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.

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!”

hulking figures materialized from the shadows, their faces obscured by the gloom. Without a word, they grabbed the now lifeless body. the man’s limbs dangling limply as they

first reaction. But as I huddled in my makeshift hiding place, a strange calmness washed over me. Curiosity, perhaps, or maybe

echoed as he addressed someone unseen.

corner, the musty scent of old paper the only witness to my presence. It might be considered stupid hiding from the person who I 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

into a reflection of his own monstrous

a new conversation snagged my attention,

my m

Chapter 53

voice startled me. A petite nurse with a dazzling smile and a blush creeping up her cheeks stood in front of me. I hadn’t