The Ritual (L.O.R.D.S., #1)

by Shantel Tessier

She slaps me across the face, making me gasp in shock. “You little ungrateful bitch …” I hear the bedroom door open behind me, and my mother takes a step back when Ryat storms out of it. He wraps his hand around her throat, slamming her back into the wall. “Never touch her again.” Yanking her from the wall, he shoves her back into it once again, making a picture of Sarah and me fall off the wall beside her, and the glass shatters on the floor next to them. Stepping into her, he asks, “Do you understand?” She nods the best she can, her hands gripping his forearm with wide eyes. He’s cutting off her air. “Blake isn’t going to answer your calls or return your texts. So quit fucking trying.” He lets go of her. “Now get the fuck out,” he commands as she rubs her neck. “I don’t take orders …” He grabs her hair, and she screams out as he drags her across the room to the front door. Opening it, he shoves her out into the hall. “You son of a …” “Don’t fucking come back.” Then he slams the door in her face and proceeds to lock it. “I’ll have the locks changed today.”

hahhaha that’s what she gets for being so mean to her daughter

I’d set the world on fire, including myself, if it meant saving her.

“I’ve always been a selfish person, Blake. Willing to do whatever it takes to get where I want to be. And out of all the things I’ve done, you are by far the greatest reward for my selfishness.”

She deserves for me to give her the life that she wants. And that is here, in this cabin, with me and our growing family.

I can’t guarantee that I’ll grow old with her, but I will spend every second of every day that I’m alive proving to her that she comes first no matter what.