Fated to a Dragon?! Yeah, right. No chance in hell! Anyways, as they say, when life throws lemons at you, you make lemonade. But Charlotte only knows how to make coffee. So when a handsome stranger waltzes into her coffeehouse, everything changes for the worst. And unlike coffee, she's learned from a string of relationships that humans are more difficult to deal with. However, with the help of her best friend and childhood crush, things aren't looking too grim. She might just be able to deal with these series of unfortunate events. Or so she thought. Not until one drunk night when her most prized possession is gone. Things fall apart quickly, and there's only one person she blames for everything.
View MoreThe bundle was heavy as I carried it down the stairs and out to the garage. I threw it in the trunk and then went back into the house to clean up. I have to start doing this somewhere else I thought to myself as I took down the plastic that hung from the ceiling to the floor. The plastic made a perfect cover and an easy cleanup, but I knew that if I wasn’t careful enough I could fuck up and leave behind evidence that would link me to this. I carefully took the plastic to the car making sure not to drop any blood on the floor. Once everything in the house was clean and it was late enough I drove out to my dumping ground. I looked around to make sure no one was around and then unloaded my latest kill. This one was just like all the rest and fell for my charm so easily. Guess she should have just left with her friends when they were ready. Her mistake and my good luck.
I pulled down the narrow dirt road that leads to the river and parked the car. I got out and looked up at the night sky. It was a clear night, just enough light to see what I was doing. I opened the trunk and pulled her out and threw her over my shoulder. I walked down to the water and I tossed the naked body into the river wrapped in the plastic. I smiled as I watched the body float down the river and start to sink a little. It didn’t sink enough though and I knew it would be found quickly. I walked back to the car and backed out to the highway. Like I always did I walked back the same path and removed any evidence of my car or me from the scene. I had learned everything about this after my first few kills were sloppy and almost got me caught. But, no one ever suspected the innocent thirteen-year-old boy from one of the most prominent families in Little Creek. After the first few it got easier and I learned from my mistakes. Now, the cops haven’t got a clue and even come to me for help. Idiots. I laughed at the thought as I drove back home.
Two Days Later...
“Here is your coffee Mr. Graves.” I watched as my new assistant placed my coffee cup down on my desk and then started to walk away. She was young maybe twenty-one or so with bleached blonde hair, full D cup breast, a trim build but with a killer ass. You could tell she worked out and probably jogged every morning.
“Thank you, Tina. Oh, by the way, did you get the file on the woman I asked you for.” Tina stopped at my office door and turned back to me with a big smile.
“Yes, sir. It is on my desk I will bring it right back in.” I nodded at her and she left the office and returned a few minutes later with the file. She placed it on my desk and I dismissed her. I opened the file and saw a familiar face. Although this picture didn’t do her justice. She was a lot more prettier covered in her own blood as she laid naked on the floor of my house two days ago. I then looked at the next few pictures. These, I liked much better. Her lifeless body dragged from the river and laying in a plastic tarp. I pulled a cigarette from the pack on my desk and lit it. I stared at the pictures and read the information that I was giving about the case. Then as I was about to close the file I found the last picture taken by the coroner. My calling card, what linked all of the lovely ladies together. The image was crystal clear as I stared at it. The dying rose carved into her left breast. I gazed at the beauty of it and flashed back to the first one I ever did.
I was only thirteen at the time and my creativity wasn’t as formed as it is now. She was my older next-door neighbor. She would babysit me when my parents were off at their parties or whatever it was they were doing. I fell for her immediately but of course, the bitch wouldn’t give me the time of day because I was too young she said. Well, that just fueled me and before I knew it I had convinced her to go with me for a walk in the woods. I remember the look on her face when I let the animal in me lose. I hear her screams to this day replay in my mind every time I make a kill. I had been careless then and had been messy. I had bashed her skull in until you couldn’t recognize her. As I sat there staring at her body I looked over and saw a rose bush a few feet from us. I then looked at her bare breast showing and pulled out my pocket knife. It was sloppy but you could make out the image. A dead rose I left for all to see on her left breast.
“Mr. Graves. Detective Knight is here to speak with you.” Tina’s voice brought me back to the now.
“Let him in,” I said to her and she nodded and opened the door wider for the man. Detective Andrew Knight was not your typical young gun detective. He was in his late forties with a round belly and balding head. You took one look at him and knew he was tired. “Detective Knight, how are you today?” I asked as the man took a seat in front of my desk.
