by Claire Marta
Stella jerked back. Releasing her grip, she groped for the hilt.
Hitting the sand hard, Twitch scrambled away. Without the contact, the damage to his throat had stopped. But the skin was still burned raw.
The blade poking out from her back, she writhed in pain. Blood erupted from between the demon’s lips. Dribbling down her chin, in a rush it spluttered to join the rest that saturated her top. Her eyes were locked on his. Wide with shock they crawled over every inch of his face before her mouth twisted in a parody of a smile. “You killed a monster, now that makes you a killer, just like me.”
Dropping forwards, her body slid farther down the blade. Crimson kissed metal gleamed red in the light of the moon. Head slumping forwards, Stella went limp with death. Beneath her, the sand fell away as the ooze boiled. A gaping chasm materialized, swallowing her corpse and the sword in one go.
There was no sensation of pleasure or remorse. Twitch had blood on his hands. This time he had put it there himself. Killer. The word resounded in his head.
“Take your little rotten candy arses back to Brighton.” Eyes unearthly, he fixed the demonic children with a steely glare. “If you dare to set foot in my home again I promise you a one-way trip to hell. Now get moving and tell your fucking peacock of a Lord that before I change my mind and end you all now.”
As the bubble receded and reality returned, the demonlings fell over themselves to escape. They scurried like rats to the safety of the shadows. Without Stella, they had no focus. No will to direct them.
Asier and the others were waiting.
Eyes blazing with rage and hate, the Master vampire’s attention was fixed on the fleeing demon spawn.
“Hunt them down before they can leave the city.” He commanded the vampires surrounding him with a deadly vibe.
With a bow, they complied.
Twitch knew his eyes were still glowing. Everything he looked at was cast in an eerie light. People were staring at him. They were frightened. And Twitch did not blame them. He was too. The blood loss in his arm and torso had slowed. Being immortal he guessed that such wounds were not going to be fatal, but it they still hurt like a bitch.
Lexi stood by the imposing club doors. Arms wrapped in comfort around her middle she was worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. Her horns were once more hidden by whatever ability she used to disguise them. Relief flooded her expression when she saw him. Breaking into a run, she rushed towards him.
Asier followed behind her. A smirk tilting his lips.
“Twitch, you’re hurt!” In alarm, she reached for him.
“Don’t touch me!” His features hardened, his eyes swirling with torment. He battled the primitive urge to drag her home by her hair. To take what his instincts told him was his. Yet this was not him. He’d never had such impulses before and he feared it could lead to hurting her.
Slender eyebrows dipping together, she stared at him in confusion and tender concern. “What’s the matter?”
“Is it true? Are you fucking me because Asier told you to?” The sentences seethed through his bared teeth. He didn’t dare touch her. Not with the darkness in his soul so close to the surface. But he needed to confirm what the vamp had said was a lie.
Shock, then dismay crossed her expression. Before Lexi spoke, he already knew the answer.
“I...in the beginning…” She started, hesitantly.
The last light he’d been clinging to within flickered and died. How could she? He had trusted her. Loved her. The bottom of Twitch’s world dropped out. Lexi was working for Asier. Had only been following the vamp’s orders. Hadn’t he fallen far enough already? What had done to the universe to deserve this? It was a cruel joke.
Closing his eyes in an agony, he lowered his chin letting his hair flop down to cover his face. He felt sick. Everything between them had been a lie. Every special moment they had shared tainted and fake. Had she laughed behind his back at his inexperience? Shuddered that she’s had to touch his scarred body? All the words she had said. All the tender moments. They were illusions crafted to keep him distracted.
It felt as if his heart had imploded in his chest and lay bleeding in a pulpy mess. Betrayal was like a poison in his veins. A sob worked its way from Twitch’s throat, but he kept it bottled inside. She would not see his pain. His tears. Leaving here with dignity was something he intended to hang on to.
“That’s all I needed to know.” Twitch stated tonelessly, cutting her off before Lexi could continue.
