I stood in the middle of my new place. It was weird. This was my dead biological father's place only hours ago. Now, it was mine, with my stuff sitting in the middle of the floor in boxes."Are you sure you don't want any help unpacking?" Liam asked.I shook my head. "You've done so much already. This is plenty. Please. I'm good."Liam crossed his arms while I walked around, looking at the place. It was open with windows all around. The morning sun shined through, lighting up the white walls. The apartment was centered on top of a mechanic's garage with the bar underneath that. The main room opened up through two stories with a kitchen on one side and a generous sitting room on the other. A bathroom and a few storage doors connected to the room from one side. The furniture was all black leather with mahogany wood tables. It looked way too sleek and expensive for anything I could ever afford. I couldn't believe it was all mine now.I turned around to look at it. The staircase ran up
I rolled into Grocer Outlet then shifted the hornet into park. I sat staring at the broken sign for a long time. I really didn't want to go in. Mr. Kline was a mob boss like Matei was. That meant he had a crew or something. And what did Liam mean by contracts? Was it hits for hire? My lack of knowledge about this world was frustrating. I didn't actually know what to expect today.I gathered up my leather purse and opened the squeaky door. The seatbelt stuck. I stabbed it with the butt end of the flashlight on my keys until it popped open. Maybe I should have asked for that ride out here, but then perhaps a full out battle would happen for crossing turf or something. I really didn't know how this stuff worked. I finally escaped my car. I walked across the parking lot with the sun high in the sky. The warmth of it on my skin made me miss the fall back home. I didn't miss the work, though. I took one last whiff of the fall breeze then pushed the door open to the breakroom.Mr. Kline w
My first instinct was to grab my phone and call someone. But if I called Liam, he might actually show up, and that could cause some issues if Mr. Kline was still here. He could bring his gang, but that could start a huge battle. I had no idea what I was going to find.Instead, I returned to my locker and grabbed my purse. I scratched out a note and stuck it on the hood of the hornet. If Liam did come looking for me, he would know where to find me. "In the tunnel in the storage room."There, I did my due diligence. I wasn't a complete idiot. Well, maybe I was. I clutched my purse tight to me and headed for the tunnel. Perhaps I was just overreacting. I stood in front of the dark tunnel. It seemed cold. I brought up the flashlight from my keys and stepped forward into it. After a little way, there was a metal spiral staircase. I took the steps one at a time as I tried to see lower.The staircase must have dropped two stories before it finally spilled out onto level ground. The tunnel
I heard footfalls behind me. I was yanked around from him with an iron grip. A shotgun exploded to my left. Mr. Kline flew backward into the storage room then smashed into the shelf that swung open. He lay sprawled across the tunnel floor. His magic slipped from me."Beloved? Are you okay?" Liam asked. His arm was wrapped around my waist as he held me against his chest.I sagged against him as Mr. Kline's magic loosened. "Thanks for coming."Mr. Kline groaned. He started climbing to his feet.Liam leveled his shotgun at him. "Stay down, or I'll fill you full of another round.""Try it, Ogre.""He's an orc," I corrected.Mr. Kline waved his hand. My body strained against Liam's grip. He released me, thinking it was me controlling my body. I stepped in front of the shotgun."What are you doing, Beloved?" He asked.I tried to shake my head. I tried to say something, but my body wouldn't respond. It was being jerked around by the puppet master. My mouth clamped shut. Even my eyes
I woke up slowly. My stomach felt tight. I could feel the new skin that knitted across it pull as I stretched out my cramped legs. I opened my eyes to the gloomy dungeon. I had no idea what time it was. The wall sconces were still on, so everything looked how it had been when I'd fallen asleep.I slowly stood and stretched again. I started pacing in my cell one step at a time. I wondered if Mr. Kline would bring me food. I wonder if Liam was okay. I wondered if anyone was coming to get me. I stopped. I still had power. I could get out of here. I faced the grated iron and placed my hands on it. I summoned power to my fingertips."Open."My pink power sparked under my fingertips, sending a painful jolt to my heart. I flew across the cell and hit the stone wall. I slid down it like a swatted bug. I gasped in a breath as my heart sped."Okay, no magic then," I said to myself."Reveal," I commanded. My daggers slipped from my skin to my hands. I slashed them at the grate. Their metal c
More hours passed. I slept a little. I had no idea how long I had been in here. It could have been a day. It could have been a week. It had only been two meals, so maybe it could have only been twelve hours. I really wasn't sure anymore. Thinking about it was starting to drive me crazy. I was hungry again, but I knew when I was bored, I got hungry.I thought about Liam. I thought about Remi. I thought about Angandriel. My mind wandered all over the place. I spent a lot of time thinking about what was keeping Mr. Kline. That thought made my stomach churn. I wasn't really concerned about rotting away in here forever, at least not yet. The thing that scared me the most was what he would do when he got bored with me.Voices echoed down the hall. I listened closely."I understand," Mr. Kline's voice echoed as they walked closer."She's not your pet. I need her for the ritual." My heart froze. I'd recognize that voice anywhere. It was Mila."I said, I understood.""Don't get short with
I pulled at his black aura. I sucked all his magic from him. I took every last ounce. His face went slack with pleasure. I didn't look down. I didn't want to see what it did to him. But I was merciless. I took it all. I took every last ounce of the black aura, but I didn't stop. I didn't want to. I wanted all of it. I wanted to make sure he never hurt another person again. He couldn't have any power left. Never again.His body leaned against my hand. I pushed him away. He fell back then slumped into a heap at my feet. His eyes stared up at the ceiling. I froze. What had I done? I saw no aura coming off of him. He wasn't moving. He lay in a sprawl across the floor with a yellow smock and some cum stained kakis. I tried not to look, but it was impossible not to see the huge mess he'd released because of my power. I grimaced. I made him do that. Gross.I took a step forward then very slowly pressed two fingers to his throat. There was no pulse. He was dead. I had killed him. My heart sp
I was about three blocks from Jessie's house when I heard the first motorcycle. Only a few days ago, I would have been running away from that noise. Well, maybe it was more than a few. I really didn't know what day it was.A motorcycle rounded the corner. It came right for me. I stopped as I watched it come to me. I had a moment of terror then remembered Mr. Kline could be right behind me. I would take this form of punishment one hundred times over. I didn't care if they changed their minds and beat the shit out of me. Anything was better than what I'd just been through. The motorcycle stopped. Cole removed his helmet."Beloved, you're okay."I nodded. A deep appreciation struck me. Someone was actually glad I was okay. Someone noticed I was missing. I fought back the tears and failed. Cole reached a hand out for me. "Beloved, please."I almost ran the three steps to him."Where's Liam?" I asked, trying to keep my voice even.Cole brushed the tears from my face awkwardly with