Chapter Thirty-Six
TOREN
Ever since the day at the rink I’ve been numb—food has lost its taste, the sun holds no warmth and all the vibrant colors around me hold no joy.
The only time I am free of this melancholy is at night when Xaden is inside me, bending my body to his will and forcing me to think about nothing aside from him.
I never spend the night in his bed. All week after we finish having sex, he pats me on the ass, says fucking thanks, Tink, then gets up and leaves with Cas.
I have no idea where they go but I hear them come home in the early hours of the morning.
Both of them head straight for their bathrooms, sleep for a couple of hours, then they are up for early morning training before school.
Harper has enrolled in Stormsend and managed to pull strings to be in almost all of my classes.
I have no idea how the hell she worked her magic, but I’m fucking glad.
Aside from her, the only friend I have is Brady.
If I pass Telisha in the halls she smiles at me but never speaks.
Maddie acts like I don’t exist and I’m okay with it.
At least she isn’t being cruel and she even seems to be toning down her bitchiness at work.
Cas and Xaden hang with their friends and pay me no mind.
A few times I have caught Xaden glaring in my direction at lunch when he sees Brady sitting with me and Harper, but that’s it.
The other kids still make jokes and hurl insults my way.
They’ve become white noise now. I know they all hate me and I can’t blame them for it.
The school is buzzing with excitement for tomorrow night’s game.
They may be happy but I’m not, I’m fucking dreading it.
Xaden told me last night he wanted me there at the game.
I turned him down, but then he had to go and do that thing with his sinful tongue and denied me my release until I relented and agreed to not only come to the game, but to wear his jersey and sit on Stormsend’s side.
When the final bell sounds out, all the students rush out of the room.
I pack up my pad and pen and follow after them to meet Harper out front, so we can go and grab a coffee before I start my shift.
When I step outside, I don’t spot her anywhere.
I begin to worry something has happened to her and instinctively reach up to clasp my pendant, then scold myself.
I haven’t worn it since the first night I slept with Xaden.
It’s in my dresser at home and it’s times like these that I hate that I decided to leave the past in the past.
To teach is to learn. To learn is to excel. To excel is to thrive. To thrive is to live.
I repeat the chant over and over hoping it will ease my nerves. The sound of a shout from around the side of the building draws my attention. I try to stay out of sight as I poke my head around the side. When I see Harper standing in front of Meekan looking furious, my face contorts in confusion.
“I need an update on her,” Meek says.
“She’s sad, angry and… I don’t know. She isn’t herself right now. I have to go. I’m supposed to be meeting her.” It’s then that I realize they are talking about me!
“Keep an eye on her. I’ll be at the game tomorrow night.”
“Stay away from her, Meekan. All you have done is make shit worse.” Harper speaks to him as if she knows him and I don’t recall her ever mentioning anything about him.
“Motherfucker.” I scream in fright at the sound of Cas’s voice coming from behind me.
Both Harper and Meekan turn to see me huddled into the side of the building, spying on them.
Cas marches out from behind me, heading toward Meek and Harper.
I dart after him and try to grab his arm to force him to stop, but he just shrugs me off like I’m an annoying fly.
“I fucking warned you,” Cas bellows. Harper jumps back a step as he closes in on them.
Meekan doesn’t budge until Cas barrels into him, bumping him with his chest.
Meek stumbles back. When I see the look in his eyes, I scream for him not to…
do what I see in his eyes but my plea falls on deaf ears.
Meekan takes a swing at Cas and clips him across the jaw.
Cas doesn't stand there and take it, within mere seconds the both of them are trading blow for blow.
I scream for them to stop but they ignore me.
I look around hoping one of the people standing around watching will step in, but they all just stand there with their damned phones out recording.
When they both stumble back a step, I use that moment to dart in between them and try to break them apart.
I look over at Cas. Horror crosses his face, making me frown.
He tries to reach for me and push me out of the way, but it's too late. I spot Meekan’s fist out of the corner of my eye.
I don’t get a chance to brace and he’s too close to keep himself from landing the blow.
When his fist connects, I cry out in pain before I lose sight and consciousness.
Pain radiates on the side of my face as I blink my eyes open slowly.
I reach up and press the pads of my fingers to my cheek and hiss.
I look around me and frown, only to wince from the pain in my cheek.
I’m in Xaden’s room! It’s dark and I can see the moon high in the sky.
The last thing I recall was it still being only afternoon!
The shock of that realization is blown to smithereens when I hear shouting outside the partially open door.
“I want his fucking head!” Xaden roars. I flinch at the raw anger in his tone.
