Chapter 2
Two
Isabella
"That’s a good girl, Isabella.”
“Kill, kill, kill. Absorb, absorb, absorb."
I heard that person’s words as I rounded the corner of the hallway at Shelly Valley Hospital, the place I’d been working the last few months. This one mistake, this one occurrence filled my head with memories I wished to forget.
The werewolf’s eyes seared into my memory as he accidentally bumped into me when I was talking to a patient. I turned around and grabbed his arm to see if he was all right—then he was on the floor—dead. I hadn’t known he wasn’t human until he was already dead, or I would have never touched him.
I was a nurse, and I stood there while my coworkers—some of them friends—screamed at me to do something.
They shoved me aside and hauled him onto a bed, trying to revive what I killed.
I backed away and hurried out of the room with one of our doctors yelling at me.
Only, I had to go back to that werewolf.
I had to erase the evidence of my tainted magic, or else—the monster would find me.
“Breathe in the darkness, pour out the light.”
“I don’t need your good, I want your bad.”
“Hurt or be hurt.”
“Harvest it all for me—”
I sucked in a breath and ignored the voice inside my head that would forever haunt me.
I turned on my heels, whispering an enchantment to hide me from everyone’s view as I made my way to where the werewolf was.
A cold waft of darkness wrapped around me.
My worry turned to terror. I’d been found because of this idiot werewolf.
I didn’t want to kill anything, but I was angry that because of this careless werewolf bumping into me, he lost his life and I’d been found.
That wasn’t fair, Izzie, I told myself.
The werewolf hadn’t known he’d die, and I hadn’t known he was a werewolf when I turned around and grabbed—
“What the—”
I almost fell over a large someone crumpled up on the floor… At least I thought it was a someone. I spotted long legs peeking out of the black clothing covering up his entire body. I poked his body with my shoe. He didn’t budge.
Something wasn’t right. My body had a certain twitchiness to it, almost like I needed to reach down and touch the person beneath all the black.
Inside me, magic and darkness mingled and collided over and over.
I backed away immediately. This person wasn’t a human, and my insides were begging for me to touch and lay claim to whatever power he was harnessing.
I didn’t want to, but my magic was doing so for me, peeling away at my armor preventing me from seeing people’s energy so I could see the color of his.
Blue. So blue. So strong. So much of it.
Ignoring the need to touch the unconscious someone, I hastily made my way to the werewolf, hovering my hand above his body to take back the traces of my magic while trying my hardest to give back what I’d stolen.
Only it wasn’t easy. The dark magic that ran through me didn’t like to give, it liked to take. As it was taught to do.
After I was positive I erased the traces on the dead werewolf, I turned back to the person on the floor.
Twitchy fingers, twitchy fingers.
Just walk past him… That was all I had to do.
Just what was he?
I couldn’t read him at all. I was trying, and so was the darkness crawling through me. Whatever he was, the darkness wanted it. Whatever he was, I should get far, far away for his sake and mine.
So why was I on my knees next to him?
Twitchy fingers, twitchy fingers.
Oh, God. So powerful.
Need it. Want it. So, I’ll take it.
He was lying on his stomach. I rolled him over, removing the black material that covered his entire body to see him.
My hands found his cheek, and the moment our bodies connected, a wave of heat—nothing like the familiar darkness licked over me.
The hair on the nape of my neck stood on end as I bit back a sound that would have been embarrassing.
He jerked immediately, gasping, then he raised forward, way, way, too fast.
Our heads collided. I saw stars, quite possibly the Big Dipper as I continuously rubbed my forehead trying to ease the pain coursing through it.
“Ow!” I cried the same time he said, “Fuck!”
With the pain, I landed back down on Earth. I could remember what I had been doing and jumped away from him so quickly I tripped backward, falling on my butt.
Our eyes met. Blue. The ocean. Help… I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.
That was the effect I was having from staring at this man.
Looking into eyes like those, you were going to get lost. Dark, dirty blond hair.
A perfect jawline that would probably make the angels sing… Just who was this crazy, beautiful man?
“What are you?” I breathed out. “Who are you?”
Those translucent, ocean eyes studied me, up and down they roamed over my scrubs before taking in the room and the werewolf behind him. “I’m already… awake?” He sounded surprised.
“… You were sleeping on the floor?” I asked, dumbfounded. “You looked sorta dead.”
“Wait…” His forehead wrinkled as he tilted his head at me. “You can see me… Isabella Wen… Lone survival of a powerful witch clan, right?” He tipped his lip to one side, a partial smile. “No wonder you can see me.”
Dozens of spells whirled around inside my head as I decided which was best to get away from this man that I had no clue who or what he was—I only knew he was powerful. He radiated with it. And somehow he knew who I was.
I was feeling twitchy all over again because of the power inside him. It seemed worse now that he was awake and alert.
I placed my hands to my sides. “How do you know my name?” And everything else.
“It’s kind of my job to know everyone’s life and death, name included.” His words made him sound dangerous, but then he smiled. “You’re a witch and you don’t know of Reapers?” he asked.
My eyes widened. “You’re the Grim Reaper?”
He laughed. “No.” He leaned over, awfully close, too close, and held my eyes hostage with his.
“I’m the boogeyman.” The expression I’d given him must have been funny because he burst into deep, rumbling laughter.
Then he stopped abruptly, his entire body falling.
His face landed on top of my legs, his nose pressed between my thighs.
I stiffened and flushed with embarrassment all at once.
What just happened? Did he just pass out?
I felt the warmth of his breath on my scrubs and felt my blood boil. I picked up his head in a hurry, and just like that, he startled awake again, his expression dumbfounded. “What the—” He studied me with a touch of something in his gaze that worried me. “How do you keep waking me up?”
