Shackled (The Lord Series) by Amy T

223. Rueben - Doubts IV

I never saw Ansel this angry. Not to mention that he broke a sturdy oak dining table. How strong is he? Mose and Jasper are just as shocked as I am.

"Fine, no Elders then," I give in, wanting Ansel to calm down. "How are you dealing with it? What do you know that we don't?" Ansel rubs the back of his neck. "I'm having a meeting with Cirro in a few days. He's been digging into some stuff for me." This irks me more than I like to admit it. "Are you going behind our backs now?"

"I'm just doing my duty," Ansel replies.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I try to make him speak.

Ansel runs his fingers through his hair. "I don't think you'll understand even if I tell you." He looks at me, his brown eyes a little strange. "But they had Indy and I had no other choice." Who is Indy? It's the first time I heard this name. "In the beginning, I tried to resist, but... the fucking pain....." Ansel suddenly seems to snap out of some sort of a dark hole. What the hell was that about? "I'll go buy a new table."

"At this hour?" Jasper asks.

"Yeah. Do you want to come with me? This way, we can buy something nice for Olivia to let her know we are sorry for how big of an asshole we have been." Looking at me, Ansel adds, "And not from a fucking thrift store."

a good idea. I'm also coming," Mose says. After grabbing his coat, Mose tells me, "Make sure Olivia

Right.

before I go over to Tyson's office. Even if he has a room, he barely spends any time

the office, I start pacing around, trying to sort out the mess inside my head, which ends

came here to walk around, you can go ahead and patrol the farm," Tyson raises

at Olivia. Even thinking of her as Olivia and not as the Slutty Nun or as the Diseased Cunt is hard. A blanket is wrapped around her and she's trying to make herself as small as possible. Then it hits me like a ton of bricks. She fears me. Tyson might have done some really messed up shit to her, but she really fears me. I should be happy about it, but the truth is that I don't like it. And it bothers me. Because I should be angry, not concerned for her. "Back

I feel

know what's going on, but you are

be around her, even touch her from time to time. There had been moments when I would try to convince myself that she was a dumb teen because I liked her too much. But what Tyson is implying is pure madness. "She can't be our soulmate. She can't! I refuse to accept it." Tyson goes over to Olivia. "Do whatever

over my chest.

leans his head on the sofa. "But it only made me into a monster." He makes Olivia look into his eyes.

side of Tyson's face and kisses him. Looking into his eyes, she says three words that cut deep even into my soul.

cries. The way she fucking cries shatters me. Tyson holds her tight while I look at them hopeless because

while I feel all her pain. And it breaks me. My demon claws at my soul and I let him. I hope he fucking consumes me.