Their Lamb Becomes The Storm

ad adopted seven boys to be my guardians, my "brothers," and I was hap

rd him confessing his true plan to Lil

ate, everything will be ours," he said, his

they sabotaged a rack holding a multi-ton oak barrel. Lily gave the order, and another of my guardians, Ryan, carried it out. The barr

e were a pack of wolves, and I was the lamb they were fattening for

fragile doll they c

t my 21st birthday party, the night they tried to humiliate me in front of the

pte

lett

erished heart of our strange, cobbled-together family.

ut like a flash of lightning, stark and brutal,

an loved and a steaming mug of Earl Grey tea, just the way he liked it, with a single sugar cube. It wa

with a mind like a steel trap and a future that would eclipse them all. To me, he was just Ju

. I heard voices from within, soft and

ays following you arou

Patience, Lily. It's just

oze on the

oice devoid of any warmth. It was the voice he used when discussing business strategy, cold a

pped from my

ning shatter of porcelain and a splash of hot tea. The

his hair slightly disheveled. Behind him, Lily was hastily pulling her

t just bee

e floor to my face. There was no remorse in

u doing here

to his betrayal. Not, "Are you okay?" Not

hout the blinding filter of my love. I saw a stranger. A hand

of my own footsteps unnervingly loud in the silent, cavernou

after me, his voice laced