“Well, we know that’s not true,” Natalia assures.
“We got into this argument, and I said things I shouldn’t have. And I was incredibly disrespectful, and I regret it. But they were saying all the wrong things I didn’t want to hear, especially after having such a challenging day yesterday. And my dad wanted to argue with me in front of Nathan last night about the move.” I swipe a tear that escaped from my right eye. “Then, this bond is so heavy. I want Nathan everywhere, and I can’t help it. Then again, his presence is filling every inch of me, but it’s not enough. And needing him this bad is driving me crazy. Weird things are happening in my body.” I gesture to myself. “Markings are popping up on me that have never been here before. Then last night.” I lift my shaking hands. “What I did. I’ve never. . . And I―” I croak, stopping myself.
Nathan hugs me to him. I turn away from Natalia and Taylor, hiding my break down.
Natalia rubs my back. “Nathan is right, Tracey. Everything will be okay. Nothing will take you from him or him from you, no matter where you are in the world. Soon, you’ll see the bond between two mates is meant to strengthen. But it’s not easy. And for a human, it’s tyrannical, especially if you’re taking on a Burdened Sephlem. You have a challenge ahead of you, my dear. But I believe in your strength, Tracey.”
The bed moves and seconds later, the door closes.
“Come on, Tracey, let’s go for a walk. It’ll help.”
I exchange my sandals for sneakers, and Nathan and I head outside to walk the trail behind his house.
The silence is both peaceful and chaotic. Our lack of contact and the oversized distance between us as we stroll is as heavy as falling in place. I wrap my arm around his to ease it.
I part my lips, but snap them shut, unsure of what my first words should be.
Nathan isn’t pushing me to talk, and he doesn’t try to change my mood. He lets me be me. He does, however, provide me with his comfort, and I’m grateful for that. I shouldn’t have broken down earlier, or gotten mad at him. It’s these conflicting emotions and overbearing urges, and my senses are bouncing around like crazy.
“So, your mom is okay, dealing with last night?” I ask.
Nathan’s nostrils flare and he exhales. “She’s doing fine. It’s hard on her, we all know, but she’s doing a good job at holding it together. Sometimes she’ll go off and cry. We let her, not knowing what to say. My aunt is going to take her away for a couple days today. She’s the only one who knows how to deal with this.”
“Sorry about earlier. Me going off and all.”
He pulls me closer. “Don’t worry about it. It’s nothing. You’ll go off sometimes. I’ll go off sometimes. It happens in relationships.”
“Yeah, but all the rage and anger I felt. My actions were unnecessary.”
“Yeah, you probably just need some di― Oof.”
I punch him in his chest. “Don’t say that.”
He chuckles. “All I’m saying is. . . I could help you with that.” He pulls me in front of him, pressing his chest against my back. “Help you release some of that rage and anger. It could be all rough and aggressive.” He kisses my neck then bites onto it. “You could be loud and say, Aww, Nathan.” He tries to mock me using a high-pitch voice.
I elbow him in the stomach. “I do not say that.”
“Or maybe you just don’t hear yourself say that because you’re too into it,” he states matter-of-factly.
“Shut up,” I tease, removing myself from his grip and hurrying away from him.
He’s back at my side in a blink. “You want to tell me about this night-vision, match hands?”
“My name is Tracey, and no, I don’t.”
“Why not?” He laces our fingers.
I pull our hands in front of me and join my free hand with them. “I don’t know how it works. I think it has something to do with this kind of film that covers my eyes. It just happened. I didn’t ask it to or want it to. It kicked in on its own. The only thing I can control is my blackening palm and the fire.”
“That fire serpent thing is new.”
“I know!” I exclaim. “It’s super cool. It’s how I found you. It and I are somehow connected. You too.”
He nods, tipping down the corners of his mouth. “Nice.”
