Chapter 57
Chapter Fifty-Seven
APRIL
I’m not sure if I prefer to be aware of myself when the monster inside me takes over my body and mind. Something definitely changes. So here I am, a passenger going for a ride on a killing spree. Oh, the joy!
Being free outside in the night has the same feeling I get when the sun comes out, and I know I’ll be in my right mind again. It makes it evident that she loves the darkness as much as I love the light. Two sides of a coin.
Pushing myself off a large piece of a tear out wall, I sail through the air, tuck and roll, landing in a crouch next to some pulverized metal that used to be a car.
Sebastian follows, his muscular arms pumping, slapping his palms on a large pile of the broken building, propelling himself in the air to end right next to me.
His smile is addictive, so I grin at him in return.
Cocking his head with an unfocused gaze, he is unnaturally still.
Adrenaline is pumping through my veins, the call of the hunt making me quake in my shoes.
Lifting my face to the silvery moon above us, I sniff the air.
The spicy scent pulls me in two directions, forcing me to shake my head like that will clear it out.
Sebastian wraps his fingers around my forearm, and my eyes snap open, focusing on his face.
With a small smile, he cups my face, his thumb rasping gently over my cheekbone.
He blinks from behind his hooded gaze and tilts his chin, pointing towards the opposite side from where we are crouched between the debris.
The message is clear. He has heard or sensed one of them, and he’ll be heading for the mage.
Since he is still searching my face expectantly, I guess I better relay my plan too.
Jamming a thumb over my shoulder, I point at my own target.
It’s much closer, almost on top of us, leaving me surprised that he didn’t zero in on it first. The shock is evident with his raised eyebrow and the fast glance he sends in the direction I point.
Shrugging sheepishly, I pull my arm away from his grasp.
I don’t get far when he draws my face closer and gives me a soft kiss, just a brush of his lips over mine, before he pulls away.
I can tell he wants to say something because the air around us gets thick with tension and something I’m not willing to name.
Luckily for me, we don’t have time to waste on the spiciness all around us.
Pivoting on my toes, still crouching at the smashed car, I turn my back on him.
My claws are extended, and soundlessly I creep up the pile of broken metal like a spider hunting a fly.
A smile tugs at my lips at that analogy.
Sebastian’s gaze follows me to the top where I stay curled up, clinging to the shattered windows of what used to be a pickup truck.
And then the feeling of his attention is gone.
Glancing over my shoulder, I find the spot where I left him, empty like we’ve never been there.
My heart gives a hard thump in my chest, the memory of seeing him on his hands and knees as pale as a corpse too fresh in my mind.
It surges the anger inside me to a whole new level.
These assholes have no honor, no remorse, and definitely no mercy when it comes to getting what they want. I will show them nothing less.
The sound of a few pebbles hitting metal and asphalt alerts me to the mage slinking closer to me.
I can smell the zing of his magic, and it burns my nostrils.
My fangs throb in my gums, and the desire to throw myself at him and tear him to pieces with only my teeth and hands is like a living thing pressing against my heart.
My claws tighten on the metal, the screeching sound loud like a bullet in the night.
I freeze.
Cursing my own inability to control my emotions, I almost release my hold and plummet to the ground, but then I realize it’s me making it difficult to get rid of this asshole. In my trepidation and because I’m aware of my actions, I’m messing up my monster while she hunts.
Like a reprimanded child, I shrink back further in the recess of my mind. I’ll never find a solution to my messed-up life if I’m dead. And with that realization, I can feel her pride in me, confusing the hell out of my thought process.
The pile of cars where I’m still clinging to like a lifeline, rocks with the force of a truck slamming it from the other side.
My feet slip from the bracket where I press my toes, and only my embedded claws save me from splattering on the ground.
I sway like a pendulum, the sharp jutting pieces of metal slicing the skin of my front and back like I’m rolling on broken glass.
Grinding my teeth, I flail my legs to get leverage and stop the momentum.
Sebastian’s handsome face, when he was holding my wrist while I was hanging from the window of his room, comes to the front of my mind. “I will kill you,” I told him that night. And he simply said, “I know.” Not releasing his tight hold, he had pulled me in and set my feet on solid ground.
I guess my mind picks him to think of when I’m in excruciating pain. Go figure.
My toe finds something sticking far enough out to stop me from swinging and shredding my skin deeper than it already is. As soon as I’m stable, the skin knits back together, all traces of injuries gone before I have time to see them properly, except the blood soaking my shirt and jeans.
Great, another pair of pants ruined. I just can’t catch a break.
Excited panting puffs up in the stillness of the night.
It’s coming right next to my head from the other side of the broken car.
This asshole is either stupid, or he believes that whatever magic he threw at the piled-up vehicles has gotten me good.
The rustling of clothing, although barely perceptible to human ears, is as loud as opening a bag of chips next to my face. He is climbing up. How nice of him.
Reaching to my left, I grab hold of a protruding pipe and jerk myself to the side, as silent as a phantom.
With a smile that hurts my cheeks, I crawl to the top, lifting slightly over to peek on the other side.
And there he is, sweat dripping on the sides of his face, and arms shaking from the effort to pull himself up higher.
Ducking down, I blink a few times. The asshole is human.
There is no mistaking that. How’s that even possible?
Humans don’t have magic. Not that I know of anyway.
Bewildered, I stick my head out again to take a second look.
Yup! He is sweating up a storm, and the stench of it is getting stronger, overpowering the smell of magic by the second.
I don’t really care.
This means I don’t have to be that careful when I’m dealing with him.
As long as I stay away from his magical blasts, I’m good.
With that in mind, I fling myself over and land silently a few feet above him, while he is still concentrating on finding a handhold to pull himself up.
Leaning a shoulder and crossing my feet at the ankles, I fold my arms over my chest.
“Need a hand?”
Purring, I chuckle when his face snaps up, his eyes widening comically before he slides down an inch or two, grabbing wildly at something while his body flops and hits the metal pile.
“It’s my turn to have some fun.” Lunging for him, my body collides with his and we plummet to the ground.