Shackled (The Lord Series) by Carlos
241. Ansel - Revelations II

The sound of my boots on the wooden floor has Rin come out of the living room with his handgun pointing at me.

"You're finally awake," Rin says before putting his gun away. "We were starting to get worried about you, especially with your back all torn open. I'm glad to see you are better." Rin's tone is different then usual; his eyes are full of rage, his face a mask of pain. "I have a habit of healing fast." My blood-brothers already know it. "What happened to you?" I ask.

Rin's eyes flash red. "The Elders finally agreed to war against the Dukes," he replies before walking back into the living room. Unfortunately, it took yet another bloodshed for the Elders to understand that war is the only way to put the Dukes in their place once and for all."

Some serious shit must have happened while I was asleep, I think as I enter the living room.

Jasper is sitting in an armchair, with his left leg-which is in a cast from the knee down to the ankle-propped on the coffee table. Did he fall and break it? What if Speckles kicked him? I insisted more than once to do a follow-up on his knee, but he is just as stubborn as any man when it comes to doctors.

The TV is turned on and Rueben and Steven are pretending to watch some random show. Diva is sitting on the couch next to them while Tyson is standing in front of the fireplace, his back to me.

Seeing their long faces, I can't stop myself from asking, "Who died?"

Tyson's shoulders tense. "Levi, Isak, and Gavin."

He is joking, right? He has to. "You're lying."

Right?

I look around the room. Rin, who is cleaning his gun at the table, curses under his breath while the others stare into space.

"It can't be real," I say, hoping it's a bad prank. When no one answers, I ask, "What in Lucifer's name just happened?"

Rueben snaps his head in my direction and proceeds to tell me what happened on the farm the night Olivia and I went to the Catacombs. The details are gruesome, and learning how men whom I considered friends died makes my demon want to seek revenge.

The blood on the pasture belongs to Levi and Gavin and Isak.

Before Rueben can finish telling me what transpired the night Senator Deymar came here, I blurt out, "Where is Olivia?"

Rueben turns white as a piece of paper. "Didn't you hear what I told you about Mose? Or Alma? Senator Deymar took them!" he tries to deflect the question, but I'm not having it.

"I heard you, but right now, Olivia is more important. And more vulnerable. Mose knows how to take care of himself while Alma is capable of ripping Senator Deymar's heart out if his chest with her bare hands. But Olivia? She's still a delicate butterfly."

Tyson turns on his heels-a pair of sunglasses covering his eyes while all his fingers are wrapped in bandages. "Where the fuck is my woman?" he growls at Rueben.

Jasper-who tries to stand but falls back in the armchair-snarls, "You said she was home taking care of Ansel, and that's why she couldn't come to the hospital to see us."

Rueben doesn't reply, and a look of guilt appears on his face. "What the fuck did you do?" I snap at him.

Steven rubs his temples. "She ran away."

My demon growls in anger, demanding to look for her. Pushing him back is hard, but if I lose control of him and the others see his true form, it will get me killed. *Then, who will protect Olivia?* Asking him that is enough to make him back down for the moment.

Jasper swears out loud.

It takes me just two long strides to get to the couch and grab Steven by the front of his black hoodie. "Say that again."

Rueben puts his hand on my arm. "Steven didn't do anything. It's my fault. I didn't say anything because I thought I would find her by now."

Tyson navigates his way to the couch while I turn my attention to Rueben. "What the fuck did you do to her this time?"

Rueben looks like he wants to argue, but then he says, "I took all my frustration out on her. I didn't want to admit to myself that I failed everyone, so I wanted to blame someone else for it. Everything was still fresh, and then she entered the house, I yelled at her.... I didn't think she would run away."

Rin puts his gun on the table. "You told her to get the fuck out of your house. What did you expect?"

Steven exhales loudly. "We all snapped at her. I would have kept my mouth closed, but she said something about bringing back my brother, and I saw red in front of my eyes."

I punch Rueben so hard that I break his nose. His head snaps back. "I fucking swear that I'll kill you if something happens to her." Rueben covers his nose with his sleeve. I look first at Jasper then at Tyson-who stops close to the couch. "Did you two know about this?" I'll fucking beat the shit out of them if they had anything to do with Olivia running away. If she ran away.