We stroll quietly for a while, enjoying the spring sun and each other’s company. I lay my head against his arm as we make our way up the path. A yawn reminds me of being woken up during the night, over and over again thanks to Nathan’s phone ringing all night with the same two people calling. “Last night, somewhere between rem sleep and alertness, your phone was going off with loudmouth Melissa and some girl named Annabelle texting you pictures, complaining about you not answering, and threatening to stop by together. Both seemed pretty hell-bent on grabbing your attention.”
He shrugs. “Yeah, I saw those thirty-two missed calls and texts this morning. Doesn’t matter, though, they’re not getting it.”
“How do they know each other, redhead and loudmouth?”
Nathan clears throat. “Where’d your parents go? They’re probably gonna have a great time away together.”
I sneer at him, taken aback. Nonchalantly, he drags his gaze away from me, looking ahead of us. He is such an ass. “Did you really just do that?”
“What?” His glossed-over innocence doesn’t nearly fool me.
“You’re just going to ignore my question?”
“You want to talk about this?” he drawls, rolling his eyes.
“Now I do, thanks to your sudden avoidance.”
He pushes his hand through his hair. “You’ll figure it out if you put a little thought to it. I’m not saying.”
I roll my eyes as I look away from him. There’s only one way they would know each other, and one willing to share the info with the other. The pictures with them together, nude, sexting. Wait. . . “Nathan! You are nasty!” I jerk my hands from him, speeding up.
He laughs. “Tracey, wait.”
I fake resentment, turning up my lip as I glare in his direction.
“Come here.” He grabs my back pocket and whips me around. “You know if I had told you, you wouldn’t want to hear about me being with those girls.”
I break away. “Then say that. Don’t change the subject and ignore me completely.”
“I didn’t ignore you, just your question.”
“You asshole!” I push him. He propels backward and slams into a tree. “Oh, my gosh!” I rush across the gravel and crunchy grass to him. “Nathan, I am so sorry.” I can’t hold my laughter. “Are you okay?” I ask, cracking up.
He stands from the ground, dusting the loose leaves and dirt from himself. “I would say you have picked up some strength, babe.”
I try to harden my expression. “Yeah. That means don’t mess with me.”
“Seriously. Most people can’t even move me, and here you are—knocked me off my feet. How much force did you put behind that?” His baffled face makes me giggle.
“I’m not sure. A lot, considering I thought I couldn’t move you.”
“Right. . .” Something flashes on his face when I blink. A change of some sort. Sobering, I blink again, and then again. Every other blink, it returns, not lasting long enough for me to figure out what it is. “Are you okay?” he asks.
I squeeze my eyes shut for a moment and then reopen them. A soft gasp parts my lips.
The being―the beast before me.
Wide night eyes peer back at me. With a brittle, reddish complexion, Nathan’s skin’s darker and hard looking. His slicked back hair ends in needle sharp points sprouted out all over the back of his head. Much like in a dream I’ve had.
“Um, Tracey, your eyes are entirely pitch black, and you’re looking at me uncomfortably.”
What’s odd is, he still appeals to me, even in this daunting, malevolent image. I study him, searching for a flaw in his evil.
He extends his hand for me to take. It, too, holds this reddened complexion, an
d his nails are black and brittle. Taking it, I breathe, “I see you.”
“I know,” he appeases, excitement and astonishment gone.
“You’re amazing,” I admire.
He grabs my chin, slowly tilting my head back, and kisses me. His lips are soft, as usual, although they look hard and he tastes sweet, although he appears venomous.
I kiss him, staring into midnight blue eyes outlined in an empty gray. In his pupils, I see my fully covered black eyes. I yank away, squeezing them shut.
He grabs me by my chin again. I leave my eyes closed as he pulls me close and lays the sweetest kiss on my lips. “Open your eyes, Tracey.” I do. He’s his regular self again. “How’d you do that?” he asks with stone admiration.
“I’m not sure.” I study the face of the man I’m accustomed to seeing. “That’s how you look . . . out of character?” I brush the tip of my fingers over her cheeks.
“Yes. I never wanted you to see that.”
“You kissed me.”
His voice is soft as he says, “I did because even seeing the true me, you didn’t change. You didn’t falter.”
