Bound By Blood: (The Betrayed Series Book 2) Read Free

are being manned by two equally burly and very angry men. Fighting the urge to sigh, my shoulders slump forward as my mother’s voice washes over me. The small bit of hope I’d had of escaping this nightmare is quickly fleeting, seeing how heavily guarded the place is.
    “I should have never let you stay with Kyle. He’s clearly coddled you all these years. I mean, look at you.”
    The mention of my father’s name has me twitching on the cushion. Why would she even mention him? Why would she even care that I was left behind? I don’t understand. Coddled? Confusion sets in, muddling my thoughts further.
    She continues her tirade as if I’m not even present. “You would think that you’d at least be grateful. Especially considering what I’m offering you.”
    Mad . . . She’s clearly mad. It’s the only explanation. I can’t fathom what in the hell is going on. She has to be off her damn rocker. I mean, she always has been, but this is a new level of crazy.
    Leaning forward, she grasps my chin, crushing it in a bruising grip so hard my eyes swell with tears. “Well, things are about to change, my dear.”
    “I-I don’t understand.” My voice is thick, strained with the force of my unshed tears.
    “Of course you don’t,” she sneers, her agitation clear.
    A brief surge of anger, resentment, and irritation courses through my veins, giving me the courage to fuel my words. “Then why don’t you enlighten me?”
    Slamming her hand down on the table, she leans forward, closing the gap between us.
    Her voice is deathly quiet as she says, “You would do well to remember who you are talking to, Ttal. I could end you in an instant.”
    The sinking feeling in my stomach grows, spreading throughout my body. This is the Min Sun-ye Parker I remember. She’s the woman capable of torturing her ten-year-old daughter until she bled for hours on end. Selling her to the highest bidder and laughing as they had their way with her, saying she was “learning her place.” Shudders begin to wrack my body as I sit staring into the soulless eyes peering down at me. God, what am I going to do?
    How am I going to get out of this? What does she even want with me? Feeling like there is nothing left to lose, I ask the one question I need an answer to.
    “What do you want with me?”
    The feral smile that spreads across her painted lips has goosebumps rising along my arms.
    “I want you to renounce your American heritage and join me.”
    Time slows for a moment as I process her words. All of the air is forced from my lungs as I peer into her black eyes, looking for any signs of untruth. My chest tightens, the burning in my lungs from oxygen deprivation signaling that I’ve still yet to take a breath. Blinking several times, I inhale once before asking, “Y-You w-want me to what?”
    “You heard me, Ttal. I want you to leave your father. Stay here and join me.”
    “I-I don’t understand.” My words stammer, as they tumble out of my mouth.
    Huffing, my mother sits down on her cushion, pinning me with her glare.
    “Listen closely, girl. You will forget about going back to America. You will stay here where I will formally train you to take over the family business. Once you’ve been trained, you will join me and rule at my side until I step down. I will find you the perfect suitor, and you will marry and produce children to continue our legacy. We are all bound by blood to continue in our traditions. It’s been this way for generations. Do I make myself clear?”
    An uncontrollable trembling begins in my legs, working its way up my torso. Images begin dancing through my mind one by one just as my mother described. Being paraded around to different suitors, which really means auctioned off to the highest bidder. Forced to procreate with him and have his children. My stomach hardens, clenching as I gulp in large breaths, trying to shake the awful visions away. Alex’s words from the butterfly observatory float through my