Page 96 of His True Beloved

Once the witches were tied up, the vial that Rowan held was emptied into the soon-to-be-dead-man sperm donor’s throat. Two more vials came out of the assassin’s pocket and forced down Faye and Leona.

“This holds back their powers,” Rowan announced to my mother and me. “They won’t be able to cast anything for at least twelve hours.”

They all lay limp, propped up on the side of the floral wallpaper. Blood ran down my sperm donor’s face, and rage seeped into my veins. I wanted to see more of the crimson liquid that would soon stain his skin.

Sebastian questioned Rowan about the two witches he had initially asked for help with the incubus. These women had been friends of the coven for several decades, helping keep the coven hidden from humans. After being given a new offer of power from the sperm donor, their friendship was now dissolved along with the ward.

Ambling up to the man that made my mother’s life a living hell, I tipped his chin with the talons my fingers were creating. They were sharp, and the slight movement under his chin nicked his delicate skin. He was hazed, but the arrogance in his voice still stayed.

“What?” He smirked. “Pissed off you didn’t know? Didn’t know your father could be something great?” I narrowed my eyes, ready to wipe the smug look off his face. “It’s in you, you know. All this.” He looked down at his body. “You will always be my daughter, a part of me.” He grinned.

What was he trying to do? Make me hate myself because I was the byproduct of his evil intentions? I was a payment to him; I wasn’t his daughter and never saw him as a father. Especially since Justin had strode into my life like a true father looking for his daughter. It was like he wasn’t hunting just for my mom but for me too. The way Justin treated me was more than I ever could ask for.

“I’m nothing like you.” I canted my head as I bent over. My hair covered half my face. I was too in tune with what was about to spill from my lips. I let the crazed look form. “As you know, I gained no power from you.” My talon of a claw came closer to his face, rubbing it down his cheek. “I was just a payment anyway, and it looks like you can’t even pay it because you are stuck to the wall, tied up, and have no powers to use.” I pouted my lips in mockery. “Guess the assassin was right. You aren’t really that strong,” I whined.

The warlock’s look remained impassive, like it didn’t bother him that I was blatantly unaffected by his words. “How many?” I whispered. The room had gone silent. Sebastian stood behind me, crouching, putting his hand on my back in comfort and support.

The witches had been gagged with sheets, obviously floral by the looks of it, with a high thread count. Poor Adaline bit her nails in the corner as she watched the nice things she used to comfort those that needed it in her care.

Because right now, it Isn’t comforting anyone.

“How many what?” Sperm donor raised a brow.

“How many of my siblings have you killed?” I asked quietly. He pursed his lips, narrowing his eyes.

“Doesn’t really matter when you can’t remember, now does it?” A sob wrecked my mom in the corner of the room. Justin wrapped his arms around her as he led her out. The anger in my body boiled until I felt Sebastian rubbing my back.

“Don’t get your claws dirty, Bella,” he whispered. “Let’s talk this through before we do anything irrational.” He was right. If I went with the rage I felt right now, I would drain his entire body of blood. And I couldn’t do that, no, not now. He deserved much more before he met the underbelly of hell.

Standing, I turned, my head resting on Sebastian’s shoulder, shaking it back and forth in disbelief. How could a man be so cruel?

Oh, wait, that’s right. He isn’t a man.

He’s a snake.

Rowan’s body drew closer, Sebastian holding me close. “What do you want to do with him?” Rowan muttered.

“You mean I have a choice?” I whispered.

Rowan stared down at the scum of the earth, his brows set in anger. “In the supernatural world, Christine, those who are harmed by a person and are proven guilty have the final say to the demise of their attacker.”

My hands clutched Sebastian’s still bloodied shirt. His hand rubbed up and down my back until I felt the small kiss of his lips on my forehead.

The purr in his throat began, and my body instantly melted into his.

Killing him would be too easy. The emotional scars I would carry with me through eternity. My poor mother lived lies throughout her marriage to him and was used and manipulated. He killed innocent children, and that was only within our ‘family’. What else could he have done?

I turned to the assassin. He was staring at them all. His face was still as impassive as ever. The weapons on his belt, his thigh, and his ankle had me thinking about things I couldn’t possibly do myself. I wasn’t a physical fighter. I wasn’t someone that could inflict pain.

But he can.

“Assassin?” My voice rasped. The assassin glimpsed at me briefly before he was back to staring at the prisoners. “Were you trained in the ways of torture?”

The assassin gazed back at me, and a smile graced his lips.

Chapter 39

Sebastian

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