46. Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Six
Elowen Briar
OH SHIT.
The sound of shattering glass jolts me upright, the sharp crack splintering through the loft like a gunshot. My pulse slams in my ears. Beau is already out of bed, his body taut and moving fast, like this is something he has been waiting for.
I slide out from under the blanket and creep to the end of the hallway, pressing myself against the wall where it meets the corner.
My breath catches as I peek into the living room just in front of me.
The sliding glass door that opens onto the balcony now lays shattered on the floor, gone.
Glittering shards litter the floor, moonlight from above spilling across the wreckage.
And standing there, framed by the jagged edges of broken glass, is a woman.
A tall woman with two different shades to her hair and a body so perfect, I question if I’m dreaming.
She steps further inside, stepping onto some of the shards as if they aren’t even there.
Whoever this woman is had no issue forcing her way through a barricade two stories up.
“Kalevala,” Beau says, his voice hard. She smiles at the sound of her name, her movements too fluid, too sure.
She slinks forward, gaze locked on him, ignoring everything else in the room.
My stomach twists. Who the hell is this lady, and why is she standing in his living room like she belongs here?
How did she even get up here, onto the balcony no less, and straight through the fucking sliding door?
“Kalevala,” Beau repeats, lower now, like a warning.
Her hand lifts, fingers stretching out toward his face.
In an instant, he catches her wrist, grip iron and unyielding.
Kalevala’s smile widens, sharp and too knowing.
“Ugh, Kalevala. Sure. My dear beloved, why can’t you see how much fun we’d be together?
” Her gaze slides past him, and I feel it land on me even though I’m half-hidden by the hallway wall.
“Would your little personal human piece like to join us? I can share, if you’ll just let me take one little bite.
” My breath snags, frozen in my chest. A sick twist coils in my stomach, but I force myself to stay quiet, watching, waiting, terrified to move.
My nails dig into the wood of the hallway wall, every muscle wound tight.
Human? Bite? The words rattle around in my skull, scraping raw as they spin.
What the hell does she mean by that? Why say it like I was food, like I was some plaything she could pass around?
Beau’s grip on her wrist tightens, his voice a low growl.
“Leave before I snap your neck and have you dealt with appropriately.”
Kalevala only laughs, the sound like glass dragging across stone.
She leans in, the angle of her body too intimate, too bold.
“Stake me if I’m wrong,” she purrs, “but I believe I can choose a mate even against the other’s will.
Ah, well a sino, sure, that’s by fate. But you know how I love making men submit to me, love.
” Her words rang in the air, heavy and wrong.
My eyes flick to the shards of glass scattered across the living room floor that she walks over without issue.
Moonlight catches on the jagged edges, glinting sharp as teeth, and something in me shivers.
Mate.
Submit.
The way she speaks, the way Beau seems threatened by her, it isn’t ordinary.
It sounds old and ritualistic. I’m terrified, too afraid to move.
I press my palm harder against the wall, letting my fingernails gain better grip as they dig, as if it might anchor me.
All at once, I become acutely aware of my own chest rising and falling too fast, the thud of my heartbeat, the warmth flooding my skin.
I’m on the verge of a panic attack. I think of how easily Beau draws me in, how his voice can unravel me, how his eyes seem to command without asking.
I don’t have a name for it, not yet, but the pieces are starting to collect into a shape I’m not ready to see.
Beau’s grip on Kalevala’s wrist doesn’t falter, holding her in place. His voice is quiet, but every word seems carved from stone. “You are not my mate, Kalevala. You never will be. Leave, now. You don’t want to do this.”
She scoffs, rolling her shoulders back with a mocking little laugh.
“Always so cold with us.” Her gaze flicks past him again, landing squarely on me.
Us? My breath catches, but I force myself to step out from behind the wall.
My brain begins to fog with every rising suspicion I’ve had since I met Beau.
His perfect teeth. He has endless money, but runs a tiny bookstore.
He carries an older tone when he speaks, like he’s much older than he lets on.
The weird way he asked if we could text.
The list grows longer and longer the more I think.
My legs shake, but the question tears free before I can stop it.
“Beau, is there something you aren’t telling me?
” My body pauses, knowing I shouldn’t have asked.
I already know. He’s not human. The words crack in the air between us.
I edge backward, my palm sliding along the counter until my fingers brush the folded pile of my clothes.
Jeans, keys. I need them. My heart is in my throat, pounding so loud it blurs my thoughts.
This has to be a nightmare. There’s no other explanation.
Beau’s lips part, his voice low. “Elowen, please. Just listen to me.”
But Kalevala cuts him off, delight spilling into her tone.
“He’s a big,” she steps closer, “bad,” closer, “bloodsucking,” now right in front of me, “vampire, darling. Lures naive girls like you into his loft just to fuck and drain them dry.” The room spins around me as my chest tightens, air depleting from my lungs as panic fills them instead.
The words crack like thunder in my head.
“No,” I whisper, fumbling for my jeans. My fingers are clumsy, shaking, partially numb, but I force them on, tugging the denim up over trembling legs.
My vision tunnels, black creeping at the edges, every sound too sharp.
Beau moves toward me then, releasing Kalevala and reaching for me, but I’ve already snatched my keys, leaving the rest of my things scattered on the counter.
He starts after me, his voice rough, pained. “You were never supposed to find—“ But I’m already moving, the panic flooding too hot, too fast to stop.
Never supposed to find out. Probably not.