoomed through the air as we hid on the tarmac. Mother rubbed her leg as blood seeped through her jeans. Our private jet was just twenty yards away, just enough for us both to make the run.

"I won't make it, Seraphina. You need to be fast, run, and don't look back!" Another rattle went through her chest as she coughed, spilling the dark matter from her mouth. It was too dark, too dark to really see anything. Bullets were flying at blind targets as we heard the men yelling for flashlights.

The entire airport was dark, except for the lights on the small jet. The pilot had been given enough money to help his sick wife to be cured of her cancer. He wasn't going anywhere until one of them boarded that plane. Yells from the pilot to hurry and frantic waves only made my heart panic.

"Seraphina, I love you. You need to go; this is where we part ways," mother's sigh was heavy as she slung the bag from her shoulder. "Take this. It's enough to get you to where you need to go, far away from here."

I gripped the collar of my mother's coat. "We can do this; I pull you and.." another bullet zipped by.

Mother cupped my face with her hand. "Rith mo ghaiscíoch. Faigh do chinniúint." Her hand dropped as her eyes gently closed.

"No, no!" I whispered as I shook her. Her heart still beat, but I knew I couldn't carry dead weight. Her Irish tongue only fueled me to continue. She had said it countless times as trainers trained me in the dank basement of our home. Many times, I had questioned those stupid lessons; I would be forever grateful for what she did.

I grabbed the bag and kissed her forehead one last time, almost hoping she would pass in her sleep so she wouldn't have to deal with the devil of my father.

The plane rose to the air with cars now scattered around the private runway. My father took one look as our plane finally ascended into the air. Taking one puff of his cigar, he pointed his finger at me as we flew away.

Chapter Ten

Seraphina

Afterafewtearsfrom Zoey and trying to hold my tears in, Zoey took us all home in her car. Trey sat in the front and even took Zoey's hand. She was smitten already, and it was a welcomed distraction on the ride home. Both of my boys sat beside me; that was their favorite stance. Bambi on my right and Dimitri on my left. I tried to hide the soft sniffles thinking of my mother, but a dog's intuition was like no other.

I've never met such affectionate dogs; in fact, I never really got to pet a dog or know of their companionship. The closest thing to a pet that I had was a goldfish, and it was hard to gain any affection from that sort of animal. Did you know that goldfish are said to forget every three seconds? That was what my mean nanny told me while I was growing up. Eager to prove her wrong, I taught the fish that every time I banged three times on the bowl, that food was coming, and it would automatically swim up before the food hit the water.

I was a stubborn child beneath all the sadness and hopelessness of trying to gain my father's attention. Maybe I did inherit a valuable trait from him.

Zoey pulled up in my gravel driveway and reluctantly looked in the back seat. "Are you sure you won't stay at my house?" Zoey's longing look begged me to reconsider, but I declined. How could her family let my two giant wolves and me in the house? I wasn't about to leave them outside; the past few days had been bliss having them in the house. They made the home seem more like home than just a house.

"I'll be fine," I pulled out the holster that held the gun to my waist. "I had Elizabeth with me the whole time." Trey's eyes widened.

"If you had a gun, why didn't you pull that out when he tried to attack your pets?"

"Instinct," I pointed to my head. "It was faster and less chance of anyone getting shot if I just kicked the gun out of his hand. I had it under control," I opened the car door so the boys and I could hop out. Closing it shut, Zoey rolled down the window.

"You promise you will come? One last hoorah?" I smirked as I turned around, walking backward.

"Wouldn't miss it, sunshine." I winked at her.

"I swear she is a different person around those dogs," Trey muttered to Zoey.

"WOLVES, DAMMIT! They are wolves!" Thumper let out a playful howl in agreement as we walked inside our warm little house.

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