Haunted Nights & Savage Sins (31 days of trick or treat: Biker & Mobster)

Prologue

Pain isn’t fair.

To one person, childbirth is the pinnacle of excruciating agony, but to another, a paper cut could have them calling for their mothers.

I used to think I could handle pain. But as the branding iron sparks and smokes in my father’s hand, I know this isn’t the type of pain anyone can endure.

If I thought it would work, I’d wish for death.

My eyes find my mother. Her trembling hands. The terror she’s trying to hide. My last hope.

“Niall, please. There has to be a different way. He’ll learn. He’s still young. Please!” My mother’s panicked screams echo in the small room. Her hands shake harder, and her eyes fill with tears.

She’s the only one here to try to protect me. The only one who cares enough to have mercy on me. My father doesn’t care anything about mercy.

Only obedience and power.

Today I made the mistake of challenging both of those.

I was sent to collect payment from one of my father’s clients.

The man told me a story, one that pulled on my heartstrings.

He told me that he needed the money to pay for his daughter’s medical care.

He promised that he would pay my father as soon as he could.

Instead of getting the money from the man, I told him not to worry about it and took the money from my own pocket.

When my father asked me why I had disobeyed him and made the family look weak, I told him I didn’t want anyone to see me as a monster.

I didn’t want them to see me as they saw my father, an evil man.

That only added to the long list of mistakes I made today. Mistakes my father wants to make sure I never make again. He says it makes me weak and a disappointment. Compassion has no place in this family. Now he’s vowing to teach me a long-lasting lesson.

“You don’t want to be a monster? But you are, Cormac.

You’ve got the blood of a demon running through your veins.

Maybe if I make the outside look like the monster inside, you won’t be so concerned with how people see you.

” My father’s mouth turns into a snarl as he yanks my hair back hard enough to pull some of the strands from my scalp.

“Da, don’t.” I whimper, trying hard to get away from the bright red tool sizzling in my father’s grip. The heat is intense. He held it in the flame for a long while as I explained why I hadn’t come back with the client’s money. Now, as penance for my sins, he is ready to brand me.

“Niall, you can’t do this.” My mother begs on her knees in front of us, but her words fall on deaf ears. My father isn’t listening to her. I can see the evilness in his eyes, the thrill of seeing someone in pain, of hurting me.

“Don’t tell me what I can’t do. I’m your god, I can do anything I want. If I want to make him a monster, that is what I’ll do. Watch now. Remember the very second your little boy is burned away.”

“Niall!” Her scream vibrates my still-growing bones, but it all snaps away the very second the metal brand makes contact with the side of my face.

I can smell my skin burning, the once blemish-free area blistering and sizzling before just as quickly melting away.

My mouth opens wide, and a sound I’ve never heard anyone make before rockets out of me.

The pain is all there is now.

It surrounds me.

Squeezes the very breath out of me.

My eyes go blind, but from the very depths of me, I can feel thundering footsteps coming in my direction.

I don’t know how long my father held the scorching-hot metal to my face, but when my mother reached forward and smacked it away, there is no relief.

It still burns.

“You stupid cunt.” My father backhands her hard, and I barely register the fact that she is collapsed and unconscious on the floor, the metal tool discarded in the corner.

“When will she learn?” he mutters as he grabs hold of the back of my shirt and all but drags me out of the room.

I try to stay on my feet, but the pain is too intense. Even now that it’s over, my body is still reeling from the shock. Tears and snot stream down my face, and I fight to get my emotions under control. The last thing I want to do now is piss my father off even more.

There was a time when I would’ve thought that he had some pause when it came to hurting one of his children, but this lesson makes it very clear that I’m no safer than one of his worst enemies.

My feet drag against the plush, blood-red carpet that lines the floor. I stumble once, and my father has to readjust his hold on me. When I stand, I look over to the side and make the mistake of catching my reflection in the mirror.

He’s done it.

Exactly what he said he was going to do.

He’s turned me into a monster.

Bright red skin glitters with blood and other bodily fluids along the side of my face, starting from right below my temple, down the side of my cheek, coming to an end an inch or so away from the crease of my nose. The burn looks angry. Already it’s mutating my features.

My father catches me staring at myself in horror and takes the chance to further prove his point. He drags me closer to the mirror and grabs hold of my chin when I try to look away.

I don’t want to see. Don’t want to become what he wants me to be.

“No, you will look. Look at what compassion gets you. My perfect little monster.” He rubs my hair almost as if he’s proud of me for going through this trial and coming through in one piece on the other side.

What he doesn’t know is my entire being is broken. With each tear that streams down my face, another piece of my soul is chipped away.

After he finishes humiliating me, he continues to drag me down the hall.

My stomach lurches up into my mouth as my face continues to throb and burn. When will the pain end?

The long black drapes keep the halls dark, but the flickering flames of the candles allow me to see just enough to recognize where my father is taking me, not to the hospital or to a doctor but to the ones he expects to fix all his problems. My brothers.

The heavy wooden door creaks as he pushes it open. Killian and Declan stand in their nightclothes, both of them staring at the scene in front of them with anguished expressions.

The three of us may be at odds with each other more often than not, but I know I can depend on them. They’re family. My brothers.

“Clean him up.” My father shoves me into the room. I don’t remember walking or falling. All I can remember is landing in Declan’s arms.

“We got you. It’s okay. We’re here,” he mutters, and it’s the last thing I hear before I pass out.

My dreams are filled with pain and unnaturally scarred beasts chasing after me.

No matter how fast I run, it feels like they are perpetually right behind me, nipping at my heels, desperate to get their hands on me, to bring me into their ranks.

I don’t know how long I remain unconscious, but the next thing I know, I’m being shaken awake. I groan from the pain. My face is covered with gauze, and the material is sticking to the wound on my face. I want to rip it off, but part of me believes that if I do, my face will come off with it.

“We’ve got to go. Come on. Right now!” Killian yells in my face, and I struggle to understand the panic bleeding off his words.

Why the hurry?

Just as I force myself to sit up, the stench hits me.

Burning. Flames. Soot and ash.

For a second, I think it’s my skin again, but then I see the dark rolling cloud of smoke sliding its way under the door. It moves like it has a mind, like it knows I’m still alive and wants to rectify that.

“What’s happening?” I say through clenched teeth. I’m trying my hardest not to move my face. Even blinking is agony.

“Fire. The house is on fire,” Killian grunts as he takes my weight and leads me out of the room.

Turning my head, I can see a bright red-orange glow coming from the east wing of the house, the same room where my punishment was meted out.

I gasp, suddenly forgetting about the pain that I’m in.

“Mother?” I question and try to pull away.

“They’re trying to get to her. She’ll be fine.” Killian fights to keep me on the path that leads out of the house.

She’s still in there.

I swear I hear her screaming for me. Her beautiful, soothing voice is nothing more than an angry screech. She’s burning alive, all because she tried to help me.

“No! Mother!” I scream and break away from Killian’s grasp. I make it halfway down the hall before my father comes from around the corner, his face sweaty and his usually immaculate clothes charred and dirty.

“It’s over. She’s gone.”

It’s all so final. Sudden.

The last remaining pieces of my soul slip away from me like sand in an hourglass.

I see several of my father’s security with fire extinguishers in their hands, but I already know nothing they do will put my world back into place. Even if they manage to beat back the flames, I’m forever changed.

Numb, I get my legs under me and turn back toward the exit. Killian and Declan wait for me by the open door.

The stars shine bright, illuminating this cursed mansion. The glow washes over me, but instead of feeling comforted by the light, it makes me feel uneasy.

I crave the darkness.

After all, that’s where the monsters live.