Shackled (The Lord Series) by Carlos
181. Olivia - New friend IV

For a moment, Alma's expression turns sad but she quickly puts on a mask of indifference. The others might not have noticed it, but after years in the Celestial Heaven, it is easy for me to pick up on little things like these.

"Why the hell are you here, Alma? And what about the restaurant?" Mose asks.

Alma shrugs and removes her coat, revealing a sparkly black dress. "There's a snowstorm outside, people tend to stay inside. Since there was nothing for me to do at home, I decided to check up on you guys. Especially on Olivia since I don't trust Rueben to treat her right."

Mose runs a hand across his face. "What if you had an accident?"

"I didn't," Alma casually replies.

"You should have stayed home!" Mose snaps at her.

Alma tilts her head to the side. "I am free to do as I wish."

"Not on my land!" Rueben spits his words at Alma.

"I'll leave once I have had breakfast and spoken to Olivia in private," Alma dismisses Rueben with a flick of her wrist.

It's the first time I've seen a woman speak like this to a group of blood-brothers. If she had had this attitude with Jason and his friends, he would have beaten her until she learned to keep her mouth closed. Even before everything went to hell, I didn't dare speak like that. The first and only time I dared to talk back, my father slapped me so hard I had to wear makeup at school for the first time to conceal the bruise on my face.

"If you want breakfast, next time, call before dropping by," Mose sneers at Alma.

"There won't be a next time. I forbid you from coming here again. And if you do, I will shoot your sorry ass," Rueben threatens Alma.

"I am sure the Elders would love to know more about Olivia," Alma casually says.

Before Rueben can say anything else, Ansel chimes in, "I am not sure what you think is going on here, but I assure you Olivia is in good hands. Like she said, we saved her from a very bad situation. Her brother, who is now in our hands, is the one responsible for the state Olivia is in."

They have Jason?

If that is true, that's why he hasn't taken me away from here. Because Rueben has him held captive. But where? I need to find him and ask him to take me as far as possible from here. If it was bad before without the drugs, now with the bond

it's even worse. I jumped into Ansel's arms without hesitation. If Tyson and Rueben hate me now, when they learn about what Ansel did, they will blame it on me. And if they take me to the shed again....

A shiver runs through my whole body and Ansel kisses my forehead. Tyson clenches his free hand, his knuckles turning white. Rueben's eyes turn red with anger.

I can't stay here.

Ansel takes me to the sink and helps me clean my hands while Mose takes care of the floor. "You cut yourself again. I am starting to believe you are doing it on purpose," Ansel sighs.

"You think I like to get hurt?" The question leaves my lips before I even register what I said.

"I don't know, you tell me." He puts his lips against my ear, "My bonded."

As Ansel's bonded I am forced to do as he says. In the eyes of God, Lords and Dukes, he is my... husband. Out of all women, why did he have to choose me?

"Why?" I dare ask.

"Later," Ansel says as he grabs a clean hand towel and dries the water from my skin before grabbing the first aid kit.

Mose finishes cleaning the floor. "Since fried rice is no longer an option, I am thinking about bacon and eggs."

Tyson lets go of Diva and sits at the table while the dog, after sniffing the floor, leaves the kitchen.

"And cheese sandwiches," I add. Feeling *him* staring at me, I suck my bottom lip into my mouth. I really need to keep my mouth closed. Despite desperately trying to forget *him*, I still remember small things, like his favorite color or how he pretends he dislikes reading when, in reality, he likes it just as much as I do. "Can I go lie down? I don't feel that good," I try to find an excuse to not be in the same room as *him* anymore.

Ansel finishes putting bandaids on my cuts and wraps an arm around my shoulders. "Can you hold on until this nosey bitch leaves?" he asks.

"Who are you calling a nosey bitch?" Alma hisses. "And if Olivia wants to go rest, then that's what she will do."

Rueben goes to the fridge and takes a beer from it. I am pretty sure I've only seen him drink beer since I got here. Do they have the fridge filled with bottles of beer? Else, I don't understand how he can drink alcohol daily. What if they have other types of booze in here? It is worth an inspection when everyone is sleeping. Maybe if I am drunk enough, I will have enough courage to break the bond while it is still fragile. When Camila and I were learning about hellstars, we found out a lot of stuff that is hidden from us, women. Well, Camila knew more about the bond since her father was a Priest and he didn't leave her in the dark like my father did with me. The bond can break if I refuse to accept Ansel as my Lord. As my bonded. For now, I won't do anything reckless. Each time I acted before thinking, I ended up ruining my life.