2. Evelyn
2
Evelyn
R afe’s voice reached my foggy mind. “Evelyn, what’s wrong? I can feel your pain.”
Hands touched my shoulders, and it felt as though my skin was sizzling under his touch.
I pushed him away. “Don’t touch me. Don’t come near me. Something is happening…Again.”
I gasped for air and straightened up with open arms, my skin prickling and buzzing as if a thousand tiny electric shocks were racing beneath the surface. I held my breath, every muscle twitching with the need for release. Relentless pressure expanded within me, threatening to burst free in an uncontrollable surge.
Until it did.
Pain shot from my lower spine to my neck, as though my bones were being crushed and reshaped. I screamed, this time from agony.
A cracking sound echoed in my mind as if my bones were snapping and reforming until something expanded out of my back.
“What the actual fuck!” I yelled, trying to turn my neck to look behind me. I glimpsed something shiny before rushing to the mirror, my breath catching in my throat.
Iridescent wings spread out behind me, casting a shimmering glow.
I gasped, stumbling back in shock.
How is this even possible? How can a witch have wings?
“What am I?” I gasped, panic clawing at my chest, making it hard to breathe.
Instantly, Rafe was by my side, placing his hand against my neck as I struggled to breathe. “It’s okay. Don’t panic,” he whispered, his other hand touching my forehead. “I’m here. You’re safe.”
Lucien’s surprised gaze as he walked toward me didn’t help me calm down. “What is she?” the professor asked, turning to face Alister. “What did you do to her?”
“I’m not a monster. I’m not a monster,” I whispered to myself as Rafe continued to press his palm against my forehead.
“Of course, you’re not a monster. Look how beautiful your wings are,” Rafe said, his lips curling into a smile. “Look how radiant you glow. How can you be a monster?”
“Of course, you’re not a monster,” Alister assured as he approached us.
Lucien raised his hand, trying to stop him from touching me, but the vampire shoved him aside.
“Don’t touch him!” I snapped at Alister.
Rafe positioned himself in front of Lucien and me. “I’m not that easily shoved.”
“I’m not your enemy,” Alister claimed, raising his hands.
“So what are you?” I demanded, narrowing my eyes at his reflection in the mirror.
Yes, the myth that vampires have no reflection is a lie. An urban legend to make humans feel safer.
Rafe rubbed my shoulders, ignoring Alister. “Evelyn, don’t confront him. Your magic is unstable right now, and the last thing you need is to get angrier.”
“I need answers. I won’t calm down if I don’t know what’s happening to me.”
He nodded. “I’ll stay close in case you need me.”
I gave him a short nod and folded my arms before turning to face Alister. “Talk.”
Sighing heavily, Alister began, “As you know, your parents asked for my help. Your magical abilities were growing more powerful every day. They were afraid of what might happen if someone found out, especially since they believed there was an imminent threat.”
“So they thought the solution was to marry me off to a vampire?” I scoffed.
“No. Of course not. They had no idea that would be my condition.”
“What do you mean?”
“After trying everything they could to bind your powers and failing miserably, I was their last resort. I used that to force their hand.”
“Why? I was just a child! Unless…you wanted to control my powers when I was older.”
He waved his hands in denial. “No, that wasn’t it. There’s a reason for my demand. Plus, I’d be the only one strong enough to protect you if someone wanted to harm you.”
The sheer arrogance.
“Really? Where were you when they imprisoned and tortured me?”
His confused gaze was enough for me to shut up.
Technically, it hadn’t happened…yet. Still, where was he when I needed him in my other timeline?
We hadn’t met then.
“Evelyn, who hurt you?” Alister’s voice quivered as if he cared about me.
“No one, yet,” I whispered as Rafe’s hands held me tighter. I looked at him. “You weren’t there, either.”
“I’m here now,” he retorted.
In a way, that was enough to make me feel better. “I shouldn’t have left your home last night.”
“You shouldn’t have.”
“Evelyn, please listen to me,” Alister begged. “Let me finish.”
“Talk,” I urged him to continue.
“Like I said, they tried everything before coming to me. Only ancient vampire venom could bind your unique abilities. Only another dose of that venom could unlock them.”
I frowned. “So you biting me made me yours?”
“It sealed the pact I had made with your parents and forged a bond between us. Beyond that, in my heart, I’m yours and you’re my wife. You’re the only one who can decide if you’re mine or not.”
“Why?”
“We should talk privately about that. Without uninvited guests,” he said, looking at Rafe and Lucien.
