Chapter 148
Astrid POV
Kael and Toren had run away so fast that I was sure that they were nowhere near me. Aiden had followed them, running just as fast. I was more than puzzled to see them sprinting with such incredible speed. I had never seen people running like that. But more than that. The thought of Xander being armed and attacking them horrified me to the core.
My turbulent emotions were replaced with terror when Xander had me against his chest. He was holding a knife to my neck, and I dared not move. Tears welled in my eyes. Not only did I put myself in jeopardy, I had put Kael, Toren and Aiden also in major trouble.
“We need to talk,” Xander hissed as he walked back with me. “I’ve been trying to find you and see what I got? How could you even think that you could elude me, bitch?”
My hands went to his forearm, my heart thundering in my ribcage so wildly that had it not been in the confines of my ribs, it would have leapt out. Or was it that something wanted to break free of me? The feeling was crazy. My body broke in a cold sweat. The brothers must have gone far away. Even if I died at the hands of my maniac brother, I was satisfied that I had saved them.
“I told you there is nothing to talk about,” I whispered in a hoarse voice.
“There is!” he shouted, his chest rising and falling in rage. “That house belongs to my father, and not you or that bullshit of your mother!”
I clenched my teeth. “Xander,” I said, trying to drill logic into his brain. “You were never there when dad built our house. You didn’t visit us once unless you needed money. How can you think it is your house?” I would not give him my place, my home, which my parents had built with so much love and affection. My father was a construction worker, and he saved every penny for us. His love for my mom and me was immense. I knew that if Xander got hold of the house, he would destroy it bit by bit by selling every piece to cater his growing addiction. “I won’t give it to you,” I said in a firm voice.
He pressed the knife into the neck, letting out a sinister chuckle. “On the risk of dying?”
My skin sliced, and warm blood trickled down my neck. “You won’t kill me, Xander,” I said. “Because if you kill me, you’ll never get that house.” “Oh, you are so wrong baby sister!” he scorned. “I’m gonna kill you, and enjoy seeing you bleeding to death. Then I’m going to carve that heart out and feed it to the dogs.”
I took a deep breath to steady myself. “I am seventeen. That house doesn’t belong to me legally until I turn eighteen.”
For a moment, he stilled. “You’re lying,” he hissed, gripping my shoulder with his free hand so tightly that I winced in pain.
“Why will I?” I offered him the truth.
A second later, he scoffed. “I know you’re turning eighteen in a week. Till that time, you are going to stay with me in my nice little basement.” Dread plummeted in my stomach. He was going to kidnap me and lock me in his basement. Once I sign all the papers in his name, he would kill me. “No!” I rasped.
“Oh, yes!” he grinned. “Now you know you can’t mess with your older brother.”
“You aren’t my brother!” I snapped.
“Shut the fuck up!” he shouted and started pulling me back.
Suddenly, I heard heavy footfalls approaching us. In a flash of a second, I saw Kael and Aiden in front of me with a large black wolf who was at least six feet tall. And he was walking in the middle of two brothers.
It was the first time I had seen such an enormous wolf. I was filled with a mix of awe and terror. Fear gripped my heart, seeing him with Kael and Aiden. Why did they act as though the wolf posed no threat and was their companion?
Xander gulped, looking at the wolf. He pressed me against his chest. “Who are you?” he said, his voice dusted with fear.
“Run, Kael!” I said through my hoarse throat. “Don’t come near me. Please,” I begged, my gaze darting to the wolf. My chin quivered as my gaze darted between the wolf and Kael, and Aiden.
“Get away from her,” Kael said in an icy voice that made me shiver.
Xander licked his lips. “No,” he replied, his eyes not faltering from the wolf.
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2:51PM
Chapter 148
“Get away from her before I do something nasty with you,” Kael said, clenching his fist.
His dark eyes flashed amber. Or did I imagine it? An animalistic growl vibrated in his chest. His sharp canines that I used to find attractive were now sharper and had slipped out of his gums, puncturing his lower lips. The sight should’ve filled me with horror, but I found it… enticing. I knew what was wrong with me, but what was wrong with Kael?
I could feel Xander’s heart drumming against my skin in raw fear. “Fuck off!” he hissed through his fright.
It all happened in a flash of a moment. Kael tipped his head up and roared. When he looked at us again, his eyes were flashing golden and then he leapt towards us, landing on his paws. His body stretched and lengthened midair as fur rippled on his skin.
Blood drained from my face when I saw that instead of Kael, a massive black wolf standing right in front of us, his face dipped low, his lips peeled back and his maw open. He let out a deafening snarl.
My heart pounded like a drum in a thunderstorm as I stood there in complete shock, refusing to let the realization hit me.
My gaze went to the identical wolf who was standing behind Kael, and if my guess was correct, that was Toren. Aiden just stood next to Toren’s wolf with his arms crossed across his chest. He said, “Xander, you have two minutes to leave Astrid. If you don’t, these two will brutally tear you apart, limb by limb.”
I think Xander pissed in his pants. His grip on me loosened. I was so shocked that my feet didn’t move. All I could do was stare at the most beautiful wolves I’d ever witnessed. No. Werewolves. I wanted to reach Kael’s wolf and run my hands in his fur.
Every fantasy came true. It was as if I had been plucked from reality and dropped into the pages of a storybook. Something inside me stirred, and my vision turned blurry. Shouldn’t I be bolting in fear?
Kael’s wolf closed the small distance between us, towering over Xander. Just as he was about to crush Xander’s head, a car behind us unexpectedly revved its engine, shattering the silence and distracting him.
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