“Hello Ethan, please call me Andrew. I was wondering if you were able to get a look at the latest victim that we pulled out of the river yesterday. I sent everything over to your assistant.” He grabbed a handful of peanuts from my desk and sat back in the chair and you could hear the wood creak. Fat tub of lard. I thought to myself.
“Yes, I was just finishing up with the pictures you sent. It definitely looks like the same person is murdering these women. Looks like you have a serial killer on your hand, Andrew.” I watched as he took a deep breath and then sighed.
“I was afraid of that. So far we have connected at least four murders just in the last six months and who knows how many more there are.” If only you knew Andrew. I thought to myself. If you truly knew you would run screaming.
“Well, I will try and work on a profile over the next few days. Why don’t we meet up for lunch on Friday and I should have something for you.” Andrew smiled at me and tried to work his oversized body out of the small chair. Once he was up he shook my hand and I walked him to the door.
“Alright, Ethan I will see you on Friday. I appreciate this man. The chief is really on my ass about this.” I nodded at him and watched as Tina escorted him out of the office.
“Tina please hold all my calls for the rest of the day. I have work to do out of the office today.” I said once Andrew was gone. She nodded at me and I went and grabbed my things from the office along with all the files I had on my last four victims.
I drove back to my house and then went to my study. I laid out all the pictures in front of me and smiled. All my work was meticulous and very well planned out. They were perfect all of them, but still, they all were missing something. Just that one thing that would suppress my appetite for longer. I would know it when I saw her blood on my skin as I slashed her throat and left my mark. The thought of it was making my mouth water and I knew that I needed to haunt tonight.
I looked up at the clock and it was already seven-thirty. I got up from the pictures and put them away. I then went into the bathroom and showered and dressed for the evening. Usually, I would only go out on the weekends but my hunger was strong and I needed to kill. I pulled up in front of the little bar and the neon lights reflected off the finish on my deep black corvette. There were more cars than I expected in the parking lot. I got out of my car and made my way inside. I soon realized that there seemed to be a new theme for the night. I guess maybe business was too slow during the week so the owners decided to try their hand at a karaoke night. It seemed to be working at least for the night. This was a small town and I was sure it would fade out quickly. I pulled up a chair at the bar and ordered my usual drink, bourbon neat. The cute bartender smiled as she placed my drink in front of me. Sorry babe not what I’m looking for. I thought to myself as I smiled back and handed her my card and told her to keep a tab.
I sat for about twenty minutes watching the crowd. The agonizing sound of drunken singing played and I was starting to get annoyed. I was about to give up and go home unsatisfied when I heard her angelic voice surround me. “Can I get a cosmo please?” She asked the bartender from my left. I turned slightly in my chair and there she stood. She was about five-six with a thin build and a great set of breasts. Her long red hair flowed down her back with just a slight curl to it but when she looked at me that sealed the deal. Her eyes were a perfect mix of blue and green and her lips were full and luscious.
“Put that on my tab please,” I said to the bartender, and the angel before me turned to look at me.
“Thank you. So what’s a good looking guy like you doing in a dive like this.” She said. I flashed my charming smile at her and saw her melt before me. I knew she was mine.
“I was just enjoying the entertainment and looking for someone,” I said with a smile.
“Oh, well thank you for the drink. I hope you find who you're looking for.” She said as she turned to leave. I grabbed her slightly by the wrist and turned her back to me.
“I just found her,” I said and I saw the excitement in her eyes. That’s right little girl fall in line just like the rest of them. I said to myself.
