Chapter 18 DAEMON
DAEMON
I rested my head back against Slash’s chest, relaxing into his hold in the bath, Aeron across from us as he cradled my feet in his lap, his thumbs running across the insole of my left foot.
For men who were so uncertain of Finn, they seemed to be okay with the rest of us in a way that didn’t make sense.
The moment we got in the car, Finn started swiping through us like we were just his toys to break.
Dark had grabbed the driver’s seat at his first opportunity but was violently ripped out before I was stuffed there.
The whole ordeal made my body feel like lead as I sagged against Aeron, needing a few minutes before I could function.
Finn’s cackles echoed through my head but it was Killian’s look of disinterest that haunted me.
My beautiful Primrose wasn’t the wilted flower he used to be.
He was dark and apathetic. He wasn’t crouching in the corner, almost as if Finn’s appearance gave him a confidence that hadn’t been present previously.
The ride to Samael’s estate had been mostly silent as I tuned everything out and slept like my life depended on it. Samael had still been in that room when we left, Slash and Aeron taking care of me as if I had still been the innocent creature they first laid eyes on.
When they both disappeared into the bathroom to draw up a bath, I weakly slipped out my phone, surprised that it wasn’t covered in blood and guts and cum. I still smelled like a fucking disaster but the quick rinse and new clothes meant that I could escape the club without much attention.
Jade had messaged me goodnight with several kiss emojis but it was the numerous texts and missed calls from our father that worried me. Now that he knew our dominant alter—Finn—had resurfaced, he wanted to talk. There was no substance to the texts. Just a lot of ‘call me’ and ‘where are you?’.
I had decided not to do anything until we could speak but Finn had other plans. I watched in horror as Finn pushed through, responding to our father’s last text.
Father
It’s not you, right? Finn?
You finally used my name, Dad.
By the time Slash had washed me off in the shower and then deposited me in the bath, I was confused, strung out, and worried that whatever plans Finn had would ruin what little happiness we had left.
Aeron had joined shortly after, the silence enveloping us becoming more and more uncomfortable by the minute.
They were still the men I fell in love with but the distrust in their eyes was evident.
What was the point of all this, Finn?
Speaking to him while I was running the show was dangerous. At any point, he could choose to rip me back into our head and take control. There had to be a reason why he had allowed me to stay present though.
Being ripped out like that was fucking brutal.
It’s all about the game.
And Killian fucked up. So it’s your turn.
I didn’t fuck up but throwing me off balance made it difficult.
You’re different than before, Primrose.
Am I not allowed to change?
Daemon and Finn are supposed to be the off-kilter ones.
I have three alters in my head. We’re all off-kilter, Dark.
Statements like that confused me because Killian made it seem like he was the first, the original but the fact that it had been Finn Matthews in that car accident when we were 18—memories I hadn’t had until recently—confused me.
Dark and I had been left in our own little void, Killian and Finn sharing thoughts and memories unbeknownst to us.
What I did know was that Killian wasn’t the softest of us three.
He tried to hide but when the shock he tried to play into was adrenaline.
We had been hard staring at that body and it had been Killian driving that emotion, not Finn.
Aeron was still massaging my foot beneath the water, catching a particularly large knot that had me moaning into his touch and sinking low in the bath water.
Slash chuckled from behind me, a sound that vibrated through my body and made a beeline to my dick.
The worst timing, really. “Want to tell us what happened, Daemon?”
“Not particularly,” I muttered because what did I know?
Finn wanted to show everyone not to fuck with us but they didn’t know who we were.
Our little city would just see a new killer finding his way.
“Finn shuts us out pretty good. It’s like a room he built and he locks us in unless he wants us to see what he’s doing.
We knew he was inviting her out but not why.
He can keep his thoughts from us too. It’s strange.
” Not knowing what he was thinking at any given time terrified me.
Killian and Dark’s thoughts were always open to me—or at least the emotion riding them.
Not with Finn.
And most recently, not with Killian either.
Slash let out a heavy sigh as he rested his chin on my head. “Samael’s cleaning it up but whatever game Finn is playing, is dangerous. Who was the other girl, Daemon?”
I shot Aeron a small smile as I pulled my feet from his lap and pressed farther into Slash.
The concerned gaze the cannibal was giving me hurt, the pity etched into his worry lines.
I didn’t deserve that look, not for what we had just done.
Dark and I knew that our psyche was slowly fracturing and falling apart.
Nothing short of four white walls and a permanent psychiatrist would be able to save us.
That’s another mark for the board, Daemon.
Fuck you.
That’s not possible.
Also, would that be incest or just masturbation?
God, he was infuriating.
I thought back to Aeron’s question and searched for the memories but as I tried to pull one up from tonight, it disappeared.
Just faded away into nothingness. Fear shot through me as I tried to remember the last few hours, everything turning black.
The image of Nyla’s lifeless body was still very present in my mind but anything other than Finn being responsible for it disappeared.
I remembered leaving work before Finn shoved us forward to see his creation.
Everything in between? Gone.
Where the fuck are my memories?
You don’t need those. They aren’t important.
I can’t… they’re gone for me too.
That’s unfortunate.
Killian and Finn had to be working together.
Panic took over my calm demeanor as I shook in Slash’s arms, finally answering Aeron’s question.
“I… can’t remember. The other girl. I just…
” Finn shot me snippets of this evening, screams and the pleasure from our orgasms but nothing concrete.
The sensations tore through me, my body reacting violently.
I mentally shouted into my brain for Finn to stop torturing me, to leave me in the darkness.
By the time I finally settled, I wanted to pass out again.
Aeron scooted closer, his hand caressing the side of my face as Slash lowered his lips to my ear.
“Kitten, breathe for us. There you go. Shit, you were convulsing for a second. I think we need a hospital. Not a mental one. We need brain scans or something.” Tears gathered in his eyes as he stared at me and I realized that my demise was hurting the men I loved most.
“Finn’s not just playing games with you.
I don’t know what his plan is but it’s starting to hurt.
” I knew the bastard was evil but I thought that maybe, just maybe we would be spared his shenanigans.
The other girl had to be Jade, although I couldn’t remember anything.
If she was alive or dead, I had no fucking clue.
So, I sat in my mental darkness and screamed into the void. For the first time, I felt lost, unable to control our body even though I was the present alter. Maybe this was Finn’s plan all along.
To make us feel helpless and out of control.
When my lids slid close, Finn spoke again.
Ready to give in?
I almost pushed back until he threw another shard of a memory at me, pain searing through my body. I didn’t even know what I was looking at but tears streamed down my cheeks, the scene invoking an emotion so visceral that I leaned over the edge of the tub and chucked the contents of my stomach.
Tapping out, Finn. You win.