“You appealed to me.” My hands fall to my sides, and I take a single step away from him. “You’re still my Nathan.”
“Did you not want me to be?”
“No, I want you to be. I actually want you to do more than just attract me,” I flirt, grabbing at his sides.
He bites his bottom lip, and in the next minute, we’re in his room, windows closed and doors locked. He slows, finding me standing by the TV. Sitting at the edge of the bed, he beckons me to come to him with a wave of his hand.
I cross the floor. “What’s up, Nathan?”
“Hey, Tracey.” He lays his head on my chest. “You have no idea how deep my love goes.” He uses a voice I haven’t heard before, eyes swirling, not having a color to go with his mood.
I kiss him, not knowing, just sure, he does. “I cherish you,” I say through a kiss. “I love you,” I ratify through another. “I need you to say it back.”
“I love you.”
“Again?”
He bites my skin, and it pleasurably hurts. “Tracey, I fucking love you.” His hands slide to my back, and he pulls on my shirt hard enough for it to rip. Pieces fall around me.
The aggression and lack of willpower have my kisses more forceful than I intend for them to be. I bite his bottom lip, less forceful than my kiss. From the day I met him, I’ve wanted to do that.
He grabs my thighs, and his heavy hands glide over my waist to the band of my shorts. His fingers slide between my body and their band, and he rips them off. Shreds.
I look down at them.
“Sorry,” he mutters without an inkling of passion.
Faster than I can follow, he flips me, and I’m beneath him, on my back, legs arched at the bed’s edge. He stands between them, sliding his hands up my thighs. I pull the ponytail from my hair, letting out a slow breath, trying to calm myself as seizing eyes bore down on me.
He leaves and comes back in boxer briefs.
“Nice!” I say.
“Thought you’d like it.”
I slide my hands over his back as he leans over me. All of me is ready to defy gravity and give rest to the bonding’s requirements.
Heavy pounds sound against the door. Of course this world has other plans.
“Go away!” Nathan shouts.
“No.” They knock again. “Open the door. I need to talk,” Scott says.
“Dammit, Scott! You have the worst timing on the planet!” Nathan says. “Can you give me twenty minutes?”
“Please,” I add my plea, as Nathan’s lips move over my shoulder.
“Nathan, either you open the door, or I will,” Scott threatens.
Nathan slams his hand on the bed beside us. “Fuck!” he exclaims, standing. “Scott, you better not!”
“Well, open the door!”
I grab Nathan’s sides, and he grunts, looking down at me. “Don’t,” I say.
“Get out here, Nathan!” Scott continues to yell through the door.
“Please, Scott?” Nathan begs childishly. “If he only knew what was beneath me. . .” His voice lowers. “He’d leave me alone,” he complains, meeting my eyes.
Surprised, I hold it, seeing me through his gaze. My brown eyes are bright, staring up at Nathan as though he were the most important person in the world. My olive skin is flushed, and my chest quickly rises and falls as I reach for him. My touch gliding against his skin, I can feel along my own flesh. Recollection of me favors my thoughts, and a care for me centers my desires, and all of these things are coming from Nathan. “What the. . .”
“Get out of my head, Tracey.”
“What? How am I doing this?”
He rips his gaze from mine, and I pop back to myself like the snap of a rubber band.
Scott continues to bang on the door. “Let’s go, you two,” Glen says. “We’re bored, let’s do something!”
“Glen, you are really putting a damper on our friendship right now,” I say, watching Nathan go to the bathroom. It takes everything in me not to follow as I pull the covers over me.
“Nathan!”
“Scott, we are coming. Stop calling me,” he yells from the bathroom. Water splashes in the sink. “Tracey, get up,” he says with aggravation thick in his tone.
“I’m not going,” I grump.
“No, no. If I have to go, you definitely have to go.” I look over at him standing in all his naked glory, looking at himself in the mirror. “Throw on some clothes so we can see what they want. Because this has to be important.” He leaves the bathroom, walking around the bed to his closet.