(Evelyn’s POV) I stand rooted to the spot, my eyes widening as the scene before me sinks in. For a split second, I think perhaps I’ve misread the situation. Maybe it's a trick of the light, or a fleeting hallucination. But no. There she is. Lottie, my best friend. Arms wrapped shamelessly around Ruiz, as though she owns him, as though she’s entitled to drape herself over him like that. And after swearing on the heavens, with all that wide-eyed innocence, that nothing was going on between them. Now here she is, clinging to him like nothing else matters. My heart shatters in a million pieces. Lottie’s never been a whore, which makes this far worse. Is all this just a performance to infuriate me? A calculated plan designed purely to rip me open, to strip away whatever dignity I’ve got left? A mix of emotions surge within me. Rage, shock, and above all, that suffocating blow of betrayal. I bite down hard on my lower lip, the bitter taste of hurt mixed with blood stings my tongue. She
(Damon’s POV) Charlotte’s mind's gone somewhere far from Uncle’s rambling, eyes glued to her phone. I don’t need to ask who’s on the other end. I can already picture the smug face of that uniformed pretty bastard. And it just irritates. It fuckin' scrapes along my bones, and sets my teeth on edge. I want to wrap my hands round his throat and keep squeezin’ ‘til the light dies in his eyes, ‘til I can feel his last breath seep between my fingers. The thought alone stokes something low and molten in me. I’m not even over the half-breed bit yet, and here I am, seething like a caged hound. Fuck, this is so infuriating. And the fact that I even care? That’s another thorn in my side. And Uncle is watchin' me out the corner of his eye, shoulders shaking with silent laughter. I give him a hiss as a warning, but he carries on enjoying his private joke. Let him laugh. He’s in the ring with me whether he knows it or not, and the bout’s barely begun. And that Luciano. Charlotte's nerve t
I whip round to Damon, hissing out the words. “I thought you said you weren’t a Dreil.” He just lifts a shoulder, lazy as you like. “Well, I’m technically not one.” “Then why the nickname?” Mr. Black stays quiet, his long fingers idly stroking the cockatoo’s crest, eyes glimmering like he knows something I don’t. Damon doesn’t even move as he responds. “Uncle just likes takin’ the mick,” he says, cool and detached. “Ignore him.” “Ohh…” I mutter, turning back away, though my curiosity’s gnawing. “If you’re not a Dreil, then what exactly are you?” The air stills, thickening with this tense silence. But before either of them answers, my phone pings. I glance at it. It's a message from Evelyn. I let it go dark again. Now's not the time for stories. Mr. Black finally breaks the silence, his voice deep as it hums through the room. “His mother’s a Dreil. Her brother, too. So the blood runs in him, but that does not make him one.” “That still doesn’t explain what happened at m
The air turns cold in an instant. And I can feel it creeping into my bones. Mr. Black’s smile dies immediately the words leave my mouth, leaving only the sharp lines of his face and those dark eyes on me. Damon doesn’t flinch, but I catch the way his fingers tighten round his mug, subtle as a twitch. His grey gaze slides over me, slowly assessing, like he’s weighing up the fallout before it happens. The cockatoo tilts its head, letting out this faint, questioning click, and I feel my chest lock up. For half a second, I stop breathing. Brilliant. I’ve probably just gone and asked the one question I was never meant to. Still, I've been really curious about it all, ever since Luke brought it up. I did stupidly promise that I was gonna help him, and I need information to do that. “Woah, woah there, darling,” Mr. Black cuts in sharply, leaning forward so his shadow falls over the table. His voice still carries that smooth elegance, but there’s a warning folded neatly inside it. “No
I clock the fella straight off. He's tall, broad-shouldered, middle-aged, and there’s somethin' in his face that rattles a memory buried deep in my head. It’s there, right on the edge of recall, but it can't seem to surface. The man’s stood with the grey cockatoo perched boldly on his shoulder, its beady eyes flickin’ about like it’s sussin’ the whole room. He’s dressed in a white turtleneck snug under a long brown coat that brushes his knees, with a sleek black trousers pressed on his legs. There’s a softness to him, but it’s laced with a quiet warning you’d be daft to ignore. Gentle, yet he carries this menacing hum under the skin, same way thunder lurks behind a summer sky. Same feel as Damon. I open my mouth but the words trip over each other. “I–I’m… uh, I…” Before I can finish, Damon’s arm snakes across my shoulders, his palm resting there, firmly protective. Or possessive, I can’t tell. “Her name’s Charlotte,” he says, his voice is steady but it carries this lazy
“Lottie!” Evelyn squeals, her voice carryin' across the hospital foyer like the chime of a bell. She’s bouncing towards me before I can even process what she’s doin' here. Her sundress is flaring with each light step, her blue eyes glintin' like summer. For a moment, she’s exactly like before we had that massive row: open and glowing; and her warm smile could melt an iceberg. Even though we’ve been speakin' here and there since she popped by the coffeehouse, a bit of me still can’t believe that she’s dropped the grudge entirely. Evelyn’s truly sweet, the type to just forget a wound and forgive an idiot like me. I can’t help but grin. I slip my hand out of Damon’s and throw my arms wide just as she dives into me. We meet in a proper warm hug, both of us chuckling like we’re sixteen again. She leans in, her lips brushing my ear as she whispers, “Don’t forget your promise.” I pause for a beat. Promise? My brain scrambles through my memories. Did we actually make one? Or is
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