Take Me Once, I'll Bleed You Twice novel Chapter 219

Chapter 219

CIAN

Cian whistled a happy little tune as he urged the mule to move just a bit faster. He’d gone into town to dr. the month

eager to be home.

The journey one way took most of the day, meaning he had to leave his little family alone for two full days a difficult alk whee had only just been born. He’d wanted to stay home and marvel at how his beautiful wife had managed to birth such a tiny ge person. She had been struggling since the birth, as the little one had a tendency to fuss most of the day, and demanded on few hours at night something Cian couldn’t help with.

Instead he worked hard during the daylight hours in hopes of getting home just a bit earlier to give her a short break. Did he manage t

Not often, but he did his best.

In the distance, the little one room house he’d built appeared. It wasn’t much to look at from the outside and inside was no different, but it was solid and kept the cold at bay during the long winter months. Cian’s wife had made it into a wonderful home with what little they

owned.

They weren’t poor but money wasn’t in abundance. People bought what was needed to survive and the rest was pointless luxury- things that practical people like Cian deemed frivolous.

Today he’d decided to forgo practicality, having bought a small gift for both his wife and son. Nothing fancy; a pretty blue ribbon for her hair and a little wooden toy in the shape of a horse for the boy to play with once he grew a bit bigger. Simple things, but things he knew would bring joy to the ones he loved and that was all that mattered.

The sun was beginning to dip below the horizon as Cian pulled up to their home. He proceeded to unhitch the mule, leading it into the tiny barn where it lived.

When Cian left the barn, he couldn’t help but frown. His wife hadn’t come out to greet him. Not making it out when he first arrived hadn’t been strange – a baby wouldn’t allow her to drop everything without plenty of forewarning – but he’d been in the barn for some time and she still hadn’t come to greet him.

Perhaps the little one had finally decided to sleep more than a couple hours and she’d decided to nap alongside the babe?

Cian began unpacking the cart, setting everything by the door with the ease of practice. Still no greeting. He hadn’t been quiet – not that he’d made excess noise either – and was beginning to worry. His wife had become a light sleeper as of late; any and every little thing was capable of waking her.

“I’m home,” he called out as he opened the room and stopped dead in his tracks. Something was wrong couldn’t seem to comprehend exactly what the problem could be.

–

very wrong

–

but his brain

The place was no longer neat and tidy, sure, but it was the colour of the room that bothered Cian the most. Red. They had never painted their home and, even if they had, red wouldn’t have been one of the choices. A nice whitewash, perhaps, but not red. And it had been

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Chapter 219

terribly done at that

as though someone had taken a brush and slashed it over the walls in an are. Pain had gotten

* 2T

It was then that he saw his wife sitting on the floor by their bed. Her head was howed, as if she’d simply nodus 4 off she moment to rest. But that wasn’t right; she never sat on the floor. There was a comfortable chair Cian had made for her and that the corner, one she couldn’t stop gushing over how much she loved. It currently sat empty, other than the splash of red arrows

Cian took a step into the room and finally noticed just how quiet the world had become. It was deafening, making him at his ears, thinking maybe he’d lost the ability to hear since entering their home.

Another step and a squelching noise caught him by surprise. Looking down, he saw he’d stepped in a pool of the red paint breat to thick and viscous; nothing like how he knew paint should be. Then the smell hit him. Metallic with undertones of death And he knew death to an extent – as he hunted for the meat they ate on a daily basis. He knew the smell that came from a fresh kill and from one that’d been dead long enough to be unsafe for consumption.

This wasn’t paint, he realized. It wasn’t paint at all. It was blood.

His eyes shot to his wife, who had yet to move, then flew around the room in a desperate search for his son.

The crib. He raced to the crib and, upon seeing the contents within, lost what little food was in his belly. Tears stung his eyes as he dropped to his knees and screamed. What was happening? Why? Who? What had he ever done to deserve this?

By the time Cian stepped outside the moon had risen, bathing the world in its pale light. He slumped against the side of his home, legs unable to carry him any further.

Gone. Everyone he loved was gone. What was he suppose to do now?

There was no point in getting help – they were beyond help – and finding out who’d done such a horrifying thing… Cian wanted to kill them with his bare hands but how would he do that? His little family had been dead long enough for the bodies to grow cold. The culprit – or culprits were long gone.

Clutching his head, Cian let out another scream. Why couldn’t it have happened when he’d been home to defend them could have die with them. He didn’t want to live, to be alone with this feeling of being crushed and unable to breathe.

or at least so he

A shadow fell over him, which startled Cian out of his spiralling thoughts. Shadows didn’t exist at night, not like this. Looking up, his eyes fell upon a man who stood blocking the moonlight.

The man was dressed much like Cian – a long sleeved linen shirt, breeches, hose, and sturdy, leather boots. Not much else could be distinguished, even with the moon now high in the sky, but there was something about this stranger that made Cian’s heart pound in fear.

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