Pretend With Me (Midnight Society #1)

by Jemma Grey

  I didn’t understand anything. What was going on? What was happening? How did I get here? Just seconds ago, I’d seen Katalin murder everyone I loved. My parents were dead. My aunt, Dr. and Mrs. Wilson were dead… Eric was dead…

  Without thinking, with only the need to do something driving me I threw the cover off me and got off the bed, walking to the door. Once outside, light pierced my eyes like knives stabbing me, but I didn’t care. Ignoring the pain, I began walking towards the staircase slowly, nervous, and weary. Soon sounds were beginning to get clearer, and when I got to the staircase, I found out why.

  The people who’d been involved in planning and catering the wedding were still here. They were hustling about, yelling orders at each other, and at first I thought they were taking everything down, but I soon realized I was wrong.

  It was the opposite; they were putting them up. The DJ was testing his sound system, the decorator was instructing her team on what went where, while the florist and her team were coming into the house with huge trolleys filled with buckets of flowers.

  I ran down the rest of the stairs and grabbed onto the first person I saw, a woman. “What’s happening here?” I demanded to know.

  “We’re getting ready for the wedding tomorrow…” the woman trailed off, looking at me like I was crazy.

  “Who’s wedding?”

  “Eric Wilson…” she frowned, pulling away from me and then going about her business.

  I stood there for a moment, trying to make sense of everything and the instant it sunk into my head, I took off running towards the pool house, hoping beyond everything that I was right. I was going at top speed and it only took me a second to get out of the house and in sight of the pool house, yet I found that this wasn’t fast enough. I pushed my legs to go faster, needing to know if this was real or not.

  “Eric!” I screamed at the top of my lungs as I opened the door, storming the house. My heart was pounding in my chest, beating so fast that I thought it was going to break out and fly away. Not knowing where he was, I stopped in my tracks and inhaled deeply.

  “Eric!” I screamed, afraid to hope, yet hoping that he was here nevertheless. And just like that, as if my hope had conjured him up, he was there, standing in front of me with the rest of his groomsmen. I barely looked at them. My eyes were stuck to Eric, glorious and beautiful and alive. I probably looked like a mess, but I didn’t care – he was alive.

  It had all been a vision, given to me by the third eye, showing me what would happen if I stopped. It hadn’t happened yet, none of it had, and I could change it. It had seemed so real. I had felt every heart-wrenching ache, every painful throb of losing him. I had seen his last breath and I had heard his heart stutter to a stop. None of that had really happened though. It had been a vision of the third eye. Having him here in front of me, alive and okay was a miracle. It was all I wanted, all I’d ever need.

  I loved Eric so much and I never wanted to lose him ever again. Even now, when I could see that he was alive, I could still feel the aching pain of losing him - the overwhelming agony that had struck me. I never wanted to go through that again.

  “Umm… hi,” he began clearly confused, “it’s bad luck to see-” he never got to finish that sentence.

  I launched myself at him with so much force that when he caught me he literally stumbled back. “I love you,” I said hugging him tightly, pressing my body into his as I breathed in his scent. “I love you.”

  “And I you… but, Jen, what’s going on?” he frowned at me. “You’re crying…” Eric then whispered as he raised his hand, wiping my face dry and I realized I really was crying. Without releasing me he began guiding me towards the bedroom. “Why are you crying, Jen?” he whispered once we were there.

  “I’m happy,” I muttered sniffing, barely able to control myself. I couldn’t stop looking at him. It was hard to believe what I had lived through just a few minutes ago had all been in my mind. “Eric I love you so much…”

  “You already said that but… I don’t know what’s…” he trailed off.

  There was so many things that I wanted to tell him. Instead I heard myself ask, “Marry me, Eric?”

  “What?” he frowned at me, as if I’d gone utterly mad.

  “Eric… I love you… I want to spend the rest of my life with you, because without you I wouldn’t be living. Everything I am, I am because of you… You were always there for me... even when I was hurting and angry… even when I put you in danger… When we met… I was in a dark, lonely place. My world was falling apart. I was in pieces but you gave me something to fight against. Fighting our marriage saved me. I love you and I do want to marry you, but I don’t want this wedding…” I was so nervous my stomach was doing summersaults, flipping this way and that.

  He remained silent for a long while, staring at me totally confused and shocked. “Okay so you want me to marry you?” I nodded instantly. “But you don’t want the wedding?” his frown deepened. “I’ll marry you, but I don’t see how… if you don’t want the wedding…”

  “I don’t want the wedding that’s happening tomorrow…” I tried explaining. “It’s fake and it’s…” I trailed off not being able to find the words to say what I wanted.

  Eric didn’t do anything for what felt like a long while; he just stared at me silently. His eyes never left my body. They were focused and so intense that I knew he was reading me, figuring out the things I needed to say but couldn’t. I let him. “I get it, Jen,” he then sighed. “The wedding tomorrow is forced and not real, you want something genuine. You don’t want us to get married because Thirdworld is telling us we have to. Okay.”

  “Okay?” I asked.

  “Okay,” he repeated, grinning at me. “I’ll marry you because I love you too.” So this is what true happiness felt like, I thought. I couldn’t stop smiling - I didn’t want to. I wanted to live in this perfect moment forever. If I could have frozen this moment in time, I would have.

