Chapter 16
SIXTEEN
LEVIATHAN
I always feel the most comfortable lurking in the shadows.
As I lean against a tree, a joint firmly planted between my lips, I try to calm myself. I try to be reasonable, rational, be controlled and tethered to my chains, but it’s growing harder and harder to resist the urge to snap them.
I adjust my turtleneck, making sure it covers my collar before tossing the joint on the ground and killing it with the heel of my boot. I look around, but there’s no one on the lonely street to spot me, still I lower my mask as I begin my trek toward the house.
I saw Aiden today— really saw him—and it was simultaneously the most confusing and intoxicating thing I’ve ever experienced. The way he looked at me, that little sparkle in his eyes, I know he felt the connection too. He must have. The way his breaths stuttered and his cheeks turned pink told me the whole story. He might not have believed he recognized me, but his soul did. It called to me in a way that was deep and resounding, begging me to take it, to be the one to snuff it out and treasure it in its death forever.
He and I were always meant to be.
I had to hold myself back and it was the hardest thing I’d ever done. All I wanted was to reach for him, to lick a stripe up his cheek, to feed him my spit and my cum until he was more myself than I am. Absorb him, control him, make him a part of my DNA.
But then that fucking bitch had to interrupt us.
The way she grabbed him and the quick little wince he let out almost made me want to throttle her on the spot. Those moments of pain are for me . I’m the one that gets to torture him and spark a reaction in that intriguing bespeckled face. Nobody but me.
When her lips landed on his, I almost howled in pain. I didn’t recognize why it hurt so much or why I wanted to clutch at my chest, but my heart throbbed . I hated it, resented it, wished it away but it only got worse when he walked away with her. Walked away from me .
I jimmy the lock on the front door, whistling to myself a happy tune I’ve heard Aiden sing, and let myself in. It’s dark and still, the house asleep and settled, breathing in the night with every creak of the floorboards I step on.
I muse around, touching every artifact I find. A vase. Some flowers. A stupid frilly pillow. I grow bored quickly and sigh. This isn’t why I came in here, but I’m trying my very hardest. I truly shouldn’t. However, I’m only human… I guess?
So, I make my way to the bedroom, still whistling, and produce my knife from my back pocket. There’s a little skip in my step as I stand at the end of the bed, tossing my weapon from hand to hand as I cock my head to the side.
Aiden will be mine and I’ll make sure of it.
Jennifer doesn’t so much as stir. She has on one of those stupid fucking sleep masks that only show how idiotic she is. Doesn’t she know that in the depths of darkness, she needs to be aware of her surroundings? She’s at a disadvantage here already, not that there was much hope for her to begin with. I once again take a deep breath, knowing that what I’m doing will upset Master, knowing the punishment that will be doled out, but finding a calm and peace I didn’t expect.
Jennifer is in my way and there’s only one thing left to do.
Without any finesse, I yank the sheets off her body. She turns on her back, rubbing at her covered eyes. I roll my own. Fucking seriously? I guess I have to be a little more blunt.
So, I walk around to the side of the bed, grab onto her hair, and yank her onto the floor.
“What the fuck!”
There we go. That’s better.
She forces her sleep mask down, eyes bugging wide when she sees me. The usual terror I’ve come to recognize is written on her face, she hugs her body, almost shielding herself, but I have little to no interest in… that .
Only with Aiden. Always with Aiden.
“What do you want from me?” she asks, voice breaking out into a cry when I take a step closer and she sees the knife. “Please! I have money! Jewelry! You can have it all!”
I tip my head to the side. Does that actually matter to people? Who in their right mind would kill someone over a goddamn necklace? Seems a little ridiculous to me.
I should just get it over with. Stab her and let her bleed to death. Maybe something more tidy like forcing pills down her throat until she goes to sleep permanently. Or I could just slit her throat and call it a night. But, no, I have some burning questions I need answered. Questions that have been floating in my head since I saw them together.
“What does it feel like when he fucks you?”
She drops her jaw, covering her already clothed breasts as if I have any interest in that. “Please, don’t do that to me! I’ll give you anything else!”
“I’m not going to fucking rape you,” I bark out, growing more furious by the minute. “What does it feel like when he fucks you?”
“W-What?”
“Aiden fucking Walker!”
She shakes her head, looking almost disgusted. “Is that what this is about? Please, if you’re looking for him, he’s not here. He lives on Cherry Lane. The house number is?—”
I shut her up with my knife tucked under her jaw, the tip of it slicing her just a bit so a thin pool of blood trickles down the blade. “You would betray him?”
“I don’t know what you want!” she cries, trying to back away from me, but I follow. I slide the knife down her chest as her breath hitches, pathetic whimpering coming from her lips. “Please!”
