Soul Betrayed by Katlyn Duncan Read Free Book Online

but he hadn’t become corporeal since Father told him to break it off with me.
    The most important men in my life had broken my heart into a thousand pieces and replaced it with a hole as black as the night sky. Sliding a hand over my belly I closed my eyes. Even though this baby was half Tristan’s, it would be more than half of me. It would grow to become a special part of the After.
    “Margaret,” Father called again.
    “It’s open,” I snapped.
    The door swung open and I glanced over at Father, his mouth turned downward. He crossed his arms over his chest.
    “I suppose you want me to come down for dinner?”
    “It would be nice for you to share a meal with your family at least once this week.”
    I had ordered all of my meals to be taken in my room for the past few days. I couldn’t face Tristan or Gemma. Even though Tristan and I did share a bed at night, he only came to me in the late hours of the night; presumably after seeing my sister. The sight of either of them made me sick to my stomach.
    “Why bother? I’ll be transformed soon enough and leave all of them behind.”
    “Your child needs a father,” Father said.
    “Jackson can be the father.”
    Father narrowed his eyes. “That’s not how this works.”
    I sat up as quickly as I could. “If you would have just stayed out of this I would know more about how this works. But you destroyed it.”
    Father raised his voice. “You will not speak to me like this—”
    “Why does it matter?” I matched his tone. I swept my hand across the bed, encompassing the room. “None of this will matter.”
    Father leaned over the bed, inches from me. “This. This is what is supposed to matter. If Jackson had told you everything he should have explained that humans are who we protect. We are not above them.”
    I snorted. What did he know? He chose to stay on the Living Realm after his wife had passed instead of moving on. I would have never done that. Once this baby was born and I was transformed I was out of here, with Jackson. We would go somewhere and start a new life together.
    Father’s eyes flicked up toward the fireplace and my head snapped in that direction before his gaze slid back to mine. The flames in the hearth made his eyes gleam, but his expression was anything but happy.
    “I see that I have to resort to other methods to get you to understand.”
    I sat up, still staring at the space near the fireplace. Even if I couldn’t see him, I knew he was there. “Understand what?”
    “Your infatuation with your Guard is unnatural. He was meant to stay with the family while you move on. But it appears that you are unable to look past this.” His eyes flicked back toward the roaring fire. “This is not the way of our world. You will understand that someday, but I will do what I have to. You will end this, or you will never see him again, in this life or the next.”
    My chest ached. “Never.” I shoved off the bed and glared up at my father. “When I transform—”
    “It will be done long before you transform.”
    I narrowed my gaze. “If that happens I will live the rest of my life making you regret that decision.”
    “What happened to you?” His voice was low and I knew I hovered on dangerous ground with him.
    My eyebrows furrowed. “I am the same person I’ve always been. You just keep trying to change me.”
    Father shook his head slowly. “No.” He lunged forward, his eyes sparkling manically as I scrambled away from him, but he grabbed my arms and yanked me until I was inches from him. My skin crawled and I attempted to lift my arms but he held them in place.
    “Let go of me,” I growled, needing to get away from this crazed man.
    “You aren’t even a shadow of my daughter anymore.”
    “Let me go!” I shouted, shoving away from him.
    He let me go and I dashed for the fireplace and balanced myself with one hand gripping the mantle. I wasn’t sure exactly where Jackson was but I knew he was close by. Just the thought of him