Culling

Part II • Chapter V

Sean

I was beyond livid.

Once I was sure that Sang was asleep I left her to Luke and Silas. Between them, they'd make sure that she'd have no issues with discomfort, issues with being emotionally overwhelmed or any unplanned projection adventures. For now at least.

Owen was in a state that would need to be addressed eventually as well, even though he had been trying to hide his anxiety. Even the others could see that something was off with him because they kept glancing at him when they thought he wasn't looking.

We messed up.

And Sang had paid the price for it.

We thought we had been prepared for anything McCoy could throw at us, but no one expected Jade William to be in the picture. Out of everyone, it had to be her. On that note, it was suspicious timing because...

"Wasn't that fucking Jade bitch supposed to be on her twentieth honeymoon or some shit like that? What the fuck happened with that? Did she kill another husband?" Gabriel asked in a bitter tone. "Your father is a fucking psycho, Mr B, for even using her to begin with."

Owen sighed. "I don't disagree."

Me either.

Owen's father was not a very nice person, to say the least. It was his father's antics that drove Owen to strive to be perfect in everything that he did in life. After all, anything less than perfection angered Ian Blackbourne. Well, actually, a lot of things angered Ian Blackbourne, even random things that he considered to be abominations such as iced coffee and miniature poodles.

And angering Ian Blackbourne was not something people generally wanted to happen.

Juliet Blackbourne, Owen's deceased mother, learned that first hand.

Those who also learned the hard way, in a slightly different manner, was every other person that had tried to throw themselves into a marriage arrangement with Owen Blackbourne using deception and lies.

Ian Blackbourne was obsessed with his pedigree, and only the best would do for the future of the Blackbourne family. It really ticked Ian off when the nine of us became bonded brothers who had to share a match, because Ian pretty much loathed the idea of Owen having friends instead of mindless minions. The horror.

Of course, Owen was thorough. He had made sure that the methodology was irreversible. Despite his father being a psychopath, Owen always found ways to subtly strike back. The biggest test was to come though, when Owen's stance would need to become public. Something that would happen in time.

In any case, Ian would always brag to Owen about highly sought after the Blackbourne name was in our world. He always made sure to inform Owen of every case of a failed match, and used the situation as an example of why Owen couldn't afford to get close to anyone. After a lengthy dialogue Ian would then send the offending people off to McCoy.

Owen always felt some level of responsibility for every death, even if was the death of someone who had tried to trick him into a marriage and manipulate him, and even though none of it was his fault. He always took on too many responsibilities and held himself accountable for the actions of others.

That was Owen's greatest weakness.

And now Sang, someone we had been compatible with, bonded to by blood and whom Owen loved, had almost become another victim.

I was angry at McCoy and Jade all over again just thinking about it. My teeth clenched as I remembered the absolute helplessness that I had felt earlier, back when, as I knew now, Sang was being tortured.