I arched an eyebrow his way. “I’m not.”
How are you not dead? I wanted to ask him, but that would mean explaining my touch of death.
His head was still lowered into my hands as we stared at each other. I quickly pushed him away and let go. He frowned at my hands then his eyes widened. “How long were you touching me?”
“Huh?” I asked. I needed to get out of this hospital and far away from this town before my worst nightmare came for me and dragged me back down.
He raised up, then the next thing I knew his palms were cupping my cheeks and the beautiful stranger was grinning within seconds. Oh, God, he was crazy and something otherworldly. I had to get away. I jerked away from him and stood, but he followed my moves.
“Let go of my face.” I pushed his arms away and had to look up at him once he stood. Holy… he was tall, but I only stood at five-feet-four-inches. A little over six feet, perhaps?
He was still smiling. “I don’t feel sleepy.”
“Okay?”
“You don’t understand,” he said with the biggest smile. “I’m not tired, not even a little.” He scooped me up and twirled me around while I squealed.
“Put me down, or so help me, I’ll cast a spell on you,” I warned him.
He completely ignored me and said, “I think you already have. You’re like a little juice box.” He slipped his hand underneath my shirt and touched my stomach. Static seemed to flare from his touch, tingling my skin. “Shit, for real, just touching your skin is giving me crazy fucking energy.”
This was too weird, too crazy. I had to go. I couldn’t stand this person touching me and making me feel strange, or just taking it upon himself to slide his large hand against my bare skin.
Placing my hand against his chest, I whispered an enchantment and his smiled dulled like he understood what I was doing.
He dropped me, and I landed on my feet while the flare from my hands sent him flying backward.
He slipped through the wall, and I took off running out of the door.
I had a portal chip in my purse that I kept in the breakroom for emergencies.
I just didn’t like using it because it made me easier to find, but my whereabouts were already known now so I saw no point in not using it.
I needed to get away from this handsy Reaper, and then I’d find a new hiding place. I hoped.
Once I slipped into the breakroom—still invisible to the eyes of humans—I took a moment to look back at the closed door.
Almost a year of no trouble and safe living, and then BAM!
A werewolf and a handsy so-called Reaper.
That wasn’t even the worst part… I felt a twinge of sadness that I had to pack up and leave a place that was comfortable.
I made friends—granted only work friends—but nonetheless; I had a job and an apartment. Now I had nothing. Again.
When I looked away from the door, I jumped again. “So, you have to leave?” the Reaper asked like I hadn’t just blasted him with my magic.
I glared at him. How did he find me so fast? “I don’t want to hurt you again, just leave me alone,” I gritted out.
He chuckled. “You didn’t hurt me. It’s okay, you look frazzled and in a hurry, I’ll find you and recharge when I need to.”
Frazzled? Recharge?
“Wait! What do you mean?”
He crossed his arms over his huge, muscular chest and smirked. “Don’t worry, I’m not a bad guy.”
In all my years, I’d never encountered such an infuriating man, and I had been around plenty since coming to the human world. Not otherworldly guys like this one… maybe that was why. I was shaken up already from the werewolf.
But did he not realize how frightening he looked standing there with that smirk like he was contemplating kidnapping me? He wasn’t thinking about it, was he? How did such a beautiful male specimen make himself look so terrifying with the way he stood?
“I’m just a sleepy sloth in need of energy,” he added with a sly smirk.
He wasn’t making a lick of sense.
“Look, I don’t know who you are or what you’re even talking about—”
“Sebastian,” he gave me his name.
“But leave me alone. I have enough problems without you being around,” I finished.
He stepped closer; I felt the slither of need crawl up my back and I shivered with the urge to touch and take, touch, take. Twitchy. I pulled my hands back.
“There’s something about you, Izzie.”
I huffed. “Don’t call me Izzie like you know me.”
He arched his brow and laughed. “Don’t you realize already?”
“Realize what?”
“I’ll be getting to know you,” he paused to let me absorb his words before he said, “inside and out.”
I blinked at him. Then blinked some more before my mouth opened. “Do you not realize?” He tilted his head, still smiling, and waited for me to go on. “How fucking creepy that sounds?”
The creep laughed again. “You’re funny. I think we’re going to get along just fine.”
He had me so irritated, my magic crackled out of my fingertips. He noticed and held his hands up between us. “Easy there. I feel like I started us out wrong… Let’s be friends?” he offered.
“No,” I answered immediately.
“Maybe? Okay, that’s good.”
“I didn’t say, maybe.” As he completely ignored me, my magic grew stronger and even louder.
“I’ll come to visit soon,” he went on.
“Good luck,” I snarled because I planned to be long gone. And when I disappeared, nobody found me.
He stopped and just studied me for a few seconds before he smirked. “No need for luck. I’ll find you, witch. Nobody can hide from Reapers.” He stood there even longer just staring as I glared until he added, “You’re not curious at all about me?”
“No,” I replied evenly.
“I’ve been told I’ve got a good face. Don’t you think I have a good face?”
Oh, my God! What was he saying now? I was getting whiplash with how much he changed the subject.
I clapped my hands together, ending the magic flowing between my fingers. “Well, this hasn’t been fun, and I hate that we met, so let’s never see each other again?” I saw his mouth opening to say something, so I said, “If you’ll excuse me, I’m in a hurry.”
Hurry was an understatement. My entire fate rested on getting the hell out of dodge before he… he didn’t even deserve to be called he. He was a true monster. And he halfway succeeded in making me into one.
I walked around him, but not without running my hands across his cloak, not being able to help myself.
The darkness was disappointed that I didn’t feel any of his power, it needed his skin.
But all too quickly, I was behind him, scooping up my belongings and hoping that this time he didn’t follow me.
The darkness was disappointed when he didn’t.