My mind screams at me to get away. It screams that I’m in danger, but I can’t do anything to save myself. Fear and panic overrule all my senses making it hard to breathe.
Corey shoves a needle into my arm roughly. I’d have cried out at the pain if I could make my body work how it’s supposed to. I glare at the asshole as he turns music on and begins to dance around without a care in the world.
I’m not sure how much time passes, but my limbs feel far too heavy and my eyelids begin to droop.
At some point I must have passed out, cause the next thing I know, I’m being woken up by Torren and Derrin, both of them looking far more worried than I’ve ever seen them before.
The two of them saved my life that day, it’s one of the reasons I stick with them no matter what trouble we got into as kids. They’ve always had my back and I’ll always have theirs. We never did learn why the witch wanted hybrid blood. It's bothered me for years and honestly I think it’s one of the main reasons I can’t leave things alone now. I have this driving need to know the answers and to understand why people and things work the way they do. It’s almost a compulsion now. I’ve often wondered if it has something to do with the Supernatural breed my other half is, but without being able to confirm what Breed I am, I’m at a loss for answers to those questions.
I shake myself free of those thoughts as I head up the stairs to check on Areyna.
NINE
Jason
The room is considerably darkerthan it usually is, but I pay that no mind. “I’ve got a set of cuffs we could use on her. Of course we’ll need a safe word.” I wink as I lean down into Areyna’s space. I seal my lips to hers, tasting the chocolate from the icecream she had for dessert. The entire time I was watching her eat I’d been harder than a rock. Of course it didn’t help that she kept making these really sweet sounds that I could imagine her making while in the bedroom. Which is how we ended up here, now.
I click the cuffs closed, enjoying the view of Areyna chained to my bed. I glance over my shoulder, “You want to watch?”
Richard turns around, his throat torn out and blood pouring like a river down his chest. I scramble back from Areyna, racing across the room to help Richard, but every step I take, he seems further away. The light from the window changes, going from day to night instantly and still I can’t catch up to him. I know he’s not moving away from me, he couldn’t possibly last this long with his throat torn out, but I just can’t seem to reach him.
The world seems to dim around me as I stop chasing him.
Movement flickers in my peripheral and I turn to look back the way I came. Areyna’s still sitting there on the bed, her hands chained to the frame, her legs now tied, spreadeagle so she looks like she’s being drawn and quartered.
As I watch the bed morphs into an empty space below her, flames leap up, searing her skin. I can smell the distinct pork scent that comes from burning human flesh and I leap over the gaping hole that wasn’t there a second ago.
I land lightly on the lip on the other side, my arms windmilling around as I try to stay upright. The ledge crumbles, sending me tumbling down into a pit of darkness so deep even my screams sound muffled.
I land on something soft, my eyes flying open. The couch is the same one we have in our loungeroom, but that’s the only thing in the room that is the same. The window that normally lets in the bright morning sun is now located on the opposite wall. The thick rug that stops the cold from seeping into your feet while you watch TV is gone, in its place is a pile of bones.
I cross to the window, my feet crunching over the bones with every step. The night sky is tinged with red, as though the stars are bleeding.
A door slams behind me, making me whirl around. Areyna stands there, her hands on her hips. Her eyes are brimming with unshed tears as she reaches her hand out, “Why?” Is all she asks before her entire body melts into the floor like a wax figure set too close to the fire.
I bolt up in my bed, my heart pounding and the room spinning. I can’t keep my body upright and I give in as I fall back to the mattress, my eyes closing again.
TEN
Derrin
I’m trappedinside a house I never wanted to be in to begin with. Sometimes I feel like nothing goes to plan, but honestly, complaining aside, I would give up meeting Areyna for anything. She’s the light for which I’ve been searching. She’s everything that makes me believe things can be better.
While Torren takes Jason to his room, I peer out the window, watching the shadowy forms move around. It almost looks like they’re getting into position to do something bad, but I’m not very military-minded so I’m only guessing here. I want to go check on Areyna but I’m not stupid enough to go traipsing back up the stairs while everyone else is up there. If those troops get in, someone has to be here to stop them from getting to her.
It's hard to believe that it's only been a few weeks since I met her. It feels like a lifetime.
That kiss we shared the night I met her will forever be etched into my soul. I’m not a hundred percent certain, but I think I stole her first kiss that night. Wasn’t the only kiss we shared but it’s the one I’ll never forget.
In my mind I can still see the way the fire lit up the blue mixed through her black hair. The colour was so vivid and eye-catching that it drew me to her, but it was the look of utter bliss on her face as she stared up into the clear night sky, watching the sparks leaping into the sky from the fire. I remember watching her for a moment and wishing that I could feel that joy. My gaze had drifted to follow the smooth lines of her neck and I felt my fangs cutting into my lip. At that moment all I wanted to do was devour her; not just as a meal, I wanted to sink my teeth in to find out if I could feel what she was feeling. I wanted to see if it was possible and the closer I got to her, the more possible it felt, until finally I was right there, close enough to kiss her.
I was so nervous that instead of the carefully rehearsed line I’d come up with in my head, all that came out was “Hey beautiful.” Of course that wasn’t the only thing that went wrong in that moment, the entire crowd began chanting for a race, I didn’t want to leave the vision in front of me, but being the stupid fool I am, I turned around and then turned back. “For luck.” I’d whispered in her ear before sealing my lips to hers.
Everything in the entire world vanished at that moment. It was just her and me and the feel of her soft lips as I tasted her for the first time. That tang of hops was mixed with something sweet that was all her. When her arms wrapped around my neck, I knew I was done for. She’d stolen my heart with that single kiss and no matter what she does now, nothing will ever change that.
I’m pulled out of my thoughts as the troops outside move closer to the house. My heart beats a fast staccato as I glance around for something to use as a weapon. Despite being a hybrid, I don’t really have any skills in fighting. I’m more the getaway driver than the hero who fights the bad guys.
ELEVEN