Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
Latham
Her blood is sweet on my tongue. Her very essence is sweet and addictive as I run my tongue across her head.
Blaine and Xavier distract me, and I don’t see her fall.
But maybe this was a blessing that she was hurt and I had access to her blood.
We need answers, and she isn’t willing to give them; I never would have done this to her because it was a severe invasion of privacy.
It would dredge up every secret, from every inch of her mind, including suppressed memories.
Blood sifting is illegal outside the courts; it isn’t allowed without severe repercussions.
No one has a right to see every inch of someone's mind, and I am now breaking the law I helped create.
Voluntarily is different. Yet forced is illegal by supernatural law.
She is unconscious, yet I wait for her memories to flash before me so I can sift through what makes this woman tick.
Still, I get nothing besides the memories she’s shared with us, her thoughts when around us.
She’s truly kept her distance from us because of brother.
She wants all of us as much as we want her, yet she is scared of what that means, what people would think of her and her brother hurting us. But that is it.
Where are her memories, and why can’t I access the deepest darkest parts of her?
Then I feel the tingling sensation of a blockage. One thick and built of magic I was familiar with.
Demon magic taints her mind, keeps her memories encased and safe from me. I curse under my breath as I try to force my way through the veil.
What the fuck is going on? Why can’t I pass through her mind? Why is she tainted with dark magic?
The only way past it is for the demon that trapped her memories to lift it unless she willingly shows me. Yet I feel it is just me unable to sift through. Blocks on the mind are a safety mechanism. Unless Bella gives me clear passage, I have no way in. Yet the magic itself feels familiar somehow.
I have tasted it before, but I can’t put a name to the magic. Almost like they knew I was the one that would check, and they were specifically keeping me out. There is only one way to see if that is true, and that is for Xavier or Blaine to try blood sifting through her memories.
Is it only me that was blocked from her mind or everyone in general?
I can hear yelling and frantic cries around me, and I force myself out of her memories. Bella is no longer lying in front of me on our bed, but her back is against the wall as she tries to keep distance between herself, Blaine, and Xavier. They are trying to calm her down.
When did she wake up? I gave her my blood, but she should have remained unconscious a little longer. I was only out for a few seconds.
“Calm down, Bella. We won’t hurt you,” Xavier tries to tell her as she brandishes the lamp as a weapon.
I feel Blaine’s magic rush out like an eruption.
The tendrils wrapping around her make her jolt, and she blinks rapidly as she subconsciously tries to fight off his power.
His magic is like a balm, soothing and calm, and her grip loosens on the lamp.
It falls from her fingers, and Xavier reaches out to her, trying to grab her while she is tightly enveloped in his magic.
Blaine has a cut across his eyebrow, and she must have hit him as blood trickles down his eyelid and face.
Her entire body is trembling. I watch her blink as Xavier takes her shaking hand, his fingers grabbing hers, and she lets out a breath.
She is still stuck in the confines of Blaine’s power.
One of the things I like about Blaine and Xavier.
My power is dark, strong, cruel, and sadistic for the most part.
While Blaine and Xavier’s is different; they have complete control of theirs, while mine can, at times, be uncontrollable. They keep me level, and they know that.
Blood sifting is illegal without permission, but when I first met them, they could sense my power and were drawn to it. I first thought it was just natural, power seeking power, but they sensed I needed help.
They sensed me under the power and gave me their blood willingly so I knew I could trust them, and in turn, I gave them mine, and our bond formed.
Though I love them, and they love me, I’ve always kept my distance or tried to.
We have always been drawn back to each other.
I am dangerous to them, though they’ve always managed to placate me; they can’t see the true danger they are in with me, and I am an addict to them.
A soul reaper demon always wants more until they take everything, including the soul.
I have come close a few times, and a few times, they nearly died because of me, but I somehow pulled back from the brink of killing them.
