Chapter 13
Chapter thirteen
There’s too much going on today, and I can’t handle it anymore.
I put my veil back on as I start walking down the alley.
Avyanna catches up to me, hurrying around me to block my path, but I skirt around her.
She appears in front of me again and stops me this time, so I turn around, trying to go back down the alley, but she’s in front of me in the blink of an eye.
Her hands grab onto my shoulders to keep me in place, but my gorgon form takes over, and my snakes start hissing at her. “Let me go, Avyanna.”
She shakes her head. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?”
“Away from here. I don’t know what I was thinking when I allowed you to take me to your place. I was so desperate to get away from my father’s house that I didn’t stop to question what I was doing.”
Her brows furrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I wanted you to be my knight in shining armor; I wanted so badly for you to swoop in and take care of me when no one else would. It was too good to be true, though—there’s something between you and…
Addie? I don’t even fucking know at this point.
I’ve been living in my dreams, apparently, thinking you would just be the perfect person right off the bat. ”
She huffs out a laugh. “First off, Adrestia and I have nothing going on now. She’s one of my exes. Because of something that happened between us, I don’t want her or anything she has to offer anymore—”
“That’s bullshit, and you know it.”
“It’s not. I want you, not her.”
I roll my eyes. “It’s possible you want her and me, but I’m not getting in the middle of that shit right now.
Especially if there’s this level of tension.
You need to figure that shit out. I don’t know any of the details, nor do I need to, but you need to work it out for yourself,” I say, taking a step back.
“Look, I’ve got some shit to figure out.
I’ve looked three supes in the eye and not had any of them turn into stone, so I wonder if it’s a me thing at this point.
Maybe I’m fucking broken. Or maybe I don’t even turn others to stone like I’ve been told. ”
“There’s nothing wrong with you, Roxi,” she says, trying to reach for me.
I take another step back, feeling defeated. “I just need to go home for a bit.”
“They’re going to move you if you go back, and you know I will track you down again.”
“I’m not going anywhere unless I want to this time.”
Her hands go up in surrender. “Fine. Go then. I’ll give you a little space, but I won’t be far if you need me.”
“I’m a big girl. I can handle myself.”
Separating myself from Avyanna when I did was a stupid idea. I have no clue where I am or where I’m going. It wasn’t like I’d gotten to wander around at any point when we left her apartment. Hell, I’ve never been able to leave the fucking house except when we moved.
I walk in the direction I think I need to go, keeping my eyes on the ground in case I accidentally make eye contact and can actually turn someone to stone.
When I reach the edge of downtown, I glance around.
A man stands down the street, looking at me like I’m the strangest person he’s ever seen, and I decide to chance it.
Walking up to him, I say, “Excuse me, sir. I’m a little lost. Can you tell me where I might find Cherry Street?”
“Uh, sure. It’s a few blocks north,” he says, pointing in the direction I assume is north. Then he looks me over and asks. “Are you okay?”
I give him a small smile while still looking at the ground. “Yes, I am. I apologize. I have a very hard time with eye contact. Thank you for your help.”
With that, I walk past him and continue in the direction he pointed.
Three blocks later, I come across Cherry Street.
Thankfully, I remember the address of the most recent home I occupied: 5280 Cherry Street.
The house on the corner I’m at is 1401. Looking in one direction, I notice the numbers seem to increase, while in the other direction, the numbers decrease.
Looks like I’ve got a way to walk.
I get started, and I walk for what seems like forever before a van pulls up beside me.
A man jumps out with a canvas bag in hand, running straight for me.
I start to run, but he’s too fast. He throws the bag over my head and pulls me back against him so he can wrap something around my wrists.
I struggle, but he hauls me back until I’m thrown onto a cold metal surface, which I assume is the van’s floor.
Doors slam behind me, and then we’re off.
We don’t drive for long before the door is yanked open again, and I’m thrown over someone’s shoulder. I kick and thrash in the person’s arms, but they just laugh at my attempts.
“You aren’t going anywhere, precious curse. Daddy instructed us to keep a good eye on you, even after he died, and that’s what we plan on doing. After what happened with Merric, though, we plan to have a little fun with you,” a seductive male voice says.
I stop thrashing. “You wouldn’t fucking dare touch me without my permission.”
Several men chuckle around me, but the same man speaks again. “Who said we need your permission? You can’t do anything with this bag over your head. You won’t even know who’s touching you, so you can’t send someone after us either.”
My jaw clenches so hard I’m amazed I don’t shatter my teeth. “I will force every single one of you to look into my eyes and turn each of you to stone.”
A man tuts before a new man speaks. “See, one of us heard you’ve been looking at other supes and not turning them to stone, so I’m not sure it’s going to matter either way.”
“We’ll see about that,” I hiss.
