Shackled (The Lord Series) by Carlos
328. Olivia - The visit II

I rush past Jasper and Mose while I scream from the top of my lungs, "Angelica!"

She and Stefan stop in the middle of the garden. I'm so happy to see that she's alright that I go directly for a hug. "You have no idea how worried I was for you," I say as my arms wrap tight around her. "Olivia?" She sounds just as surprised as I am to see her.

"Yes," I confirm.

Angelica pulls back her head to take a better look at me. "You look so much healthier now that I didn't even recognize you."

I press my lips in a thin line before saying, "It's been a month since I stopped taking drugs." I grab her arm and start leading her to the house. "Tell me about you. I can't believe you're pregnant!" Angelica turns her head around to look at Stefan, who encourages her to go with me. "I will join you after I catch up with Olivia's bondeds."

Even though we were in the same year in high school, Angelica and I barely spoke. She had her friends, and I had mine. She must be wondering why I'm acting so friendly, but I am so desperate to spend time with a woman and gossip about anything and everything that I don't care if I come off as desperate because I am.

Diva follows us up the stairs.

"Forget about the men. They will drink beer and talk about sports or about last night's meeting at the Blood Lodge."

Angelica blinks. "What happened last night?"

It wasn't that hard to catch her attention.

"Let me tell you all about it over a hot cocoa."

"Count me in. My men never tell me anything juicy. They think that because I'm pregnant, I'm suddenly too delicate to hear all the gore that happens in their world. But when it comes to fucking, I can take it," she huffs. "Mine are the same." Especially Jasper. Whenever he fucks me, it's like he's drilling my pussy. But I love being fucked by Ansel and Mose just as much.

We enter the kitchen. Diva gets under the table and lies on the floor. "Whenever you feel like gossiping, I've got your back."

Angelica suddenly squeals happily, scaring Miss Teapot, who is playing with her ball. "You have a black cat."

I pull out a chair for her to sit on, but she goes to pet Miss Teapot. "Don't tell me you are superstitious."

My comment makes Angelica laugh. "Far from it. Actually, I want to adopt a black cat, but Alekos is against it, at least while I'm pregnant. He's afraid I'll get toxoplasmosis."

I start making hot cocoa for the two of us. "He worries about you. He must love you very much."

"He is a bully who likes to spank me until I do as he says," she huffs.

I stop what I'm doing and stare at her. "Are your men abusing you?"

If that is the case, I'll let her know that she can stay here. Men who abuse women are spineless cowards.

"No, they just want things done their way all the time." She looks at the door, making sure no one is around. "Between you and me, I like the spanking. It really turns me on. And now that I'm pregnant, I'm into it even more." I chew the inside of my cheek. "I can't relate. Carlos used spanking to discipline me. I hated it."

"I shouldn't have mentioned spanking. It was really insensitive on my part."

For several seconds, no one says anything. I hate that Carlos still has so much power over me. I don't want to think of myself as a victim or a survivor. I am a...warrior. For six years, I was a prisoner, but now that I regained my freedom, my real fight is only starting. "Talking about things helps."

Angelica picks up Miss Teapot and goes over to the table with her. "So, what happened at the Blood Lodge?" She tries to change the subject.

While I put marshmallows in each mug, I debate about telling her what I did on the dais or skipping ahead to my little speech. I think about telling her about the Blight and what it means for everyone, but strong emotions are not good for her baby. "I upset the Elders."

"Your men let you go to the meetings? Alekos says they talk about wars and how to stop the Dukes and that I'll get bored."

I bite my bottom lip. It's for the best that Alekos makes her stay home. "It was very boring," I lie. I take the mugs over to the table and give one to her. "I fell asleep when one of the old farts spoke about tanks. He was not impressed."

Angel takes a sip of her mug. "I always thought that the Lords have a big orgy with the sex slaves they have there." I choke on my drink because she is not far from the truth. "Now that I know that Alekos was telling me the truth, I'll sleep better."

She is either naive, or she wants a quiet life. Because if she wants the truth about the Blood Lodge, she will end up with high blood pressure.

Wanting to know how she escaped from Carlos' hands, I say, "The last time I saw you, you were still in the Celestial Heaven."

She slides her hand across the table and gives my wrist a gentle squeeze. "I was saved by a group of..." She pauses for a moment before saying, "Women." I'm not the only one who has secrets. "They took me to a place they call the Sanctuary and helped me heal from the beating Carlos gave me."

"The Sanctuary? Wasp saved you?"

Angelica blinks. "You know about her?"

"She saved my ass several times. I'm like her."

A crease forms between her brows. "Like her? You mean a hellstar." A bright smile spreads across her face. "Welcome to the VIP Club."

My eyebrows shut up. "You're one as well?"

After she nods, we start talking about what has happened since we last saw each other. She tells me all about her bondeds and her unborn baby. The love she has for her family and life has me feeling jealous. Maybe one day, I'll experience half of her happiness.

Once she is done, I tell her how my guys found me in the forest and how nice it is to live on the farm.

As I am putting some chocolate cookies that Jasper made two days ago on a plate, Stefan and Ansel enter the kitchen.

"We have to go help Tyson and Rueben with something. Jasper and Mose will stay with you on the farm, and another group of blood-brothers are on their way to patrol the territory," Ansel casually says.

I take the plate to the table. "What's going on? And no more 'everything is fine' bullshit. I want the truth."

Stefan quirks an eyebrow. He is clearly waiting to see what Ansel says next.

Ansel sighs a bit dramatically. "Alekos has a cabin up in the mountains. He uses it for hunting." From the look on Angelica's face, it's the first time she hears about this. "He invites Lords each spring for a week of hunting and fishing. Last night, he discovered he has rats and needs help getting rid of them."

The fact that Ansel avoids eye contact makes me think he is lying about something. Since I don't have any proof, I only say, "I expect everyone to be back in time for dinner." I shouldn't make invitations without talking to the others first, but Tyson already told me I could do what I wanted. "Angelica, you and your men are also invited."

"Call me Angel. Thank you for the invitation. I'm not a good cook, but I can follow instructions."

"Don't let her make steak. She always burns it," Stefan chuckles.

Angel glares at him. "You'll be sleeping on the couch tonight."

"What if I tell you I'm working on something for you that will always remind you of our honeymoon? Will I still get kicked out of our bedroom?" Stefan asks.

After a few moments of thinking, Angel says, "Depends on what the surprise is."

The exchange between Angel and Stefan is so funny that I can't help but say, "What if he gives you one of Miss Teapot's kittens?"

Ansel blinks, confused. "She doesn't have kittens."

It's my turn to be confused.

Jasper and Mose enter the kitchen just in time to hear me say, "She is pregnant." I've known it from the moment she returned home. I have an affinity not only with horses but with animals in general. Mose's gaze falls on my stomach. He frowns deeply before looking at Angel. "Who?"

"Miss Teapot, who else?" I reply with a question. Jasper faints. "Oh my, he didn't take the news of being a grandfather very well."

**I'm working on the next update and I have to go back and forth through the chapters I wrote until because Maddox a has a lot to tell - also those who are confused about Jon and Khloe - they have been mentioned before. But no worries, the next update will refreshen everyone's memory about them. Another thing that I do want to mention is this I have 4 books in the Lords series planned, the Dukes - 3 and then I have the Experiments as well - 2 so far. All of them ar part of the same world and follow the same major plotline - Azael etc but each has its own subplot. I do need to see which one makes more sense to start next - Emily or Alma. Also, if anyone want to follow me on socials to find more about my future project, feel free to do so. Sometimes, I have giveaways**