The candles in the scones danced over my form and threw my shadow along the floor, making it stretch and bend. That was when I noticed the stains—dark stains that were old and dried but unmistakable.
Blood.
Lots of it.
Pools and smears, like someone had been dragged out.
Goosebumps puckered my skin. My heart started to beat overtime. It was stuck in my throat, my pulse roaring in my ears.
Clenching the soft fabric of the gown in my fists, I took another step back, realizing I was stepping over it. It coated most of the floor.
It felt like I was standing on someone’s grave.
I turned to leave and smacked into a hard body.
A hard body that had wild, dilated eyes and a heaving chest.
In the glow of the candlelight, my new husband’s eyes were possessed. Especially when he looked down and noticed where I stood.
A roar tore out of his chest like someone had ripped his heart out.
Me.
He lifted me up by the arms and set me by the door. It happened so fast, I hadn’t even taken a breath.
Then the Beast inside of Cian O'Callaghan seemed to emerge, and he started to destroy the room. He was going to take it apart inch by inch, destroying himself in the process.
I tried to say his name, but my voice was lost inside of his. I went to grab for him before he shattered the stained glass, but he was in motion and knocked me down.
He didn’t even notice.
I’d never seen him look that way.
He terrified me.
Promise or not, I couldn’t stay.
That side of him—the one they called the Beast—was real. And what if it turned on me?
I scrambled back some before I lifted myself up and ran.
Chapter11
Maeve
Iwasn’t sure where I was running to, but I could sense life in the direction I was heading.
Voices. Laughter. Warmth.
People.
Why couldn’t we have gone this way in the first place?
I had a feeling it was because whoever still existed in that room was directing our steps. It was like he or she wanted the door to be opened so they could be set free.
It wasn’t my place to do it, though, and I could tell it had caused Cian extreme distress. But I was too afraid in the moment to realize the truth.
He wouldn’t hurt me.
