Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 105144 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 350(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105144 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 350(@300wpm)
“No,” I whisper and tears roll down my cheeks. “No. No!”
Everything I was told has been a lie. I was ripped from my family and my parents and aunt were brutally murdered—for what? The Order couldn’t even replicate my powers because they can’t be replicated. I was born a witch. It’s not something you can choose to become or not become.
The truth had been told to me but I didn’t accept it because I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to accept that the people who raised me—who claimed to love me—could be this cruel. They used me with no guilt. They looked into my eyes every single fucking day and lied with ease. They never cared if I was happy or that I lived the life I wanted. All they cared about was what they could get from me.
They were never my family.
I drop to my knees, rage burning inside me. I let out a scream of frustration and betrayal, hands landing on the soft grass beneath me as I pitch forward. Something snaps inside of me as I scream, and I send a blast out of me, resonating from deep inside my chest. It rustles the leaves on the nearby trees and rumbles the ground beneath us.
The dew on the grass starts to vibrate and then rises into the air, glowing red from the light coming off the crystal. It looks like blood hanging in the air, pulsing along with each beat of my broken heart. I can feel Xavier behind me, giving me space but staying nearby.
I dig my nails into the ground, grabbing fistfuls of grass. Another sob escapes me, and I slump to the side. The dew falls like rain, pittering down in one gentle whoosh. And then suddenly, everything is wrong. I get to my feet and wipe my eyes, feeling like my chest is too tight and I can’t get in any air. The red glow is too much, shining on the graves like it’s laughing at me.
“I…I…” I clutch my chest and Xavier comes over. “I need a minute,” I rush out and start to stagger away, eyes brimming with more tears that I don’t try to hold back. The devastation gives way to rage with each step and I finally pause, a good hundred yards away, and perch on the top of a flat tombstone to catch my breath.
My phone vibrates in my sweater pocket, and I get it out, expecting to see a text from Xavier, telling me that I get five minutes before he comes to get me. But it’s not him; it’s my Antonio. I quickly open the text and am stunned by what I read.
Buck and Gavin’s bodies were just found
Holy shit. What happened?
Like you don’t know
What? Why would I know? I haven’t seen them since that night at Maria Elena’s
Ask your husband then
WTF are you talking about?
Their bodies were found with their hearts ripped out
In a shallow grave
And you’re blaming Xavier for this??
Of course, I fucking am.
Xavier wouldn’t bury someone in a shallow grave.
Unless he wants them to be found to send a message. Think about it, Wren! I told you to be careful around him. He. Is. A. KILLER!!!!
I lower my hand, blinking to readjust my eyes to the dark after staring at my phone’s bright screen. Xavier wouldn’t bury someone at all if he didn’t want them to be found. But if he did…I look up in his direction. He’s still standing by my family’s gravesite, his tall and muscular form just a black shadow in the night.
“Xavier,” I say, voice coming out a hoarse whisper. I push off the grave and start toward him. “Xavier,” I repeat. He hears me through the quiet of the night and rushes over.
“Wren,” he breathes, taking me in his arms.
“Xavier,” I say again before he has a chance to ask me anything. “Did you kill Buck and Gavin?”
CHAPTER 40
“I did,” he replies with no hesitation. His lips pull into a smile. “I knew it wouldn’t take long before they were found.”
I inch closer, knowing everything Tony said was true. Xavier is a killer…a dangerous man not to be messed with. He took two human lives without blinking an eye. But it doesn’t scare me. Not anymore.
“Why?”
“I told you, Wren, nobody hurts my family and gets away with it.”
My heartbeat echoes through my entire body, and time stands still. I lock eyes with him and my lips part, breath hitching in my chest. Desperation to close the distance takes over, and I fling my arms around him and I stand on my toes, kissing him. He wraps me in his embrace, picking me up and setting me on a tombstone as I fasten my legs around his waist. My heart swells in my chest and I feel so much for him.