The grape that follows Brixton is a constant now, something I don’t notice anymore unless it’s gone or changed, but I find myself seeking it out.Every purposeful breath of it feels like it floats through me, creating a barrier between me and whatever I’m dealing with. Trusting him even this much could end in disaster, but now that I’ve let my guard down around him, it happens without me even realizing it.Corbyn zeros in on me as soon as he walks through the door, striding over in fancier clothing than normal. I’m squinting as I pretend he’s woken me from a deep sleep, but somewhere in the mix of his clothing, he’s wearing a fitted sweater. Now I wish I really wasn’t awake enough to see that. It suits him somehow, making him look like someone you just plucked from a magazine, but it's deceiving. He looks like the guy who shows up to all of his kids' events, and yet, he's more like the one who slits your throat in your sleep with no remorse for how your kids will find you the next
"I don't think we've met." I hold my hand out to the slender man when Trent doesn't move to follow Gavin. "No, I would remember such a meet," he says flirtatiously, "David Darling." He’s handsome enough with his brown hair swept back and deep brown eyes, but there’s something about him making my stomach uncomfortable as I try to figure out what he is. I get the feeling he’s not the predator here. “My sister,” he motions back to where the girl from the masquerade is standing, “Darcia and I are pleased to finally meet you.” Darcia. She’s watching me with a fake smile plastered on her face. So petite compared to me, so gorgeous, that it twists something sharp in my chest. I shouldn’t care. I should be counting my blessings, and yet, it’s the point of it all. From her perspective, Trent is mine and I am his, and yet here she stands… in my home… trying to steal him from under me. Bringing one of Trent’s hands holding me in place to my lips, I lightly kiss the tough skin of his knuc
The absolute silence around me makes me wish I had an ability… any ability. Enough strength to burst through this wall to freedom, the speed to run and never look back, even rebirth. Oh, to be a Phoenix. Instead, I'm here, making my way through the house in search of Trent. "Not a great plan," Brixton catches me off guard with both his presence and his tone. I turn in the hallway to face him, but he's looking at me the same way he does when someone else is around. His gaze looks through me, his stance stiff with his hands resting on his pockets, and even though he has yet another lollipop in his mouth, the scent is soured. "What plan is that?" His nose flares and my arm breaks out in tiny bumps that freeze my skin, sending a shiver up my spine. I'm not even sure what I've done this time, but he's giving me the third warning. "I need to find him." "You have training." "I don't expect you to understand." Mainly because I can't tell him about my conversation with Gavin. "
“Shoes?” I ask Corbyn as he guides me into the store. “You would think you could walk down the aisle in bare feet.” As soon as we enter, there’s a lineup of three women greeting us and, with a wave of one’s hand, the doors lock behind us. I look up at Corbyn, who looks his regular-unimpressed-self. “You would close an entire store.” “They’ve lined up several pre-approved options. Go try them on.” Right. I walk over to where one of the women, who is a bit older, is waiting for me. The other two are hovering around Corbyn, adjusting their hair and batting their eyelashes like he’ll suddenly fall in love with them. I’m not even sure he’s capable of such a thing. Good luck to his mate. “Take a seat, dear, and we can get started. Is there a pair that’s jumping out at you?” She unstraps my shoes as I look at the lineup. Every single pair is white, with a high heel to it and some kind of detail that seems unnecessary. “One that looks like it would match with your dress?” She a
“I can’t take you anywhere,” Corbyn half tosses me into the center of the room. “I didn’t do anything.” “You let her draw energy from you,” he said pointedly as he started looking through the racks of lingerie. “You did," I whisper timidly, but angrily. His entire body grows stiff, the muscles in his back tensing, and the hanger in his hand bends. “I don’t know how any of this stuff works. You never take me out of the house, then when you do-" "Put this on," he turns on a dime, thrusting some white fabric into my arms, "or maybe we should leave and head to a children's store." Corbyn dead pans me and the tears are right there… but so is my anger. That tiny little bubbly feeling that makes me wish I had the ability to MAKE him kneel to me. To make him beg for my forgiveness. But fine, he wants obedient, obedient is what he’ll get. An Iota isn’t the only one who can get a man to do her bidding. I drop my dress to the floor, ignoring the roll of nausea, and turning to hang th
One simple rule. Don’t fuck this up. Yet, the urge to slit every one of their throats and paint the walls with their blood for Sweetness is right… there. Scratching at the surface, peeling back this disguise piece by piece. Would my Pet bask in the glory of it, or would she see me for the monster that I am? The one who doesn’t deserve her, the one who puts her at risk just for knowing me. No one knows me. Not when my last name is a whisper in the dark that no one wants to speak, and certainly not the face to that name. No, there are two people who live with that knowledge. Everyone else is dead. I can’t trust myself at the house while she’s gone, and so I’m not. Which is a real fucking problem. I left with the need to shift, but if I let the more animalistic part of me out, he won’t be as inclined as I am to take Oz into consideration. Ruining his father is a long game we’ve only just started, but this shit is getting fast tracked. We’re not playing with our food this
The textured feeling of the dress glides under my hands as they rest at my sides while the girl in the shop finishes with her needle and thread. I'm staring at myself in the mirror, but all I can see is the darkness in my eyes. The pitch black color of them swallows me whole, and it's like I'm falling into the abyss of my nightmares all over again. One upon a time I let myself believe that where I ended up was going to be ok… that the boy who found me was meant to be mine… that he loved me. The girl staring back at me is a stupid, stupid girl. That boy is killing anyone who looks her way. He's so savage in his obsession with her that I can't blame her for believing his intentions were true… but every night while she's sleeping alone, he's out there sleeping with someone new. “I know what you’re thinking,” grey eyes get in the way, something being set atop my head as he fusses with it, “but flesh means nothing.” Corbyn stands beside me, looking in the mirror at the both of us. He
*** The weight of the water is crushing my chest. The ability to breathe so close as the open air drifts over my fingertips. Me, myself, and I want to see this night again. They want to relive it… I don’t. My hair covers my face, wet and impossibly heavy as I struggle to see through it, but that’s ok… if I can’t see him, he can’t see me coming. I’m stumbling forwards but my feet keep getting stuck in the mud, until it wins, and I fall onto my hands and knees. He grips my shoulders, stopping me from continuing to move forwards, except the moment he goes to brush the hair from my face I take action. Grabbing onto his wrist, I pull. I pull and yank with all my might on his wrist until the wind turns in my favor and he’s stumbling into me as we fall into the depths of the water. His hazel hues are staring into mine, begging me to let go, angry that I won’t. I close my eyes, letting myself sink farther into the darkness until my chest gives up and takes in a lungful of water.