Page 9 of Thorns of Deceit

I let out an exasperated breath. “Just skip that part.”

He shook his head with disapproval. “I’m afraid I must insist. This is a holy union, not a handshake agreement.”

“Fine,” I gritted. “Raven, I promise to protect you, to care for you, until my dying breath.”

All eyes turned to the bride while she stared at me for several heartbeats. Finally, she said, “I promise to survive this and your criminally insane family.”

“Well,” Kyran muttered, “those are some heartwarming vows. I think I’ll hold off on marriage for the foreseeable future.”

“Shut up,” Tyran said.

“This can only end badly,” I said flatly.

The priest shut his little book and declared, “By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

Raven shot me a glare. “Don’t even think about it. We’ll pretend this never happened.”

It was then that I realized she didn’t seem to understand the phrase “till death do you part” was quite literal in our world.

“A kiss must happen to seal the deal.” The priest huffed, clearly disturbed at the way this ceremony was unfolding.

Leaning forward, I grabbed her chin and forced her to look at me. I opened my mouth, raking my teeth across her bottom lip, before I bit down.

Hard enough to mark her. Hard enough to make her moan.

FIVE

RAVEN

Igot married while my mother slept off her bender in the next room. That should be the title of our wedding album.

The priest rushed out with a soft click of the door behind him, leaving me with a throbbing head and a mess of emotions. I felt disoriented, unable to comprehend the string of events that’d led me to this moment. Was it really mere hours ago that I’d been getting ready for my waitressing shift? And now, here I stood, my hand pressing into my swollen lips, wondering what the hell just happened. It hadn’t been a simple kind of kiss—no. It was the kind that branded you. Scorched you.

My inner thighs trembled and my panties were drenched despite all of this being wrong.

I didn’t know what to do or where to go from here. So I stood there numbly, lost in my once-familiar apartment, unsure what my next step should be.

“Go say goodbye to your mother,” Aiden instructed, and, as if in a daze, I followed his command. With unsteady legs, I entered my mother’s bedroom and found her sprawled on the mattress, the pajamas she’d been wearing for almost two days hanginglimply off her gaunt frame. Her hair was a tangled mess and in dire need of a brush.

I kneeled on the floor next to the bed and combed my fingers through her strands as best I could.

“Oh, Mom, what are we going to do?” I whispered softly, the smell of alcohol wafting off of her like poisonous fumes. “I really need you right now.”

She didn’t stir, and I knew it was pointless to ask her for help. She needed my help.

“Mom,” I rasped, nudging her lightly. “Mom.”

“Mmm.”

She didn’t open her eyes.

“Mom, can you hear me?” I nudged her again, the ring on my finger a reminder of the fucked-up night I’d had. “Please, Mom.”

“Hmhm.”

I let out a frustrated breath, realizing the chances of her waking up were becoming slimmer by the second.

“I have to go, but I’ll be back to check on you.” I sighed, wrapping my arms around her for a hug, even though she didn’t have the strength to return it. She wouldn’t even remember it, for God’s sake. “I’ll be back. Okay?”