Shackled (The Lord Series) by Amy T

153. 153. Olivia

“Tell him | am fine.” Ansel interrupts me,

Even if | know better than to ignore what | was told, | say to Maddox, “He looks like he has lost a lot of blood. It would be best if

you hurry.

“Apply pressure directly on the wounds until | am there, Maddox instructsbefore he ends the phone call.

| repeat to Jasper what Maddox said as 1 put the phone next to the plate and try to stand, which alerts Ansel as he suddenly is

standing.

“What the f k are doing?” he snarls, takingby surprise.

| chew my bottom lip as | try toe up with the words to explain to him what | want to do. Normally, when a man gets angry,

| freeze, knowing that being submissive will lead to a lesser punishment.

“] want to help you,” | whisper, hoping it will be enough for him to understand my intentions.

“Always the martyr,” he sighs.

His shoulders drop, and he drags himself to the couch, where | help him remove his jacket and his shirt, leaving him only on his

black tank top and pants. A tattoo is on his right arm-three skulls connected by a king cobra with red eyes, and beneath each

skull is a black rose. Under this tattoo is another one, that of a white butterfly with broken wings. A bullet has grazed it in half,

dry blood smeared on the delicate wings.

While blood triggers me, seeing Ansel hurt doesn’t settle well with me. | reach out my hand, the tips of my fingers brushing

against the wound.

“Does it hurt?” My questiones out as a whisper, but Ansel hears me.

“No,” he replies before makinglook into his eyes. They are a warm shade of brown, but for a second, they flash ruby before

returning to their natural color.

My brows draw together. “I did not expect that,” | say as | search for more wounds.

| lift up his tank top. A long scar covers his chest, starting from the top and going down like a straight line. Maybe he had a

heart operation, but | never knew he suffered from any conditions. | ignore the scar as | take in a wound on the left side of his

torso, blood gushing out of it.

“That looks painful,” |ment as | lean over to take a better look at it and see if the bullet is still in the wound.

Ansel leans his head on the couch. “I will live.”

“Your... demon will help you heal faster,” | say as | try to use his shirt to apply pressure to the wound, but a hissing from

him letsknow it would be best to let him do that. “How is Rueben?” | ask Jasper as Ansel puts his palm on top of the shirt.

“If Maddox doesn’t hurry, | will lose another blood-brother.” The pain in his tone awakens something inside me,

153 Olivia

something | thought | lost a long tago-Teelings.

When | was taken to the facility to have my tubes removed, | lost the ability to feel most feelings, except for fear and a few

others. But they also did something else to me, something that changedforever, transforminginto something more

than a simple human.

“Oliva, ca!! Maddox again and tell him to hurry! Rueben stopped breathing!” Jasper yells, his panicked voice telling me

what to do.

| place my feet on the cold wooden floor, and | stand.

“Get your ascs back down!” Ansel sneers, but | barely register what he is telling me

While | was in the medical facility, | was strapped down to a chair, and doctors toldthat if | sacrificed something. they

would givean incredible gift. | didn’t want the gift, for the price was too high-I could never have children again. The doctors

did what they wanted, cuttingopen, removing parts of me, and adding something that didn’t belong inside of me-

something | am not quite ready to accept.

When | don’t do as he asks, Ansel tries to grab my hand, but | jerk it away from him and rush to the room in which Ruchen and

Jasper are. Pain shoots through my toes and feet, but ignoring it is easy, as | have years of practice.

Anseles after me, and | walk faster, not wanting to be stopped until | reach Rueben.

Jasper is performing CPR on Rueben, but when his eyes land on me, he stops. “You disobeyed my rules.”

“l did.” | say as | reach the bed and take Rueben’s hand into mine, and empty my mind of any thoughts or feelings. He is cold,

and | no longer can feel a pulse. | have never done this before, but something tells| can do it. Remembering the old times,

the good times, and everything else, | close my eyes. “Live,” | wish with all my heart.

Ansel finally reaches me, but it is too late to stopas | free whatever is inside of me.

An invisible force hitsin the chest, knockingon my ascs, and everything turns black.

Flashback, 16 years old

“Have you ever heard of hellstars?” Camila whispers her question to me.

We were supposed to be studying together in the library after school, at least | have, as Camila has been reading from a book

with a black cover and a golden pentagram on it.

“l know something about them,” | reply, remembering a discussion between Rueben and Ansel that Camila and | overheard.

“What about them?”

Camila showsthe book. Half of the page is missing. “From what we know, they are soulmates to demons and angels.” | nod

because that’s what Rueben said. “But what if there are other special women out there?”

I narrow

my eyes. “What other special women?”

Camila taps on the ripped page with her finger. “I found something interesting here. It talks about a group of women. who used

to have power.”

153. Olivia

“Powers?”

“Look,” Camila says, and | do so. “On this page, it says that women born from hellstars and their mates can heal with one

touch. Looking at me, she adds, “There is at least one hellstar from my mother’s side. What if | have powers?”

| tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. What is Camila talking about? “Powers as in magical powers?”

“Something like that.”

| shrug because | am just learning about the Lords and the Dukes and how they cto be, and hellstars are an entirely new

thing. “Sounds like a bunch of bullshcict to me.”

Camila laughs, and someone shushes her. “We need to find out more.”

Here we go. Camila playing detective. “Can we do this after we finish our homework?”

Hi everyone. If it seems that | am taking for ever to update is because the month of December is crazy busy, especially this

week but after Christmas | should go back to writing more. Also, | want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and hope you have

a wonderful twith the family.

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