The man carrying me begins walking up some stairs, and the scent of blood hits me. It’s overly harsh, unlike anything I’ve ever smelled, making me want to puke. When we reach level ground again, the scent hits me harder, and I start to gag.
“Aww. Is demon blood too much for you? The hunter must have ripped into him after you took off, so you weren’t exposed to it. We’ll get it cleaned up soon,” the man carrying me says.
I bring my foot down, trying to kick him, but he catches it with his free hand. “Put me down. I feel like I’m going to throw up,” I say.
The first man who spoke to me scoffs. “Take her to the other room. I’m not about to take that hood off right now. I want to have my fun before she tries to kill me.”
We pass the worst of the smell, and I try to breathe through my mouth so I don’t vomit.
My stomach is nearly settled when I’m thrown onto a soft surface that feels a lot like a bed, stealing the wind from my lungs.
In the next moment, I plant my feet against the surface and try to push myself away from the man who threw me down.
I’m not fast enough. Hands wrap around my ankles tightly and pull me until my ass is barely on the bed. I try to sit up, but another set of hands grabs my bound wrists, pulling them above my head.
My eyes fill with tears as I thrash against their hold. “Please don’t do this.”
One of the men crawls onto the bed beside me and tsks. “We haven’t even gotten started, sweetheart. Now, lie still so we can get this dress off you. I love how tight it is—showing off all those beautiful curves—but I want full access to your body. We’re going to mark you up so fucking pretty.”
A sob racks through me just as something slices through the material of my dress. A sharp pain slices across my bare breast, and someone hums in appreciation. Then, a tongue is licking up the blood trickling from the wound.
“Fear always makes blood taste sweeter,” the man who carried me says from near my breast.
One of the other men agrees as a tongue licks up from my breast to my neck. Then, that person bites down, fangs piercing the skin above my carotid artery. My back arches, and I go to scream, but a hand clamps over my mouth before I can get any sound out.
Tears stream down my cheeks because I know there’s nothing I can do now—so much for being able to handle my own. The fangs in my neck retract, and the man growls as he sucks at my neck.
“Don’t take too much. We can’t have her dying now, can we?” the man at my feet snaps, moving his hands up my legs to spread my thighs.
The man at my neck growls and releases his suction. Then he licks the puncture wounds before pushing away from me. “Get on with it. I want my fucking turn.”
“I’ll do it when I’m damn well and ready. You already got to taste her,” the man at my feet says.
The sound of a zipper near my center has me fighting again, loosening the hand on my mouth.
But hands clamp down on my thighs, and the man at my feet hisses, “Stop fucking moving. You’re only making this that much harder on yourself.
We’re going to make you feel real good, so just lie back and relax, precious curse. ”
My chest shakes as I cry harder. I’m not sure I’m going to get out of this. I just know that if I don’t, they’re going to kill me. Emotion clogs my throat as I plead for them to stop again.
The hands on my thighs move to lift my legs and pull me further down. My ass is now hanging off the edge, only being held up by the man holding my lower half hostage. His hard length nudges against my entrance, and I whimper, just wanting him to stop.
Another sharp sting cuts across my breast, distracting me momentarily from the man entering me in one swift thrust. My back bows off the bed, and I scream. I’m not wet in the least, so his thrusts hurt, making me feel like he’s ripping me apart.
The pressure on my wrists shifts as one hand takes them both. A hand, likely from the man above me, starts to cover my mouth, which makes the man raping me stop. “Don’t. I want to hear her scream while I fuck her tight cunt.”
“Fine. Just as long as we don’t attract any unwanted attention,” the man above me says.
My screams continue until the man fucking me comes inside me with a grunt. After he comes down off his high, he collapses on top of me and kisses my neck. “We’ll work on getting you wetter next time.”
Then he’s gone, and someone else replaces him. I try to kick at them, but they grab my calves tightly and tsk.
“That wasn’t very nice,” the man who bit me says.
“I don’t fucking care! Don’t touch me!” I scream.
“I’m going to have this pussy whether you want me to or not,” he says, nestling into my sore center.
“Just stop. Please fucking stop,” I beg, even though I know it’s not going to help my case.
His cock twitches against me. “You sound so pretty when you beg.”
“Go fuck yourself, you piece of shit. I bet you can’t even get it up unless you’re taking something that doesn’t belong to you,” I hiss.
He thrusts himself into me so hard the bed bangs against the wall.
Then his hands come down on either side of me.
“Don’t speak about something you know nothing about.
” thrust “You should also be careful poking this bear.” thrust “My fuse is pretty short.” thrust “And I’ll rip you to shreds if you’re not careful. ”
I sniffle. “I don’t fucking care. Just get this over with and kill me already.”
The man holding my hands laughs. “We’re not going to kill you, little gorgon. You’re our plaything now.”