Forbidden (Blood Ties Book 7)

You are mine.

One look into those merciless eyes and I knew it was the truth. He stepped over the splayed arms of the dead guard and held out his hand. Fear still trembled and made me hesitate for a second before I rushed forward, slamming against him.

Those murderous hands slid over my ruined shirt and tugged my bra back into place before they moved upward to grip my jaw. He tilted my head from side to side, his thumb gently brushing my throbbing lip. “Did he hurt you?”

I knew what he was asking. Had he raped me?

I shook my head, hating the way his face blurred. The Priest gave a sickening groan, drawing Riven’s gaze at the same time the door to the apartment slammed open and Kane lunged in. He hastily scanned the apartment before his gaze landed on us.

His hard breaths stopped suddenly as he saw the body of the guard, then he quickly stepped in and closed the door, instantly locking it.

Riven moved to The Priest as Thomas coughed and wheezed.

“What the fuck happened?” Kane demanded as he headed toward us. He jerked his gaze toward The Priest before it crept back to the guard’s body.

“He was going to hurt her,” The Priest gasped as he pushed upward, wincing as he touched his cheek, then glanced at the guard, grimacing at the angle of his neck. “Who the fuck is he?”

“One of Coulter’s men,” Riven answered. “Who had a hard-on for me, it seemed.”

“Fuck,” Kane barked as he turned to pace the living room. “What the hell do we do now?”

I stared at the dead asshole, my pulse racing. But I didn’t succumb to the fear, because all I could think of was Riven…Riven training the Daughters.

I heard you bitches take it all. You won’t fight when I fuck you…

I winced at the stabbing pain and snarled. “He…he thought I was one of them—a Daughter.”

“What?’ Riven snapped coldly.

I turned to him, searching those dark eyes before I checked his clothes. Had he started already? Had this interrupted him?

My stomach clenched as revulsion burned. The thought of his hands on them, even under these sickening circumstances, was enough to make me spin out of control. “He…” I turned back to the dead guard. “He thought I was a Daughter.”

Riven snarled, “The hell you are.”

Desperation filled me now. “So make me one.”

“No,” he said instantly, rage glinting in his eyes as they fixed on me. “Hell no!”

But I wasn’t letting this go. “You need to find your sister, right?” I looked toward the others. “You need a way in…let me be that way.”

Riven shook his head. Goddamn stubborn man. Didn’t he see what I was doing here? Didn’t he see why—

The image slammed into me. Dark. Erotic. Desperate.

Him and me and all the dark, depraved things he’d done.

“It’s not the craziest decision,” Kane offered.

“No.” Riven scowled, this time with a shake of his head. “I’m not having her at the mercy of those bastards.”

“But I wouldn’t be,” I whispered, and took a step toward him. “I would be at yours.”

The scowl disappeared.

“You need to train someone, right?” I murmured, searching his eyes. “So, train me.”

“Jesus,” Kane whispered.

But it was Riven I focused on. Riven was the one who’d make the call. He flinched, his face paling as he shook his head. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”

“Don’t I?” I slowly sank to my knees in front of him.

In my head, I saw all the women he’d touched, their mouths, lips, breasts, his fingers deep in their pussies as he forced them to obey his every debased whim. I wanted to be that for him. I stared at that crisp black shirt, then the gleaming buckle of his trousers. I lifted my gaze, looking up at him like a god.

Because he was in that moment.

A dark, murderous god.

I leaned forward and closed my eyes, rubbing my throbbing cheek against his cock. The warmth of my breath heated the fabric. It didn’t take long for him to respond, twitching, thickening.

“Helene…” he croaked, unleashing a bestial sound as I opened my mouth and rubbed my lips against the outline.

I pulled away and reached up, tugging his belt and working the buckle. “Use me. Train me. Let me be at your mercy.”

He grabbed my chin, stopping me. Fear blazed in his stare. “You don’t understand. There’ll be others. All of them, and it’s not just the ones here. It’ll be streamed. Anyone could be watching.”

