Page 210 of Maddening Fixation

Egor’s heart.

Still twitching. Still beating.

A strangled scream tore from my throat.

My entire body recoiled in horror.

I had heard stories about monsters who ruled the underworld.

Legends whispered behind closed doors.

But those stories had never prepared me for this.

I wasn’t looking at a man.

I was looking at a monster wearing a human face.

Romeo slowly turned toward me.

Blood dripped steadily from the heart onto the marble floor.

“This...”

His voice remained frighteningly calm.

“...is what happens to any man who thinks he can touch what’s mine.”

His gaze locked onto mine. “Every single one of them will die by my hands.”

My body shook uncontrollably.

“You cannot bear my name...” He took one slow step toward me. “...and then run around with another man.”

Another step.

“No.”

He extended the bloody heart toward me. “Take it.”

I stared at it in frozen disbelief.

“Eat it.”

My stomach twisted violently.

“So you’ll remember. So you’ll finally understand the kind of world you married into.”

He looked down briefly at the blood coating his hand.

“You married a devil, Juliet.” His voice was low, lethal. “I slaughtered an entire generation of my family. And you think you can behave like this because you carry my name?”

He shoved the heart closer to my face.

“Take the fucking heart. Eat it.”

A horrified sob escaped me.

I staggered backward, nearly losing my footing.