Page 37 of Blood Vows
What felt like a piece of my heart and all of my hope.
I wasn’t surprised when sleep refused to come.
Every time I closed my eyes, I felt it, the ghost of his touch that left me wanting. The pain of his cruel words made me glad I didn’t know the taste of his kiss. My heart still beat to the rhythm of every second of it. Every pulse was a reminder of what had happened…or what could have happened.
And then came that scream, like a disturbing reminder for him that what we were doing was wrong. Or at least…wrong for him.
Because for me, it had felt right.
It had felt real.
Since I’d come here, it felt as though I had been trapped in a constant battle between what was right and what was wrong. Between what I should feel and what I couldn’t stop myself from feeling. He had already confessed to me once, admitted there was something there, something he couldn’t quite deny. And now, whether he was retreating from that truth or convincing himself that his revenge meant more, I didn’t know.
All I knew was that I could no longer hide from my own confession.
I was falling in love with him.
Against all reason, against all the warnings, against everything I thought I knew. I didn’t know when it began, or how it happened. It was simply there now, settled deep in my chest, a dangerous truth that refused to be ignored.
I felt drawn to him in a way that defied logic, an affinity that frightened me as much as it comforted me. There was something in his pain that spoke to my own, something in his torment that I understood. And I knew there was more to his story than what he had revealed.
More than the dagger.
More than simple revenge.
Part of me…perhaps the foolish part…believed that I could be the one to heal the rift between them. That I could somehow bring him and his brothers back together. That I could bridge the gap between hatred and forgiveness.
But guilt gnawed at me too. Guilt for the way I felt about him.
How could I fall for the enemy of the men I already loved? His brothers. The ones who had risked everything to keep me safe. The ones who would no doubt see him as the monster he claimed to be.
But what if they were wrong?
What if everyone was wrong?
What if the real villain in all this wasn’t a person, but a misunderstanding twisted by pride and pain? I knew I loved Victor and Tal. And that love had come almost easily, like slipping into warmth after the cold. Despite all that had happened between us, despite the horrors I’d endured, love with them had felt simple…pure even.
But with Vas…nothing was simple.
Every glance, every word, every breath between us was a struggle. It was a battle he seemed to fight within himself. I could see it every time he looked at me, as though he wanted to reach for me and stop himself all in the same heartbeat. I wasn’t blind. I knew he felt something, no matter how much he denied it. But something was holding him back. Something deeper, darker, and I couldn’t shake the thought that it had something to do with that scream I’d heard echo through the halls.
Was I not the only piece in his plan for revenge?
Was there someone else caught in his web of secrets?
Every time I thought I had reached him, that I had seen the man beneath the mask, it was like taking one step forward and two steps back. The moment I began to understand him, he would shut me out again.
And yet, even now, part of me knew that Victor and Tal must be out there somewhere, desperate to find me. I wondered if they knew who had taken me. If Vas had revealed himself to them. I imagined their fury, their grief, their heartbreak. Their cursed love…a love that was only real to me.
And still, shamefully, I wasn’t sure I was ready to be rescued.
Because despite everything, despite all the danger and confusion, a part of me didn’t want to leave him. Not yet. Not when every word, every look, every fragile piece of connection between us felt like something precious I hadn’t been meant to find.
But after tonight, I wasn’t sure there would be anything left to save.
It felt as though he had finally given up on me.
Because the second that scream had torn through the silence of the house like a blade through silk, it was like he had come to his senses. A sound so chilling that, even now, it echoed in my mind. He hadn’t explained. He had shut me out, left me standing there, breathless and confused, with nothing but questions clawing at my thoughts.