“Twitch, please.” All the happiness that had been bubbling inside her drained out, leaving her feeling shaky. He had to let her explain.
“No. I don’t want to hear it. You lied to me. Everything between us is a lie.”
“No! Twitch, you don’t understand.” Tone pleading, she dashed in front of him as he moved to leave.
He wouldn’t look at her. Face averted, he was glaring intently at the ground. “Thanks for the sex. I’m sure it was amusing for you that you got to take my virginity. But hey, at least I got that out of the way for the next girl I sleep with, right?”
“Twitch, let me explain.” Frantically, Lexi tried to grab the arm of his coat.
Flinching away, he was out of her reach in two swift steps. “I don’t need any more lies. Besides, what would I ever want with one of Asier’s whores? What we had was fun, but it’s over now. You need to go back to your Master like a good little pet. Stay away from me.” As he walked away people scrambled out of his path.
The colour drained from her face. Pet. Twitch had called her the one name she hated. Gasping for breath, she was suffocating on her emotions as her heart fragmented into tiny shards.
“Twitch?” His name was a broken whisper. Blindly, she moved to pursue him.
“Lexi.” Asier’s voice rang out clear and commanding. “I forbid you to go after him.”
She couldn’t fight against it. Resonating in her head, the command bid her to obey. Something clenched in her chest. For the first time, the vampire Master’s power over her hit home. Drawing in a ragged breath, she fell forwards, her knees hitting the hard-concrete floor. He’d used it against her. Used the binding when he had promised he never would.
Watching Twitch walk away from her without a backward glance was more than she could bear. Why was he doing this? She loved him. Why was he giving up on them? On her? Couldn’t he see she wanted to go to him? She wasn’t the vampire’s whore!
Asier stood watching. Expression blank of all emotion she knew he wouldn’t come to her. Not here in public. She didn’t matter to him. No. She was a pawn in his games. This proved she had never mattered. In a blur of movement, the vampire Master joined his minions on their deadly hunt for the demons.
Tears streaming down her face, Lexi bowed her head. How could this be happening?
Two, large, muscled arms pulled her into a warm, comforting embrace. “It’s ok, kid.” Rudy, the club bouncer, crooned softly, holding her tight. “It will be all right.”
“It’s never going to be OK.” She sobbed into his chest. Everything was falling apart around her. Everything she knew had been ripped away. What did that leave her now? A life on the run just like her mother. Always looking over her shoulder because she could not stay here. Living with the fear of Asier finding out who had fathered her. A lonely existence. One without love. Because Lexi knew in her heart; for her, there was no one else but Twitch.
Dappled sunlight peaked through the roughly drawn curtains. Streaming across the carpeted floor it shifted and played in a warm spring glow. Twitch lay on the overstuffed sofa. Legs propped up on the arm rest at one end, he had an arm slung over his eyes to keep out the light. Beyond the room the house lay in silence.
Avoiding Jasmine had been easy this morning. Skipping work wasn’t a chore either. He craved the silence. He did not want to explain his mood. Being around him was dangerous. It only brought pain or death to the ones he loved. He couldn’t risk anyone else. Not anymore.
In the space of one evening all the
colour had been sucked from his existence. There came moments of deep resonating loneliness. It left a lump in his throat and an empty feeling in his heart. With its pain came an instinctual desire to curl up into a ball and hide away from the world. To shut out the source of his torment. But how was that possible when there were memories inside his own head? Lexi’s beautiful face. Her coy smile as she tucked her pink hair behind her ears. Each and every one of her sexy moans as they had fucked. Thoughts of Lexi and Asier together dominated his mind, tainting the good. It was like a mine field of bittersweet moments.
What was left of him was fractured. Lexi had broken him. Destroyed any belief he had started to have in happy endings and yet, he still loved her. She was deeply embedded within his veins. Within his ruined body. He had fooled himself into believing in a forever. That was a lie. Nothing was forever. Not love. Not friendship.
“Idiot. Idiot. Idiot.” Banging his head back against the cushions, Twitch stared at the ceiling. Oh how they had fucking played him so well.
