Page 280 of My Unexpected Mate

“Oh, she is,” Victor laughed. “I will come back for her.”

“You can try.” Nick said menacingly.

“I will try, my little witch,” Victor said. “And I will get you back. There is so much more I want to do to you. There is so much more I need from you.”

Aria was shaking at this point. Nick’s eyes kept changing from brown to black. Zack and Jake were fuming. I could feel their magic slipping out of control. Cassie and Annie had tears in their eyes. Mike, Jack, and Blake were clenching their jaws. Petra looked calm, but I could see the rage in her eyes. Patricia looked like she was in pain. Her face was pale, and she was staring through the window.

I grabbed Aria and pulled her onto my lap. She buried her face in my chest and a quiet sob escaped her.

“I won’t let him hurt you again, love,” I whispered to her.

I wrapped her in a tight hug and focused back on the conversation between Nick and Victor.

“You will try, but you will fail,” Nick growled. “I won’t let you touch her again.”

Victor laughed. “Are you angry because Calvin touched her before any one of us could?”

Oh, fuck.

I immediately covered Aria’s ears. There was no fucking way she was listening to this!

She started shaking even more and pressed herself closer to me. I was holding on to her like my life depended on it, which did.

Nick was losing it. His claws and canines were out. Growls were coming out of him constantly. The rest of our friends didn’t look any better. The magic was slipping out of all of them.

I saw Patricia standing up and walking over to Nick. She whispered something to him, and he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

Nick opened his mouth to speak, but Victor’s voice coming off of the phone interrupted him.

“I will come for her,” he said coldly. “I will get her back. You won’t be able to stop me. She is mine. Her magic is mine.”

“We will be waiting, you pathetic piece of shit,” Nick growled. “Come and get her, I dare you. I will rip you to pieces, just like I did with Calvin.”

Nick ended the call immediately after saying that. That was our plan. We saw how much Calvin meant to Victor, and we knew this would piss him off.

As soon as the call ended, the shouting began. Chairs were scraping on the floor, and fists were being thrown against the wall. Nick was on the verge of shifting. His fur coated his arms, and his eyes were completely black.

I ignored them all and focused on my sister. She was pressed up against my chest with my hands covering her ears. She wasn’t crying, but she was shaking. I need to take her away from all this anger.

I picked her up and walked out of the kitchen. Nobody was paying attention to us. I took her to my room. I sat down on the chair next to the window. I had her on my lap, and I was holding her tight.

Aria’s POV

Just hearing his voice made me sick.

I remembered every word, every punch, every touch.

I was so afraid.

I was so ashamed.

I couldn’t let him do this. How can we defeat him if I get like this just from hearing his voice? How will I face him?

My head was buried in my brother’s chest, and he was whispering soothing words to me.

“I love you,” he said. “I won’t let him hurt you. You are safe.”

I raised my head to look at him. He looked tired. His eyes were filled with sadness. He was looking at me with love.

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