Ruin (Rhodes #1) by Rina Kent

                             Mother sighs and kisses my forehead. “Close the door with keys and sleep tight, baby.”

                             “There’s no need for keys,” Father says. “She will not risk my wrath.”

                             Should I ask them why Grandmother hates me so much?

                             Better not, Father isn’t in his best mood.

                             With one last kiss to my forehead, Mother stands and follows Father out.

                             My hand fiddles with the pillow that almost finished my life.

                             Is it that normal for a Grandmother to suffocate her grandchild?

                             Where’s Aunt Ariel’s voice when I need it?

                             I’m sure Uncle Alexander knows. He’s Madam Rhodes’ son too. Unlike my father, I can reach out to him. He doesn’t judge me. He just listens.

                             I jump out of bed and head to his chambers.

                             Uncle Alexander understands.



                             . . . . .



                             Present,

                             My eyes pop open.

                             It’s dark. Still fucking dark. I blink a few times, and the grey walls of my room come into view.

                             Heavy breaths leave my lips. Beads of sweat cover my forehead, trickling down my neck and shoulders.

                             Dammit.

                             Why am I dreaming about my childhood these days?

                             My phone beeps. The clock reads five in the morning.

                             Dylan— Care for a hunt?

                             Does he even sleep?

                             He must be plagued by shadows of the past like me. The three of us could never forget the day of the massacre – when we lost everything. Though Tristan and Dylan are taking it a lot more seriously with the revenge scheme.

                             Lucky for Dylan, I need a distraction from the poisonous memories.

                             I type him back a response.

                             Me— Unleash the hounds. I’ll meet you in the stables.

                             When I remove my T-shirt, the material rubs against my bandaged head wound. A burn erupts. I hiss.

                             The thought that a little girl took me by surprise irritates the hell out of me.

                             ‘Go back and kill her, then,’ Aunt says in a nonchalant tone. I can almost picture her examining her nails as she speaks. ‘It would be a marvellous feast this morning.’