“We can’t, X. You know that. It will bring more fucking heat than we can handle right now and Lorenzo has forbade it.”
“Fuck my father and what that cunt wants. He’s grown soft sitting in that fucking mansion and barking orders. It’s been too long since he has done his own dirty work. I want the cunt gone for what he did to her.”
“You plan to do worse,” Cas fires back.
“The fairy is mine to fuck with, no one else’s.
” For the second time today, I’ve managed to catch two conversations about me.
“Meekan comes anywhere near her again and I’m gonna slit the cunt’s throat.
I don’t give a fuck if he’s a fed.” I gasp in shock.
I slowly sit up only to see the bedroom door open and my god of darkness standing there in the dark.
He looks like the angel of death dressed head to toe in black.
He has the hood of his jumper pulled up, shielding his face from me.
“Looks like someone out there still believes in you, Tink,” he says in a gruff tone.
“I’m still breathing so I guess you’re right,” I mutter dejectedly.
Xaden moves toward me with calculated steps, the closer he gets to me the shallower my breaths turn.
I’m equal parts attracted to him and lust after him daily, but there is still a part of him that I fear.
He stands at the edge of the bed, staring down at me.
I loathe the darkness because I can’t see his eyes.
In rare moments when he is inside of me, I can see everything he feels in those gray eyes, but when we’re not having sex all I see is anger and hatred.
“Want me to kill him?” His question is asked so bashfully I can’t help but laugh. I see a ghost of a smile touch the corner of his mouth. My laughter dies off and I realize with a hundred percent certainty that he isn’t kidding.
“You once told me to not believe the rumors about your family because they were bullshit. You said you were much worse.” When he pushes his hood back, and I see the resolve in his eyes, I know within my gut that if I said yes, he would slay Meekan. “I think I believe you now,” I say quietly.
Xaden says nothing, just stands there and stares down at me until I begin to squirm from the pressure of it.
“Fairies die all the time,” he says after a long moment.
“You’ve told me that.”
“Only I get to end you, Tink. Your pain and misery belong to me.” The conviction of his words stuns me. I can tell he means what he says.
“Well, if my pain belongs to you, then you can take it away now… please.” My attempt at humor falls flat.
I release a tired sigh and scoot to the edge of the bed where he stands.
I swing my legs over the edge and push to my feet.
I cringe in pain, which just makes Xaden growl.
He grips my arm and drags me across the room.
I slam my eyes shut when he flicks on the light in the bathroom.
When I blink them open, I come face to face with my reflection in the mirror.
My jaw hits the floor at the sight of the bruise on my face—my eye is turning black and I know come morning I will have a full blown black eye. I reach up, hissing in pain when I press my fingers against my cheek. Xaden smacks my hand away.
“Don’t fucking touch it,” he barks. “I want your ass to get in the shower, then get the fuck to bed.” I attempt to lift a brow but wince.
Xaden shakes his head, then stalks out, slamming the door closed behind himself.
I don’t understand why he is so angry, it’s not his face that looks like it got mutilated by a fist.
Harper.
Where is she? Why the fuck was she talking to Meek about me?
Questions burn through my mind as I wrap my hair in a messy bun atop my head and strip down, then climb into Xaden’s shower.
I don’t wash my face, too frightened of the pain, but I wash myself quickly, then step out to dry off.
I realize then I have no clean clothes in here, so I wrap the towel around my body and step out of the bathroom.
Xaden stands at the foot of his bed with his hands stuffed into his pockets.
His gaze roves over me, then finally settles on my face, fury clouding his features.
“I’m okay.”
He scoffs. “Doesn’t matter to me if you weren’t.” His brisk words hurt but I don’t let it show.
“I’m gonna head to bed,” I say in a monotone.
“You don’t call the fucking shots, Tink, I do.”
I throw my hands in the air. “What the fuck do you want from me, Xaden?” I snap. His mood swings give me whiplash, one minute he’s nice then in the next second he flips a switch and he’s back to being the asshole everyone knows and hates.
“I want to peel the fucking flesh from your bones. I want to hold your heart in my hand as it beats for the last time. I want to tear your fucking eyes out with a spoon and look through them so I can look out at the world with rose colored glasses like you.” The blood drains from my face, a pit of fear twists in my gut.
“I want to slice those lips from your face and frame them above my bed so every motherfucker will know that I was the one who took down the prized princess of the Kellar Cartel.”
My heart stops beating. Every thought whirling around my head evaporates, my breath hitches as I stand here and repeat those words over and over again.
Kellar Cartel.