But watching Blaine now with Bella, I understand why I am addicted to them, why I love them. Not all demons are monsters. Blaine and Xavier have retained their humanity, letting me feel something other than hunger and bloodshed. They stopped me from becoming my creator.
“Latham, some help would be nice,” Blaine grits out, and I can see he is locked in a tug-of-war with his magic.
Her darkness is addictive. He is struggling to let her go; he wants to feed on her emotions as they heighten.
“Latham!” Xavier snaps, his arms wrapped around Bella as he tries to ward Blaine off, who is rooted to the spot, unable to withdraw his magic.
The hunger in his eyes is something I haven’t seen in over three hundred years; he’s never struggled with control, but whatever emotion he is locked onto, he can’t pull away from her. Getting up, I walk over to him, my hands running down his arms.
Bella’s eyes lock on his, unseeing and vacant, as he feeds on her emotions. Her fear is potent and deep-rooted. Her fear is worse than any fear I have touched before as I slide my hands down his arms. I force myself to ignore her, shoving it away, or I would be joining him and taking it from her.
“Let go, Blaine,” I whisper to him.
His body is tense and rigid under my palms.
“I can’t,” he grits out through clenched teeth.
“You need to. You will kill her,” I tell him, pressing my chest against his back.
My hands roam over the hard plains of his chest. Arousal usually works and can distract us most of the time, but she has him locked in place when I feel Xavier’s power lifting off Blaine.
My eyes dart to him, his gaze dropping to the woman in his arms, helpless and at our mercy.
I swallow when I see the glazed look of hunger wash over Xavier.
All this time, I’ve been worrying about my control, never thinking of theirs.
I watch as Xavier's eyes bleed to the darkest pits I have ever seen.
My heart is beating erratically, and I hate what I am about to do.
I have no choice, and they will forgive me.
Her safety is a priority, but will I put her in more danger if I do it.
Trapping her with me, their power is no match for .
But either way, if I leave her, they will kill her.
I may kill her. I shut my senses off to Bella, taking away the parts of me that long for her because my hunger isn’t as controlled as theirs.
I know I am about to fight the struggle of a lifetime, not to kill her.
I watch Xavier’s hand move off her arm and trail up to her throat.
He turns her face to his. She is locked in the trance of his magic, and I react when I see Xavier about to suck the soul out of her.
My body collides with them both, and the moment it does, the shock makes their magic drop as it turns sadistic, possessive, and competitive.
I land on Bella, both of us shoved against the bedside table, and she cries out at my weight crushing her.
Xavier's sharp nails turn to points raking down my back, and I feel Blaine's magic blast me, burning my back as I shield her.
Bella screams and fights against me, her surroundings coming back to her.
“Stop. I am trying to stop them from killing you!” I snapped at her.
I can't have her fighting me too. Xavier punches me in the ribs, my clothes are burning off from Blaine, and Bella is knocked to the ground as I am suddenly tossed across the room by Xavier. Her scream is deafening as Blaine turns on her.
Xavier reacts to her screams, and he pivots on his heel toward her.
I watch her drop to the ground, shielding herself and tucking into a ball.
I mist, feel myself fizzle before I am suddenly behind her.
I rip her on my lap before tossing my arms up and creating a shield between them and us, boxing us in with my magic and cutting them off.
Their magic is blasting my shield, darkness creeping over the edges that turn red, the smoke of their magic caressing and slipping over it, trying to find a way in while they batter it with their bodies like possessed savages.
Bella screams, covering her head with her hands.
Her entire body shakes as they become monsters, true demonic beasts, trying to fight their way in.
Bella looks up and sees the door before trying to scramble off my lap to run, but I wrap my arm around her waist and grip her shoulder.
“Stop hitting me, Bella. I am the only thing keeping you alive. Fucking stop,” I tell her, trying to hold the walls of my magic up to keep them from getting to her.
Her teeth bite into my arm, and I roar, trying to contain my anger as the surrounding walls vibrate.