I Belong To My Three Forbidden Masters

Chapter 102: Chapter 102

Lysander’s pov

The silence that followed the sickening snap of bone felt so unreal.

Gideon’s body slumped limply against the iron chains binding him to the wooden chair. His head hung at an unnatural angle, his face drained of color, those sadistic pale eyes staring blankly at the wet cobblestones beneath his boots.

I stood near the center of the dark cell, staring at the corpse of the man who had broken into my bedroom, threatened my mother, blackmailed me, and tried to ruin every shred of my dignity on a public stream.

I searched deep inside my chest for a wave of suffocating guilt, a sudden pang of moral remorse, or even a flicker of stomach-turning nausea or even waited for the horror to hit me.

But to my surprise, nothing came.

Instead, a strange, overwhelming lightness spread slowly through my limbs. The crushing weight that had rested on my chest since my mother first married Darius simply evaporated into the cold dungeon air.

For the first time in my memory, I could draw a full breath without feeling like the air was laced with poison.

BZZZ. BZZZ. BZZZ.

The phone on the table kept vibrating harshly, filling in the silence.

Drake’s screen illuminated the surrounding shadows with a brilliant blue glow, displaying Darius’s name across the top of the screen. The line timed out, only for the device to immediately begin buzzing again two seconds later.

BZZZ. BZZZ. BZZZ.

Darius was calling back over and over, his frantic, desperate attempts to reach the room echoing off the stone walls like the maddening hum of a trapped insect.

I could imagine him sitting in the silence, completely powerless, screaming into a void he could no longer control.

Drake didn’t even turn his head toward the glowing display. He casually adjusted the cuffs of his dark dress shirt, rolling them down over his forearms slowly.

He gestured to the tall guard standing motionless in the shadows near the entrance.

”Take the phone,” he commanded flatly. ”Take it up to the cliff edge and throw it down into the mountain pass.”

”Yes, sir,” the guard barked, stepping forward with a sharp, disciplined salute. He scooped the vibrating device off the stand and marched out into the dark corridor, the heavy thud of his combat boots fading down the hall until the distant ringing stopped completely.

My body started to shake from the delayed surge of adrenaline finally washing out of my bloodstream, leaving my muscles weak, heavy, and unstable. My knees buckled slightly, my heels slipping half an inch against the damp, cold stone floor.

Before I could fall, two broad, cool arms wrapped securely around my waist, lifting me effortlessly off my feet and pulling me flush against a chest that felt like solid marble.

Drake gathered me into his embrace, anchoring my hips against his frame and cradling the back of my head with his massive palm.

He pressed my face directly into the warm crook of his neck, I inhaled till the I took in all his scent till it calmed me.

The heavy, protective pulse of the Mating Bond flared bright and fierce in my chest, washing over my nervous system and banishing every lingering trace of the cold cell.

”I’ve got you,” he whispered against my temple, his low voice a steady, rumbling vibration that settled deep into my bones. ”You’re safe. It is finally over, little bird.”

I clutched the lapels of his tailored dark jacket with both hands, my fingers digging tight into the fabric as hot tears finally pricked the corners of my eyes.

”I... I thought I would feel terrible,” I rasped out, my voice sounding tiny, raw, and completely exhausted against his skin. ”I thought I’d hate watching it. He was... he was my stepbrother for years, Drake. We grew up together at some point, I never imagined it would end like this.”

His grip on me didn’t loosen, instead his thumb slowly rubbed soothing circles into the sensitive skin right behind my ear.

”Gideon was a predator, Lysander,” he deadpanned, his dark red eyes looking down into mine with an unshakeable, ancient clarity that left no room for doubt.

”He was never going to stop. If he had walked out of this place alive today, he would have hunted you to the ends of the earth. He would have used your mother, your past, your fear, and your body until there was nothing left of you to save. Ending his life was not an act of malice. It was necessary protection.”

I closed my eyes, letting the heavy truth of his words sink deep into my mind. The cold reality made me certain that Drake was right.

Gideon was a disease that would have devoured my life piece by piece. If he hadn’t been stopped here, tonight, he would have spent every waking moment trying to force his dominance onto me, trying to drag me back into the dark house I had barely escaped.

”I know,” I whispered, resting my forehead against the cool line of his collarbone, letting out a long, shaky breath I felt like I’d been holding for years. ”I still... a small part of me feels strange that it had to end in blood. But I’m glad he’s gone. I’m glad he can’t touch me ever again.”

Drake leaned down, pressing a firm, lingering kiss directly against the crown of my head, his fangs grazing my scalp in a silent, possessive pledge of absolute protection.

”Good,” Drake purred, his grip on my waist shifting as he adjusted my weight effortlessly in his arms, lifting me higher against his chest. ”Now, put him and his rotted family out of your mind entirely. We are leaving this place.”

I looked up at him through wet, dark eyelashes, my hands resting against his chest. ”Where are we going?”

A slow, dark, unbelievably handsome smile touched the corners of Drake’s lips, his red eyes gleaming with a possessive, intense heat that sent a sudden, sharp flutter straight to my lower stomach.

”Upstairs,” Drake murmured, turning on his heel and carrying me toward the shattered doorway of the cell.

”I have so much planned for you tonight, little bird. And now that the trash has been cleared from our sanctuary, we have all the time in the world to enjoy ourselves.”