His Bride

21|Cuffs

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  
Lord Lazár was dressed in a dark blue coat with a striped body. The first three buttons on the undershirt were undone, revealing an inked chest. A Russian phrase was inked on the back of his left hand. Every space on his fingers has letters tattooed on it, and his face... the left side of it has symbols tattooed from the hairline on his forehead to the bone in his jaw. His scarred face defined his right eye; the color was like an ocean bath at the highest point of the sun. Alluring.

Ngunit kabaliktaran nito ang dala niyang presensiya. Dark and Immense. Ang mga tao ay dumistansya na tila may batas na pumipigil sakanila, nagpalitan ito ng kabadong tingin bago binaba ang mga mata sa sahig. As if meeting his eyes would sentence them to execution.

Hindi ko namalayan na pinakawalan na ni Kazmus si Sergei at nakabalik na ito sa tabi ko. Kazmus smooths down his coat, wrinkled from his outburst, and his face remains angry.

"Congratulations, brother, I see you found a worthy slave," Lazár mocked, one eye darting up and down my body like the other men had done tonight. It's filthy. "I'll be a shame if she doesn't live to witness her wedding."

The loud hammering inside my chest subsided. The fear of being surrounded by dangerous people still had me rigid and panicking inside, but my mouth wasn't tied. I threw a snarl at him.

Ano bang problema ng mga criminal na ito sa mga babae? Why do they look upon my gender with disgust and loathing?

"I see you found your way to life, brother," Kazmus said instead. He appeared calm now, but his constant glare at Sergei indicated that he wasn't finished with him. "Congratulations, you found yours too."

Lazàr smirked, yanking on the leash and tugging at the woman's collar by his side.

The woman winced, staring at Lazár with razor-sharp eyes.

"This? Not gonna last long," Dismayadong umiling sa sarili si Lazár at puno ng pandidiri na tinapunan ng tingin ang babae. "A disobedient, ungrateful, filthy rat doesn't live long enough to see the sunset."

"Fuck you," she snarled, with so much venom in her voice.

This put the grin back on Lazár's scarred face. "Later again, Doll."

Binanggit ni Dashiel sa akin ang tungkol sa mga alipin. It's very normal in their world, according to him which was confirmed by Katarina who experienced it first hand, a person possessing a slave is marked as a wealthy person, powerful, and, according to Dashiel, Vor, and higher rank than that can have slaves. I vomited when he told me this, lurching over to the side room and spitting up everything I had eaten that morning.

The criminal world was twisted, stuck in a hierarchy in which the weak and poor were pawns in their sick games. Those with money were referred to as gods, looking down on everyone like dirt on their shoes.

I wasn't surprised to see Lazár with a slave, but the collar and leash... he's treating her as if she's a dog. When I looked around, it felt like a massive slap across my face as I saw their excitement, awe, disdain, and envy.

Pakiramdam ko matutumba ako at nangyari na sana iyon kung hindi lang sa kamay ni Kazmus na pumirmi sa likuran ko. His stealthy and rough hand palmed the bottom of my spine, keeping me firmly in place next to him. He knew that I was about to flee.

"Die, asshole!"

Lazár's dark chuckle sent shivers down my spine. When Lazàr yanked on the leash, the woman lurched forward, shrieking, but it quickly subsided when Lazàr cupped her jaw with the hand holding the leash. He drew the woman close to his face, his nose tip drawing lines on her cheek.