BLOODHOUNDS #5: THE MONSTER

Chapter 29 - LESSONS

Anastasia Creed

I've always been jealous of people who have a perfect life. I hate to see people smiling and laughing with their loved ones. I'm not fond of Christmas, Thanksgiving, Valentine's and Birthdays. I hate them all. All I ever wanted was a family to come home to and be happy.

I want to be with someone. I want to have a family with that someone.

But all the men I've been with always wanted something from me. Asher is indeed one of them. He confused me, but I've already decided not to play along with his game. I know I'll only get hurt in the end.

"Do you realize that you have never done this before?" Owen said as I leaned my body to him.

"Yeah."

"Do you like that much?"

"No."

"You're lying."

"No."

"You like him..."

"No!"

"You love him then..."

"I'm going to kill you." I turned to him, and he looked away instantly.

"Ana, you realize you're making me act with you to make him jealous." I let out a sigh.

"I'm teaching him a lesson."

"Ana..."

"What?"

"You really like him, huh?" Owen asked in a very concerning tone. I shook my head and looked down at my intertwined hands.

"We've known each other for years, and this is my first time seeing you like this."

"Like what?" I asked as I closed my eyes.

"Alive."

"Alive?"

"You know that you've been living a zombie life for years. You became an assassin young and barely lived your life." I shook my head.

"I'm still the old Ana, Owen."

"That's what you think..."

"Besides, once you reunite with your brother, you'll be—"

"He's dead." Owen stepped on the brake so hard that if I didn't wear my seatbelt, I would have died.

"What the fuck!" I turned to him, and he looked at me like his eyes would pop out of its socket.

"He's dead? How did you know?"

"I went to Miami, and he's not there. You knew I tried hard to find him, but there's no trace. Asher found out that he's dead already."

"And you believe him?" That hit me.

"I did."

"You know that your brother is not the type that can die easily." Owen knew Andreas because he was one of Morganna's lapdogs. Owen got out of her radar at the same time as I ran away from the camp. We're not close, but I know I can trust him.

"Andreas never reached out to me after he dropped me off. It was odd, but he's not the type to leave."

"There's a group called The Ravens in New York, and they've been operating at the same time as The Bloodhounds. I'm going to do a transaction next week in Texas. I bet they're willing to take you in, knowing you're one of Morganna's assassins."