Shackled (The Lord Series) by Amy T

142. Jasper

Rueben has been on the edge of madness since the day I met him, but what I failed to see is that Tyson is allowing his demon to slowly consume him as well. Olivia is not the only one to have scars, her soul is bleeding, but I don’t know if the ones Tyson and Rueben have will ever heal.

Olivia looks at me with hollow eyes, absolute terror shining in them, her face covered in bruises. Not only her face but her b*dy as well, dried blood caked all over her skin. She is tied to the bed n*ked, the blanket fallen on the floor.

Rueben is not aware I know of his plan to lead us on, promising us we will someday have a bonded, while taking us to the Blood Lodge to f u c k pornais there so that we won’t complain. I suspect Tyson and Ansel don’t care if we have a wife and children, but Mose and I do. This is why I organized the hunt to force Rueben into accepting a woman into our home, but never did I suspect Tyson would torture her, breaking his promise to me.

“Jasper-

I put my right hand in the air, letting him know I don’t want to hear his bullsh i t excuses for why he did what he did to

her. He falls silent.

The house is colder than the barn. Did he turn off the heat as well?

“I don’t know what the f u c k your deal is or what trauma you have from childhood, but if I see one more bruise on her, I will grill your snakes over the barbeque and eat them in front of you,” I threaten him.

“She is nothing to us, so why are you acting like she is our woman?” I shrug, because I don’t know if I can make him understand that I have a thing for broken things. This is why I like to work with animals who have been abused. Tyson keeps talking, “She is just a w h o r e who probably has a ton of STDs. She is not worth fighting over. Besides, have you forgotten she killed Camila? Rueben will never forgive her. The moment he’s done with his sick plan, he will kill her, and there is nothing you or anyone else can do about it since he is our leader.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose.

This entire situation is all my fault. If I had never gotten the bright idea to take part in one of Malaky’s hunts, Olivia would not be here, but with some blood-brothers who wanted her as their bonded. The thought doesn’t sit well with me, because I want to see her blossom under my care and turn from a caterpillar into a beautiful butterfly.

“Regardless of what she did, you can’t take justice into your own hands.”

“But I can when it comes to the Dukes?” Tyson asks.

I turn to face him. “It’s different.”

“It’s the same thing.”

“For crying out loud, she is a woman!” Specifically, my woman, I bought her with my money from Malaky but made the stupi d mistake of saying she was a Christmas gift for Rueben.

I will find a way to claim her for myself. Not as a bonded, but as a project, I want to find out what made her put an

end to Camila.

142 Jasper

Tyson arches an eyebrow. “Are you saying we should stop punishing b i t c h e s just because they have a hole between their legs?”

Despite using the EpiPen twice, my head feels like it will explode at any moment. Ever since Christmas, I have been wondering how walnuts got into my food when we keep none in the house. Something tells me Tyson is involved somehow, but I can’t accuse him without proof.

“So, forturing her to death is your way of making her pay for something that didn’t affect you?” I question him.

“You don’t understand,”

“I understand more than you think,” I say and go over to the bed-causing a whimper to come from between Olivia’s parted l*ps-and undo the cuffs.

“What are you doing?” Tyson asks as I pick her up.

Despite how cold the house is, Olivia is burning up. Beneath all the bruises, her cheeks are feverishly red. “Taking her

to my room.”

The f u c k? Rueben will never agree with her being in our house. Neither will I, Ansel nor Mose.”

For a man who writes romance books for women, he sure hates them.

“Fine,” I say as I walk out of the room with Olivia and take her to the master bedroom. Tyson follows us. “I will move

in here with her.”

I gently lay Olivia on the bed and go over to the walk-in closet to see if there are clothes left. Some old shirts belonging to me hang from coat hangers, I grab one and step out of the closet.

“She is a f u c k i n g w h o r e, are you willing to compromise the link we have because of her?” Tyson wants to know.

“You compromised the link the moment you lied about taking care of her while I was sick because someone put. walnuts in my food,” I snarl, letting him know I am getting tired of arguing with him.

Tyson puts on a guilty face, confirming my suspicions of him tampering with my food.

“I only tried to learn what she knows about Carlos,” Tyson tries to justify his actions.

“There are other ways, better ways,” I say as I push him out of the room and lock the door, not wanting him to bother

me right now.

I walk over to the bed, and Olivia tenses, tears pooling in her eyes.

“No need to be afraid of me, Little Love,” I say as I take her in my arms and carry her to the bathroom.

A bench is in the shower, and I help her sit before I take off my clothes and turn on the hot water. “After I get you clean, I will ask Mose to take a look at you. I am worried about your fever. How many days have you been feeling sick?”

Olivia doesn’t reply, and when I crouch in front of her, she flinches. She might have taken the life of Rueben’s sister, but she deserves the chance to repent and win Rueben’s forgiveness.

142. Jasper

I cup her left check with my palm. Her chin trembles, and tears spill down her checks. I k*ss them away, her skin hot and salty beneath my l*ps. “I won’t hurt you,” I try to assure her, but her eyes, dark amber like whiskey, let me know she doesn’t trust me. More than that, she fears me.

She shivers, and I don’t know if it is because of the cold or because she is terrified I will do something to her. I have never worked with people who have trauma, and it’s clear Tyson has traumatized her, but I will use what I learned. since I started working with horses to make her trust me.

I won’t let her know of my intentions because no matter how many promises I make, she won’t believe them, but actions speak louder than words.

She is mine, and if Tyson or Rueben don’t like it, they can get the f u c k off of my farm. I have lost blood-brothers before, I will survive this time as well, but what I won’t tolerate is for women, regardless of their past, to be abused in my home.

When the water is warm, I grab the shower handle and hold it above Olivia while I grab the bottle of shower gel and open it. Even if we rarely have guests, I make sure the guest house is clean and always stocked with supplies.

I slowly remove the blood from her b*dy, and when I reach her p u s s y, I ask her to open her legs for me. She hesitates a few moments before doing as I ask and looks away from me as she coughs a few times. It sounds like she is having trouble breathing.

My eyebrows shoot up.

A rush of anger surges inside me.

“Did Tyson rape you?” She whimpers. My demon growls in anger. I grab her chin and force her gaze to mine. “Tell

me!” I demand.