“I promise,” the other one says. “My name is Shane, and we’ll protect her with our lives.”
“I’d love to shake your hand,” I snap. “But I’m a little tied up right now.”
“Regrettable,” Owen says. “But necessary.”
They’re all fucking crazy!
“She is your mate,” Shane says to Rhys. “I can smell it. The kid is yours, too.”
“I know,” Rhys answers. “This is really shocking—I don’t know how the elders will take it.”
Their words shock and confuse me so much that I can’t speak. Pins and needles race through my body, partially paralyzing me as Rhys begins to drag me away.
“Cassie—” I gasp, looking over my shoulder.
“I’ll be okay, Mommy,” she says.
Rhys drags me forward, and I can’t look behind me anymore. The house looms over us, the strange peaks and balconies giving the place a deformed, untidy look. The shadow it casts is long and dark, and as we come underneath it, my fear turns into despair.
There’s no escape from this place.
Rhys drags me through the massive front door and down a narrow hallway to the left of the foyer. We come into a spacious room with a long wooden table in the middle, a fireplace on the left wall, and massive bookshelves opposite.
Six people sitting at the table look up. All of them have wide, glowing eyes like Rhys, only in different colors.
Is this a cult? Are they on drugs?
“I’ve brought her,” he says. “My true mate, as promised.”
The six of them look me over, then turn towards each other, whispering so softly, I can’t hear. A curvy, pretty blond woman starts to raise her voice and eventually steps away from the table in disgust, folding her arms and glaring at me.
“Don’t mind, Darla.” A chubby old man gets up from the table and comes towards us. “She’s just antisocial. It’s not personal.”
“Yes, it is!” Darla snaps. “I don’t like her!”
“I’m Neville,” the old guy says, ignoring her. “And I look forward to talking with you after the wedding.”
“Wedding?” I croak, a whole new wave of shock hitting me.
If I survive today without a heart attack, I’ll be fucking amazed.
“Take her home, Rhys,” one of the women says. “We’ll prepare for the ceremony tomorrow and contact you soon.”
“Thank you, Faye,” he says. “There’s a lot to discuss.”
Faye makes a dismissive gesture, and Rhys starts dragging me back down the hall. My emotions intensify inside me until the pressure in my chest finally bursts out in a massive scream.
“This is fucking crazy!” I yell as he drags me into the foyer. “You’re all nuts, every last one of you! There’s no such thing as werewolves or magic. You, people, are just deluded—”
“Sadie,” Rhys says. “Stop.”
“No, you’re a maniac! An insane, deeply troubled individual who has somehow found people to play along with your obsessed fantasy. None of this is real, you can’t keep me here—”
Rhys hurls me against the wall, not hard enough to hurt, but with enough force that the breath blasts out of my lungs.
“Fine,” he says. “You need proof? Here it is.”
He steps away from me into the center of the room, and I collapse against the wall, trembling so hard that I can barely hold up my own weight.