“What does it feel like when he fucks you?” I ask again, needing to know the answer. Almost like a fixation I can’t shake. “Well?”
“It’s fine! It’s okay! What do you want me to say!”
Fine.
I plunge the knife in her shoulder, inhaling her blood-curdling scream. Someone’s going to hear and call the cops soon, not that I’m worried about them, but that just means my fun is going to be over sooner than I planned.
This woman is ridiculous. A fucking siren that somehow lured my precious little lamb into the depths of the crackling sea. Aiden is magnificent, so perfectly pure, and being fucked by him must be like being touched by a God.
My dick hardens and she notices.
“I thought you weren’t going to?—”
“What does he like?” I question quickly, licking my lips behind my mask as I imagine it. “What do you do to him that he likes?”
“W-What?” She blinks at me, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I don’t know? Um, blow jobs? Please, don’t hurt me!”
Blow jobs? That’s interesting. I’m not completely inept, so I know what those are. Never quite figured out why that was so enjoyable. But I suppose the image of Aiden on his knees choking on my cock until he gags and vomits is pleasing. I can see why he would like that.
Would he want me to be gentle? Press little kisses up his base until I flicked my tongue at the head? Or do I just suck? Suck until I milk him dry? Do it over and over again until he’s too sensitive and begs me to stop?
“I see,” I muse, drawing the knife away.
“Is that what you wanted?” she asks, eyes darting to her phone on the nightstand. “I haven’t seen your face. I won’t tell a soul. You can just go and?—”
She cuts herself off when I lift my mask. Now she’s seen my face. She’s seen my face and she starts to shake, and I nearly roar with delight when a stream of piss starts trickling on the floor beneath her.
Bark, bark.
“I don’t know what I did wrong!” she yells, trying to kick me as I seize her ankle and pull until she’s flat on her back. “What did I do!”
I sigh, somehow finding this less pleasurable than I imagined, and I have no idea why. I decide to indulge her, knowing that a word of this will never be spoken. “You took what didn’t belong to you. You took what’s mine . Aiden’s soul belongs to me and your cunty hands needed to stay where they were meant to. To yourself.”
“I’ll break up with him! I’ll never see him again! Just don’t hurt me!” she begs.
To this, I chuckle. It’s actually more of a full-bodied laugh. It originates deep in my gut, climbing up and up until it passes my lips in almost hysteria. “Don’t you get it? There shouldn’t be a living soul on this planet who’s had him the way I will. I’m going to wipe them all out until there’s only me. Because our souls call to each other. His death and his agony and his torture are mine to take. No one else’s.”
“You’re fucking crazy!” she shouts, trying to buck me off when I sit on her piss-stained hips. “Don’t! Don’t do it! No?—”
I slice her throat and the blood splatters across my face. I’m tempted to lick my lips like I normally would, taste the death, but her blood is tainted. It isn’t pure. The only blood I need now belongs to my little lamb. No other sacrifice would taste as sweet.
I whistle again as I get up, almost indifferent as her body twitches and she shits herself. I used to find it amusing. Why isn’t it amusing?
It’s because of Aiden. I’m so fixated—so obsessed —that nothing brings me the same rush I crave. Nothing satisfies the beast. It’s still in there, fighting against the collar, begging to be set free. This bitch’s death didn’t do shit to tame him. It hasn’t appeased him, and I don’t think he will be until Aiden’s life and soul are in my hands.
I see the flashing blue and red lights from the window. One of the neighbors must have heard her scream and called the local police. I could just wait in here, but it’d be a guessing game as to which officer would be the first to respond. One of Master’s flock or just an outsider. Knowing that I’ve already broken the rules, I don’t dare deal with the aftermath. Cleaning up is… messy. I don’t like messes.
I give Jennifer one last look, nudging her hip with my boot to make sure she’s perfectly dead. When her lifeless eyes meet mine, I know the job is complete. And that’s what it feels like. A job. A chore. Fucking hell?—
Chomp, chomp.
I knock my fist against my head before bringing down my mask. He’s becoming restless, and I don’t blame him.
I whistle my way out the backdoor and slink into the forest, knowing I can come back for the car later. Nobody is going to notice another convertible on this street. It’s only when I’m in the familiar darkness that I finally relax. This night has taught me something about myself, opened up my eyes in a way they weren’t before. I’ve been taking baby steps with Aiden for some reason. The hunt has never gone on this long. Stalking from the shadows isn’t going to be enough for me anymore. More drastic measures have to be taken.
I nod to myself, wiping the bloody knife on my pant leg as I disappear into the wilderness, knowing what I have to do, and hating what it means.
But if it means I’m one step closer to claiming Aiden’s soul, I’ll do just about anything.