“Then let them watch.” I was past the point of caring. All I wanted was him. I opened my mouth, pressing it over the head of his cock. “You want to do this with one of them out there, or me?”

It was that simple.

He moved fast, grasped my arms and dragged me upward until I stared into his eyes. “Tell me again. Tell me you want to do this.”

There we were…

Not a no.

He was thinking about it.

“If you have to touch someone, force someone…train someone. Then let it be me.”

A tortured need filled those dark eyes. I reached up, brushing my thumb across his cheek. This wasn’t right…but none of this was right. I shouldn’t feel breathless around a man like Riven Cruz—I glanced at The Teacher, Kane, and The Priest, Thomas—or any of them.

But I did.

“And if we’re forced to take over, what then?” Kane stepped closer. “Will you give us the same…” he glanced at Thomas, then turned back. “Devotion.”

I swallowed hard.

“It’s not just one, Trouble,” Riven urged, his voice husky. “Think carefully before you commit to this. It has to be all three of us and it won’t just be sex, either. There’s mind control, faith control. We will take the person you think you are and bend you to our will. Are you prepared for that?”

I tried to catch my breath, meeting every gaze.

It wasn’t just my sisters’ lives on the line here. It was mine. My existence. My sanity. I met Riven’s intense stare…my heart too. Because no matter how terrifying this was…I wanted him. “Yes,” I answered. “I’m prepared for that.”

In the corner of my eye, Kane’s lips quirked.

“The mind control we have is hard,” Riven warned.

I met that debased look of hunger in Doctor Cruz’s stare. He was about to finally get what he’d wanted all along…me. “Then I guess it’s lucky I have the best doctor to take care of me.”

That smile grew wider.

“What do we do with him?” Thomas croaked, rubbing his cheek with one hand as he gestured at the body with the other.

The body stood in the way of all this.

“The woods,” Riven answered. “We hide the body, then at the first opportunity, we get it out.”

“And how do you suggest we do that?” Thomas muttered. “It’s not like we can roll it up in a rug and stuff it in the trunk of the car.”

Riven gave a snarl and instantly the tension between us changed. We were no longer fighting to figure out a plan. We now had one to execute. I glanced back at the body. If there was anything Riven did well, it was that.

“Let me go out and make sure it’s all clear.” Thomas headed for the external door.

“Wait,” I said, stopping them cold. They all turned to me. “We have one slight problem.”

“And what’s that?” Riven asked.

“If we need me to be a Daughter, that means I have to take someone’s place.”

“Or we alter the books,” Kane offered, turning to Riven. “Can we do that? Add another asset?”

My gut clenched with that word. Asset.

“If that bastard doesn’t have it locked down, we could try.”

“The Hunter?” Thomas offered. “He could do it.”

“I haven’t contacted him in days.”

Kane gave a nod. “Then do so, brother. Time is running out.”

Riven met my gaze, then turned away, pulled his cell from his pocket, and started typing.

“Let’s do this.” Thomas limped carefully toward the external door, hit the lock, and carefully pushed it open.

Daylight streamed in, along with the heady scent of the forest. I took a step closer, drawn by the allure of freedom.

“Okay,” Riven muttered. “It’s done.”

“He’s hacked it already?” I asked.

Riven just shook his head. “No. I message and we wait.”

My stomach clenched. “So how do we know this Hunter will actually be able to do the job?”

Kane glanced at Riven. Something passed between them.

“We don’t.” Riven stepped toward the body. “Kane, you grab the arms.”

“Why the fuck do I get the heavy end?”

“Because.” Riven gave his brother a savage smirk. “That’s what you get for pissing me the hell off.”

I scowled, my gaze bouncing between them. The edge of Kane’s lips twitched before he shot me a glance and muttered. “Fine, have the ass end, see if I care. Just make sure you’re the professional when I start with Helene.”

There was a flicker of anger in Riven’s eyes.

Oh shit.

I hadn’t thought about that. Rivalry and rage were about to go hand in hand…and I was in the middle of it all.

