Bonds

Chapter 53

-Alex’s POV-

Eight years old.

That was the first time the crimson color of blood stained my world. It wasn’t a scrape from a fall, a burst lip from a careless tumble. No, this blood flowed freely, painting a gruesome scene etched forever in my memory.

win I wasn’t supposed to see it. Tucked away in a forgotten corner of my father’s study, hidden amongst towering bookshelves and leather–bound tomes, I became an unwilling witness. The man on the floor wasn’t fighting back. There was no struggle, no desperate pleas for mercy. Just a look of utter defeat etched on his face, his eyes wide and vacant, staring sightlessly into the distance.

over him, his chest heaving, claws dripping with a crimson stain that mirrored the spreading pool beneath the man’s body. A guttural growl ripped from his throat, a sound primal and terrifying. “Get him out of my sight!” he commanded, his voice a low rumble that vibrated

from the shadows, their faces obscured by the gloom. Without a word, they grabbed the now lifeless body. the man’s limbs

my makeshift hiding place, a strange calmness washed over

father’s voice, still laced with raw anger, echoed as he addressed someone unseen.

didn’t want to find me but right under his nose but even at my age, I understood the term, keep your friends close and my enemies closer. Damon Thome was a man I considered my enemy right from the moment he laid his hand on her. I almost smiled at just remembering my mother’s eyes. The color of a deep sapphire lake, held a warmth my

into a reflection of his own monstrous being. Anything but that. I was never going to be like him. 1 would be just like her. So I would

to melt back into the shadows, a new conversation snagged my attention, anchoring

my m

Chapter 53

Thorne?” A soft voice startled me. A petite nurse with a dazzling smile and a blush creeping up her cheeks stood in front of