I sit up and look over my shredded clothes on the floor, then at the dresser. A pair of jogging pants and t-shirt is conveniently packed at the top, and I yank them on, cussing as I do.
We leave from the room and find Glen and Scott still here. “Scott, there had better be a damn good reason you’re yelling through my door,” Nathan says. “Tracey, walk ahead with Glen. We’re going to the basement.”
Glen and I gain a few feet ahead of them. She rambles about some movie she and Scott saw last night and their plans for prom. Beyond her, I hear clear whispers, picking up on Nathan and Scott’s conversation. This is so cool! I eavesdrop on them, testing my new hearing ability. A useful one.
“Fuck’s wrong with you, taking all day?” Scott snaps as if we’ve irritated him.
“Tell you what, the next time you’re about to fuck your girl, I’ll come to your spot, bang on your door, and demand you open it.”
“Oh, shit!” Scott chuckles. “I had no idea. When’d that start happening?”
“That doesn’t matter. What the hell is so important I had to back off her to see what you want?”
I whip around, shocked by their conversation. Nathan! That is so inappropriate, I scold.
Nathan’s upper lip curls. How can you even hear me? His befuddlement for my capability to hear him is hilarious.
Doesn’t matter, I quip.
Yeah, well, how about I don’t talk out loud? Let’s see your special ears hear that.
I dare you. I glare at him through my lashes. I want to hear what is so important too.
How about you talk to Glen? Her mouth is moving, and I bet you’re not listening to a word she’s saying.
I turn my attention back to Glen. She is going on and on. “So, Glen, what brings you and Scott by?”
“Scott and I have to stay over here for a while, someone tried to break into Scott’s house,” she says cooly.
“What? When?” I snap.
Glen shrugs and brushes off my question. “What happened over here last night? Scott mentioned something was wrong. Is everything okay?”
“Yeah. Everything is fine. Just don’t bring that up anymore.” I study her, unsure if I should be happy for the glorious smile taking claim over her face, or concerned. As of the last update, Glen still knows nothing. Maybe some Sephlem stuff happened o
ver there and that’s why they’re staying over.
“Okay, well, Scott was acting as if last night was serious. But Scott always blows things out of proportion. By the way, I’m moving in with him.” Again, she reveals this like it’s no big deal.
“Why?”
Glen scratches the back of her head. “I’m not sure. Because I want to, I have to. You know, we wake up and go to sleep together anyway. Scott says we’re either going to move here or away with some of their other family. Something about family sticks together.” She shrugs.
“What did your mom say?”
“Nothing. I told her and she said okay. You know my mom. Plus, she couldn’t say anything anyway. I’m old enough to leave once we graduate.” She shrugs again. “Enough about Glen. Tell me about Tracey.” We wait at the basement’s door for the boys to catch up.
I mock her shrug. “There’s nothing going on. I’m working on choosing which school to go to and finding time to work on this speech. My parents want to move to Tennessee. They met Nathan, were okay with Nathan, then, when they found out Nathan has his stuff together, they don’t want me to be with him. Although, they think he is a nice guy.” I roll my eyes.
“Why do your parents want to move?”
“That’s where Dad’s new permanent position is.”
She pokes out her lip. “Aw. I don’t want you to go. How do you feel about the move?”
I purse my lips. “What do you think?”
A mischievous smirk flitters across Scott’s face as he approaches. “Wassup, Tracey? Why do you look so down?” He laughs at me.
“Tracey’s down because she might have to move to Tennessee,” Glen cuts in.
“We’re working on figuring it all out,” Nathan tells Scott as we head down the stairs.
Like last time we were down here, we crowd on the couches. I couldn’t be happier Glen and Scott are doing better. They finally seem happy and them happy makes being around them a lot less stressful.
Today, though, I want to be crowded by Nathan, to be that obnoxious, clingy girlfriend. It may be because I almost lost him last night, and the bond is more aggressive. I take a heavy notice to the obnoxious pull my insides have for him, even with him not being more than an inch away from me.
Plight: A Dark Paranormal Romance (The Sephlem Trials Book 1) Page 34