A whine from the bottom of the sofa drew his attention. Fang was curled up by his feet. Beady, eyes lighting up, his tail wagged from side to side.
“Like me now, do you?” He asked before closing his eyes. “I wouldn’t, if I were you. My friends don’t survive long.”
Something wet touched Twitch’s hand. Rough like sandpaper, Fang’s tongue dripped drool everywhere he licked. Head down, the dog crawled carefully onto his chest.
Sinking his fingers into the tousled caramel fur Twitch caressed his back. He was careful not to touch the healing wounds. Inching closer, Fang stared at him, unblinking. Brown eyes were filled with pure adoration. Love.
Twitch’s own eyes watered. Burying his face in the soft bundle, a sob rose up in his throat. Shoulders shaking, he could not hold back the tears. He felt so lost. Things had finally made sense in his life and now he was adrift in limbo again.
As he cried Fang’s rough little tongue licked the dampness from the side of his cheek. It was comfort. The only way the canine knew how.
Twitch knew he had to put his heart on lock down. Not giving into feelings was the only way he was going to survive. It was the only way he could go on.
The sudden pounding at the front door propelled him from his misery. Wiping the tears from his cheeks, he listened as it continued. Whoever it was did not intend to go away. The knocking became more insistent.
“For fuck sake.” Twitch muttered, setting Fang gently onto the cushions. Straightening up stiffly, he slid off the sofa, his arse hitting the floor. Groaning in pain, he clamoured to his feet. If Jasmine had forgotten her keys again he was going to be annoyed. It wasn’t the first time. How absent mind could that girl be?
Twitch’s hands were shaking as he yanked the front door open. The brightness of the day was blinding. Throwing up a hand, he shaded his gaze.
“What are you doing here?”
Stubble shadowed Zook’s jaw. Eyes bloodshot, his hair was a mess and his clothes crumpled. Twitch did not need to see the bottle of Jack he had hugged lovingly to his chest to know he had been drinking. The smell was embedded in his clothing along with his breath.
“You need to come back to training. I made a promise to Nelly and I intend to see it through.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea after what happened.” Twitch shuffled back into the hall. His friend followed, banging the door shut behind him.
Not waiting for him, Twitch moved back into the sitting room. Flopping back down on the sofa he eyed Zook.
His friend glanced around at the sweet packages strewn across the floor. You could barely see the carpet beneath. The room was a mess.
“Fuck, you went on a right sugar bender, didn’t you?” Mood changing, his expression became dark and brooding. Strain was clear. He was trying to hold in Nelly’s loss, but even Twitch could see the struggle his friend was fighting.
“You can talk. At least I’m not drinking myself into oblivion.” Twitch responded, glaring at the bottle. “And if you’re here to shout at me, then don’t bother. I know I fucked up.”
“I didn’t mean to take my anger out on you. It was wrong and I’m sorry.” Sinking down on the seat beside him, Zook rested a hand on Fang’s fur. Wiggling, the dog rolled to his side.
“You were right. I should have told you. I know that. I think I must be cursed because the people I care about keep getting hurt whenever I’m around.” Letting his head fall back against the sagging leather of the seat, Twitch’s shoulders slumped in defeat.
“You know nothing of curses, so don’t even go there.” Zook muttered back bleakly.
A tense silence followed.
“Twitch, you’re losing your way. Don’t fall to the darkness. You have yet to mature into the man you will become and the power you wield must be controlled in the right way.”
“Nelly is dead because of me. Why the fuck would I ever want to conjure with it ever again? I would rather be without magic.” Screwing his eyes shut, he tried to keep out the pain as it welled. It thickened in his throat. How he wished this power that awakened in him had not manifested at all.
“No. She died doing her job.” His friend’s words were soft. Matter of fact.
“I miss her.” Stretching out his fingertips, Twitch found Fang’s furry pelt. A wet tongue found his palm. With rough, patient licks the dog bathed his hand in a puddle of drool.
“I plan on bringing her back.”