Riven grabbed the ankles of the dead guard. Kane struggled, heaving his torso up from the floor. I made awkward movements with my hands, wanting to help as Kane stumbled, almost dropping the sick bastard, until he righted himself.

But the truth was, it was too much fun watching them shove and snarl, glaring at each other as they staggered toward the open door. I followed them out, stepped down from the side entrance of The Order, and headed for the cover of the trees.

We made our way as far as we dared, until they dropped him with a thud against a large ash tree. “Remember where the hell we put him,” Riven gasped, out of breath, and shot Thomas a glare. “Or you’ll be the one explaining his damn broken neck when he’s found.”

Thomas flinched, glaring at the body. “Hopefully, the wolves will eat him, then we won’t have to worry about a damn thing.”

Riven gave a chuff and turned back, his gaze finding mine. “Let’s go, Trouble. You need to shower and get dressed.”

Dressed.

He means in clothes fit for a Daughter.

He watched my every reaction, testing me.

“You get me the clothes, Principal, and I’ll wear them.”

His gaze darkened at the use of his title.

But that’s what he was now…to me, that was.

The Principal.

The Teacher.

The Priest.

And now, a Daughter.

We all had a role to play. The only question was, could we pull it off? I hoped we could. Because now we had more than our sisters’ lives on the line…we had ours.

“Wait.” Kane stopped us.

I turned back to him, then lifted my gaze. His stare penetrated all the way through me, driving a quiver of fear deep. He stepped closer, stopping only when he towered over me. “If we’re going to do this, then we need to do it properly.”

He reached out, grabbed the bottom edge of my shirt, and yanked. The need to slap his hand away was overwhelming. Instead, I grabbed his hand, stopping him. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

His smirk pissed me off. “Looking for the perfect place.”

“For what?”

He looked up to Riven, then turned back to me. “To insert a tracking device.”

My blood turned cold. For a second, I couldn’t breathe. You do this and there’s no escaping them. The words gripped me.

“You want this, right, Helene?” Kane urged, taking one more step closer. His grip on my shirt twisted until he cupped my breast.

“Yes.” I answered, my tone empty.

“Good.” He smiled, those green eyes glinting. “I’ll try to be careful.”

He was careful, leading me to the kitchen counter. Riven stood by and watched as his brother lifted me. He reached around me, unhooking my bra with a single twist of his hand.

“Lie down.” He commanded and a shiver raced up my spine with the tone. “I’ll be back in a moment.”

He disappeared into his bedroom. I did as he instructed, lowering my head to the hard surface. Faint sounds came as bathroom drawers opened and closed before the rush of running water followed. I listened to the sound of scrubbing before the rush of water once more, and when he returned his hands were cleaned, carrying items I couldn’t quite see.

I craned my neck as he placed a small pack of cotton balls, a bottle of iodine, a single-use scalpel, and a small device in a tiny, clear canister at my side.

“Now, I’m sure you already know this is going to leave a small scar.” Kane murmured, opening the pack of cotton balls.

I just looked up at the ceiling, my heart pounding. “Just get on with it.”

There was that smirk again in the corner of my eye. He tugged up my shirt as Riven came closer.

“Hey.” Riven grabbed my chin and turned my head to him. “Christ, you’re beautiful.” He whispered, staring at me.

My pulse stuttered as he lowered his head and carefully kissed me. My mind was so busy racing from the effect of his mouth that I barely felt the sting at first.

“Oww.” I hissed and jerked away to look down.

Kane’s focus was on his hands as he moved to my side and grabbed a set of tweezers to push the tiny device into the small cut he’d made.

“One…small…stitch.” He murmured, working fast and carefully.

His skills would make any surgeon proud. I knew he was a doctor of the mind, but the way he worked made me realize he was so much more.

“There.” He gave one tiny tug, making me wince before he lifted his head. “All done.”

All done? Maybe for him…but this was only the start for me. I was not only about to be put through the most brutal of mind control…I was also tracked for the rest of my life, or at least until I could get that thing out of me.

And I wanted it out.

Almost as much as I wanted this all to be over.