“Not going to happen,” Lucien warned. “You didn’t just lie to her, you also lied to us.”
“My relationship with Evelyn isn’t your business.”
“Anything related to Evelyn is our business,” Lucien claimed.
I glanced at Rafe, who nodded seriously. “Don’t I have a say in the matter?”
“Not now, Evelyn. Alister needs to be put in his place,” Lucien said, raising his hand to lecture the vampire. “You preyed on a young witch and tricked her. Now you claim she’s your wife as if she can’t decide for herself.”
I raised my finger to rebuke his words but shut up when I heard Alister’s annoyed sigh.
“I already said I wasn’t going to force her to be mine if she didn’t want to,” Alister retorted.
“You branded her!” Lucien raised his voice, pointing at my tattooed finger.
“That’s what happens when a vampire makes someone…theirs. It can’t be removed unless I die.”
“Even if I reject you?” I asked Alister, intrigued.
He nodded. “We’re connected. Whether or not you want to keep that connection, it’s up to you.”
“How convenient for you,” I muttered, my fingers absently tracing the tattoo. The urge to claw it off and the desire to cherish it warred within me. I pushed the conflicting emotions aside, focusing on the anger.
It was easier.
Safer.
Alister’s eyes flickered to my finger, a mix of possessiveness and regret in his gaze. “Evelyn, I’m sorry—”
“Save it,” I cut him off. “Just…keep explaining.”
Yet, as I stood there seething, a part of me wondered if I was overreacting. After all, until now, he hadn’t actually hurt me. I couldn’t deny that I’d fantasized about him, maybe more than I should have. I was the one who asked him to bite me. I was the one who ran to a vampire to numb my feelings after Rafe and Lucien took me to their home.
Does he love me? Or does he just want to control me? We barely know each other.
I felt stupid for trusting a vampire just because he was gorgeous and smelled divine.
“Your parents,” Alister said, stopping my train of thought. “They most likely intended to tell you everything once you were older.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Your parents truly believed they were protecting you,” Alister admitted.
“My parents…” The words caught in my throat as a strangled sob fought its way free. “They didn’t protect me! They imprisoned my powers and left me on my own.”
They wanted to clip my wings before I knew I could even fly.
“I’m sure they weren’t planning to die, Eve,” Alister whispered.
“Yet they did, and they took that secret to their graves!” I choked out, my vision blurring with unshed tears. “They left me alone, thinking I was just a normal witch, never letting me know what my legacy meant. Because of that, I—I—”
“You were never normal, Evelyn,” Rafe reminded me. “Your magic has always been extraordinary.”
I shook my head, trying to process it all. Everything I thought I knew was wrong.
My breath came in ragged gasps. The air felt too thin, the hallway too small.
What am I?
Wings?
Seriously? What’s next, a tail?
I swirled around and stared at my reflection in the mirror, struggling to recognize the person staring back.
How could this be happening?
The wings extended from my back, glittering and fluttering as if they had always belonged there.
Then I remembered.
Theo.
I looked down and saw my fingers, still smeared in blood.
Theo’s blood.
The memories surged back like a tidal wave, each one hitting me with the force of a punch. Pain wrapped around my chest like a vise, squeezing until I could barely breathe. My knees buckled, and I gripped the edge of the foyer table to stay upright.
My friend was dead because of me.
I had failed him.
I closed my eyes and tried to focus, to clamp down on the hysteria clawing its way up my throat. I clenched my fists until my nails bit into my palms, focusing on my pain rather than anything else.
“Evelyn, you’re on fire…again,” Rafe blurted out.
Alister ambled forward but stopped when I glared at him. “Evelyn, you need to calm down. You’re igniting.”
Heat licked at my skin, searing and intense. The air around me shimmered with the rising temperature, distorting everything like a mirage.
I glanced at Rafe. “Don’t you dare put me to sleep,” I warned through gritted teeth.
He shook his head. “I won’t. This isn’t draining your life force; it’s coming from your new abilities.”
Emotionally, I was exhausted.
Physically, I was on fire.
Overall, I was a hot mess…literally.
Just then, Alister raised his hand, trying to get my attention. “May I say something?”
“No!” Lucien, Rafe, and I said at the same time.
“You deserve it if she burns your house down,” Lucien added.
Despite the flames enveloping my body and burning the tracksuit to ashes, I didn’t feel as if I was losing control. Instead, I felt an intoxicating raw power that made me feel safe, free, and whole.
Was I naked? Yes.
Did I care? Not really.