“Zook, that’s not possible.” Rolling his head to the side, Twitch observed his friend through tired eyes. He hadn’t slept for days. Eating his emotions through a truck load of sugary treats had only taken him so far. Now he was beginning to crash.
“Twitch, anything is possible if love is fuelling it. She’s in the after-life and I’m going to go get my woman back.” Zook stared back at him, his expression mirroring the convictions in his words. “That’s what you do when you love someone. You take risks even if it means you might get hurt. Where’s Lexi?”
“With Asier. Where she belongs.” Jealously filled Twitch’s veins as bitterness rose.
Sighing, Zook shook his head. “She belongs with you.”
“She lied to me. Lexi was a sweet, deceitful distraction so the Italian cockwaffle could fuck my cousin’s brains out.” Resentment filled his words. He’d been a naive idiot.
Brows knitting together in a deepening frown, the cursed God stared at him with a world weary gaze. “She told you this?”
“He did.” Caressing Fang’s snout, Twitch focused on the animal instead. He did not want to talk about it. The past was now the past. Choices had been made.
“And what did she say in her defence?” Zook persisted.
Jaw tight, Twitch remained stubbornly silent.
“Lexi is your counterpart just as Nelly is mine. The other Guardian who is supposed to balance you.” Tiredly, the male rubbed a hand over his blood shot eyes. He looked as shattered at Twitch felt. “None of this was supposed to happen. You should be together. Don’t cock up what the two of you have like I did with Nell. Regret is a bitter pill to swallow. One that will fester in your gut.”
“Lexi made her choice.”
“Did she? Are you really sure about that? Did you even give her chance to explain?”
“What happens if I choose to embrace the darkness inside me completely? Without your guidance?” Twitch asked, ignoring Zook’s question. The thought that he might have let the chance of happiness slip through his fingers pained him. No. Lexi was right where she wanted to be. With Asier.
“You know the answer to that already.” Zook replied, his voice becoming ominously grim. “You’ll become a monster.”
Lexi lay beneath the thickness of the duvet on her bed, but it did not prevent her shivers. Around her, strewn across the floor, her sketches of those she loved lay in a mess. Twitch. Asier. Her friends at the club. So many moments she had captured in pencil. None of them meant a thing now.
Crying softly, she hugged a stuffed teddy bear to
her chest. It was the first toy Asier had ever given her. The day her mother had dumped him on his doorstep before leaving her life forever. If he had really loved her as a daughter then he would be here to hold her now. Rocking away the pain as he had when she was a child. A terrible hollowness had been growing inside her and it had only grown worse. Yesterday she had seen Twitch at the club. He had been there on business with his team to see Asier. The fact he hadn’t even been able to look at her had cut deep. Not one word had been shared between them. In fact he had acted as if she had not existed.
Tears dampening her pillow, Lexi curled further into a ball. She ached for him. For his magical touch. The look in his eyes that had made her feel like the most precious woman in the world. Now everything between them lay in ashes. Ruined because of lies.
“Lexi?”
Lexi could barely rouse herself from the darkness she had tumbled into. She was so cold. So hungry, but everything was too much of an effort to move. Nothing seemed worth it any more. She was so tired. Crushed by the weight of her feelings of loss. Sleep was beckoning her and she was more than happy to let herself go.
“Amore, can you hear me?” Asier’s voice penetrated the thickness that had shrouded her mind.
“Father?” The words were a mumble between her cold lips.
“Cazzo, you should have told me.” She heard him mutter. “Or I should have worked this out sooner.”
Strong arms carefully lifted her. Lexi’s head lulled limply to the side. The heat of a body so warm and virile made her hiss with pain. It sliced through the frozen limbo she was trapped in, making her much more aware.
A cheek was pressed against her hair and the steady beat of a strong heart became her anchor to stay conscious.
“Don’t you dare leave me.” Asier warned, his voice uneven. “You need to stay awake.” Gently, a kiss was bestowed on her forehead. “Do you hear me, Lexi? Do not give up.” They were moving now. She could hear his determined strides as he carried her.
