Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 34989 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 175(@200wpm)___ 140(@250wpm)___ 117(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34989 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 175(@200wpm)___ 140(@250wpm)___ 117(@300wpm)
Nolan dropped his head further, very aware of the hand gripping his shoulder. “Thank you. I apologize for worrying people.”
“You have nothing to apologize for,” Aiden murmured. “Can you tell us if Christoph gave you a full understanding of what it would mean to be his pet?”
His mouth popped open, but he quickly shut it again with a click of his teeth. How the fuck was he supposed to answer that? Would Christoph take it out on him if he told the truth? Or Sky? He had to protect Sky. It couldn’t always be Sky protecting him.
Keeping his head down, he tilted it slightly to the side so he could see the witch out of the corner of his eye. The beautiful man in his shiny gold vest stood like a beam of sunlight wrapped in an angry black cloud.
“Nolan, don’t you dare try to protect me,” Sky grumbled like a low roll of thunder. “I’m not worried about Sandor.”
“Please, tell us the truth. We’re not going to let anyone harm you.” This was from a different person this time. Maybe the one with the wild hair and bow tie. He seemed nice. The two men flanking him appeared…overprotective.
“Look…I-I-I don’t remember much from that night,” Nolan stammered, trying to ignore the strangers watching him, but mostly the vampire that was still holding him. “It’s all a blur. When I got home, I found I had a bite mark on my neck, but had no immediate memory of how it got there. It was days later when Christoph showed up on my doorstep that I recalled even a small sliver of that night. But then…all I remembered was Christoph biting me.”
“So, he didn’t tell you about being a pet when he failed to heal your wound?” Winter interjected. It sounded as if the vampire was a heartbeat away from shouting Ah-ha!
Nolan squeezed his eyes shut, blocking out everyone and even the panicked voices in his brain. Yeah, he was loyal, like a fucking dog. He was loyal to a brother who might not deserve his loyalty, but he had zero loyalty to a vampire who wanted to use him against his will.
“No! No, he didn’t! I don’t want to be his pet. I don’t want to be anyone’s pet!” The words burst out like water pouring from a break in a dam. If he was going to die right here and now, it was going to be with him shouting the truth. “I want to go home. I—”
Christoph jerked him back, cutting off his words. His shoulders slammed into the vampire’s broad chest and the hand that had been holding him wrapped around his throat. Powerful fingers squeezed, cutting off his air. Nolan completely froze as the room erupted into chaos. What was to keep Christoph from snapping his neck rather than releasing him? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
“Let him go!” Sky roared, but his voice was different. Deeper. More powerful. As if he were bellowing with all the strength of the underworld behind him.
Nolan’s eyes snapped open and, for a second, his brain refused to believe what his eyes were showing him. Sky was standing in the center of the room, a handful of feet away, but a writhing black cloud encircled him. His pale face glistened with sweat, and his gold vest was nearly hidden by the thick shadows. Other vampires cried out in pain as Sky repeated his demand. Christoph flinched, his entire body jerking behind Nolan, but he didn’t release him. His fingers dug deeper.
“I’d rather him die right now than hand him over to a witch,” Christoph whispered through clenched teeth.
“Just a sec,” the stranger next to Sky called out. The man stepped up and quickly dragged his left hand across the palm of his right. When he held up his right palm, there was a cut and a small trickle of blood. As his right hand arced through the air, a glowing red circle filled with red symbols followed. Once complete, the unknown witch shoved the circle directly at Nolan.
He tensed, waiting for the impact. Maybe burning flesh. At least the feeling of something hitting him. But there was nothing. Only the faint feeling of warmth wrapping around him, even sliding between Christoph’s fingers and his flesh.
“Got him,” the stranger announced with a sigh.
“No!” Christoph screamed.
Nolan floated free of Christoph and drifted across the room. It was as if he’d grown wings. He looked at himself to find a faint red glow completely covering him.
“You can’t have him!” Christoph raged.
“Nolan Walter Banks doesn’t belong to you. He’s never going to belong to you. He’s his own person!” Sky shouted.
For the first time since his kidnapping, Nolan smiled. Sky was still stuck on his middle name being Walter. If he survived this, he’d legally change it to Walter if it made Sky happy.