Page 1 of Haunted Nights & Savage Sins
PROLOGUE
CORMAC - 15 YEARS OLD
Pain isn’t fair.
To one person, childbirth is the pinnacle of excruciating agony, but to another, a paper cut could have them calling for their mothers.
I used to think I could handle pain. But as the branding iron sparks and smokes in my father’s hand, I know this isn’t the type of pain anyone can endure.
If I thought it would work, I’d wish for death.
My eyes find my mother. Her trembling hands. The terror she’s trying to hide. My last hope.
“Niall, please. There has to be a different way. He’ll learn. He’s still young. Please!” My mother’s panicked screams echo in the small room. Her hands shake harder, and her eyes fill with tears.
She’s the only one here to try to protect me. The only one who cares enough to have mercy on me. My father doesn’t care anything about mercy.
Only obedience and power.
Today I made the mistake of challenging both of those. I was sent to collect payment from one of my father’s clients. The man told me a story, one that pulled on my heartstrings. He told me that he needed the money to pay for his daughter’s medical care. He promised that he would pay my father as soon as he could.
Instead of getting the money from the man, I told him not to worry about it and took the money from my own pocket. When my father asked me why I had disobeyed him and made the family look weak, I told him I didn’t want anyone to see me as a monster. I didn’t want them to see me as they saw my father, an evil man.
That only added to the long list of mistakes I made today. Mistakes my father wants to make sure I never make again. He says it makes me weak and a disappointment. Compassion has no place in this family. Now he’s vowing to teach me a long-lasting lesson.
“You don’t want to be a monster? But you are, Cormac. You’ve got the blood of a demon running through your veins. Maybe if I make the outside look like the monster inside, you won’t be so concerned with how people see you.” My father’s mouth turns into a snarl as he yanks my hair back hard enough to pull some of the strands from my scalp.
“Da, don’t.” I whimper, trying hard to get away from the bright red tool sizzling in my father’s grip. The heat is intense. He held it in the flame for a long while as I explained why I hadn’t comeback with the client’s money. Now, as penance for my sins, he is ready to brand me.
“Niall, you can’t do this.” My mother begs on her knees in front of us, but her words fall on deaf ears. My father isn’t listening to her. I can see the evilness in his eyes, the thrill of seeing someone in pain, of hurting me.
“Don’t tell me what I can’t do. I’m your god, I can do anything I want. If I want to make him a monster, that is what I’ll do. Watch now. Remember the very second your little boy is burned away.”
“Niall!” Her scream vibrates my still-growing bones, but it all snaps away the very second the metal brand makes contact with the side of my face.
I can smell my skin burning, the once blemish-free area blistering and sizzling before just as quickly melting away.
My mouth opens wide, and a sound I’ve never heard anyone make before rockets out of me.
The pain is all there is now.
It surrounds me.
Squeezes the very breath out of me.
My eyes go blind, but from the very depths of me, I can feel thundering footsteps coming in my direction.
I don’t know how long my father held the scorching-hot metal to my face, but when my mother reached forward and smacked it away, there is no relief.
It still burns.
“You stupid cunt.” My father backhands her hard, and I barely register the fact that she is collapsed and unconscious on the floor, the metal tool discarded in the corner.
“When will she learn?” he mutters as he grabs hold of the back of my shirt and all but drags me out of the room.
I try to stay on my feet, but the pain is too intense. Even now that it’s over, my body is still reeling from the shock. Tears and snot stream down my face, and I fight to get my emotions under control. The last thing I want to do now is piss my father off even more.
There was a time when I would’ve thought that he had some pause when it came to hurting one of his children, but this lesson makes it very clear that I’m no safer than one of his worst enemies.
