Free Raven's Rose (Charity Series Book 3) by DeAnna Kinney Page B

with shock and disappointment filled him, suffocating him.
                  “So, what is your final decision? Are you joining us, or are you dying today?”
                  Raven slowly peered up at his once beloved brother, a sadistic smile creeping on his face. “It looks like I am dying.”
                  Anger, disbelief, and a twinge of sadness flashed through Griffin’s eyes before he straightened his shoulders, turned on his heels, and left the room. “Bring him,” he said before he disappeared from sight.
                  The two vampires picked him up by his arms and dragged him from the room. He spotted Cassie in the hallway, crouched down against the wall, crying. When they reached the top of the stairs, instead of carrying him down, they threw him. He rolled violently down the stairs, crashing hard to the floor below. He heard a woman scream. “Sophia,” he whispered just before everything went black.
                                             * * * * * *
    Rose watched in horror as they lifted Raven’s limp body and carried it out the front door. They dragged her behind him, taking them into the center of the backyard and stopping in front of a huge tree. She watched with tears spilling from her eyes as they tied him to the big tree with chains covering his entire body. His head dangled loosely as though he was already dead, but Rose knew better. Raven was a fighter. He was the strongest man she knew. But studying him now made her heart lose hope. He looked like a shell of the man she loved; the vibrant and passionate man from only a few days ago. He was paler than she’d ever seen him. His long hair wasn’t silky and straight like usual, but messy, bloody, and plastered to his head. His lips were not the lovely shade of red as before but white, dry, and cracking. Things were looking so bad. She glanced up at the sky just as the sun began to appear. It wouldn’t be long before this part of the yard was drenched in sunlight.
                  She became desperate. “Please, Griffin. Please let us go. He’s your brother.”
                  “Silence! You know nothing of me, or what he has done to our family. He deserves this. He did this! Not me! And you are next! Tie her to that tree over there.” Then he smirked at her. “So she has a front row seat to the barbeque.”
                  She gasped and knew then that this man was pure evil.
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    Raven’s eyes flickered open but quickly shut. It felt like daggers were being shot through his skin. He tried again, forcing his dry eyes to open. It took him a moment to recognize where he was. But once he did, he filled with dread. He was tied to the huge tree in the backyard, and the now awakened sun was encroaching toward him very slowly. He heard whimpering and quickly scanned to find his Sophia tied to the opposite tree. “Sophia,” he tried to say, but his vocal cords were dried shut.
    By her expression she appeared to know what he was trying to say. “Oh, Raven,” was all she said before succumbing to the tears.
    It broke his heart to see her cry. He knew how helpless she must feel. He felt it himself. He made an attempt to break free but nothing happened. He tried again, but he was just making things worse. He felt like if he tried again his bones would snap. Raven heard laughter and turned to see his entire coven, along with many others he recognized from a fellow coven, seated under a constructed tent, safe from the rays of the sun.
    “You can stop this anytime you feel like it, Raven. You can help us destroy the werewolves, or you can destroy yourself.”
    Raven tuned him out. He knew Griffin was going to kill Sophia and the baby no matter his choice. He could not live without them—he would not. His choice was simple. If he