  About forty-five minutes later Eric and I were standing in the bedroom of the pool house, with a dazed priest in front of us, and Jason at his side. Making people do things they didn’t normally do was one of Jason’s talents. According to Eric, Jason could influence a person’s thought and action by using his chi on them, and when he had showed up at the priest’s house in the middle of the night, that’s exactly what he did.

  And so, Eric and I got married with no one watching us, save for Jason, our witness. I was barefoot and wearing Eric’s worn out, old T-shirts and shorts while he was in pretty much the same. I had not a speck of make up on, my hair probably looked like a nest, and my eyes were bloodshot and puffy from crying. It was perfect though, because our wedding was real. It wasn't done because we were being forced into it. Right now, no one was telling us that we had to marry each other or the people we loved were going to die. We married each other simply because we loved each other.

  I had never been this happy before. I was in pure and complete bliss. Everything was absolutely perfect. I had the world’s most amazing person. I knew that I didn’t deserve him, but I was glad that I had him. Ever since I’d come into Eric’s life, I had caused him pain, put him in danger and screwed up his life, now I was going to make it up to him. I would spend the rest of my life making it up to him and I was happy I had the chance.

  Once the priest was done and Jason had walked him out – to ensure he remembered nothing of tonight, no doubt – there was only one thing left to make it real. Eric and I had to feed on each other.

  Saying I was nervous was a huge understatement. I was literally shaking. My stomach was in knots that tightened with each passing second. My heart was flying in my chest, about to burst, and beating so hard and fast that I could hear it pounding in my ear.

  “Relax, Jen,” Eric chuckled, pure amusement written on his face.

  “I can’t,” I muttered, my voice breathy and shaking.

  “Well…” he mused as he playfully pulled me closer, making me stumble towards him awkwardly.
He released one of my hand, placing it at the side of my neck. “Maybe we can do something about that,” Eric whispered as his thumb began gently stroking my jaw line.

  His touch was warm and so soft that I could barely feel it, but my body was attuned to him and even the slightest touch of his could make me insane. I could feel myself relaxing. Slowly the tension that had settled in me because of the vision began to fade. I could feel it leaving my body and eventually I was so relaxed I was barely aware when Eric pulled me to him and kissed me. All I knew was that I was suddenly kissing him back.

  When he finally did pull away, we were both breathless. I could see his desire radiating off him in waves and it attacked me like a tsunami, making me want him even more than I already did. “I’m going to bite you on your wrist, okay,” he whispered breathily.

  He didn’t have to explain to me why, I already knew. Eric and I had gone against Thirdworld; something that caused people to die. We’d put our families and friends at risk, and if anyone from Thirdworld were to find out about this, the first people that were going to suffer was the people we cared about. My only response was a weak nod and he slowly brought the hand he was holding up to his lips, kissing my wrist gently.

  My eyes closed automatically as I felt his fangs gently razing against the over-sensitive skin on my wrist. I sucked in a breath, not knowing what to expect. I knew Eric would never hurt me and I trusted him completely, but at the same time this was foreign to me.

  His teeth gently skimmed over my flesh once and then finally, after it felt like I’d waited forever, I felt his fangs puncture my skin and then push into my flesh, tapping into the vein underneath.

  At first all I felt was pain – a feeling so strong and intense that I wanted to yank my hand away from him and run for the hills. I didn’t though, even as it felt like he was literally tearing away my skin. Gradually the pain began to dull. It faded until it was completely gone and all that was left was a tugging and pulling sensation as if I was being stitched up. There was also something else, too mild to really hold onto but growing as the seconds ticked by.

  It was pleasure I realized when the feeling rose to the surface. It was more than pleasure actually – something that was too strong and intense to describe, something I’d never felt before. It travelled through my body, coating me with blissful abandon. My body had been transformed into a live wire and was about to explode.

  The sensation grew and grew until I was insane with it. I didn’t know where I was or who I was, I only knew that Eric and I was now one. I wasn’t even aware when my own fangs had pushed out and I bit into the base of his neck. I was completely lost, rising higher and higher until I thought I couldn’t possibly get any higher – that this feeling couldn’t get any better.

  I barely remembered the rest of that night, or the other day for that matter. All I knew was that the forced wedding went without a hitch, I walked down the aisle, Eric and I said our second ‘I do’s’ and then we had our reception.

  “What are you thinking about?” Eric asked at my side, pulling me out of the little trance I was in as I rested my elbow on the table in front of us, I propping my face on my palm, staring at him.

  “Nothing,” I smiled.

  “That’s not a look of nothing,” Eric frowned as he took my hand under the table, wrapping his fingers around mine tightly. “Are you regretting last night?”

  “Never,” I said before he could finish the sentence. I leaned in closer to him, pressing my lips against his. “I love you, Eric,” I whispered.

  He raised our interlocked hands from under the table, his thumb skimming the bite marks he’d left on my wrist through the glove and then kissed the back of my hand. “Love you too, Jen.”

  Just then someone cleared their throat in front of us. I didn’t have to look to know who it was, yet both Eric and I looked up at the same time to find Katalin standing at the other end of the table. Instinctively, my hand tightened around Eric’s. “What do you want, Katalin?” I asked, my voice going hard and cold.

  “I’d like to say congratulations... and also have a private moment with you, Jenifer.”

  “Are you actually asking or demanding?” I snapped and a long silent moment stretched on and then sighing, I gave in. Katalin was an evil bitch yet at the same time, she wasn’t to be taken lightly.

  Ignoring her, I turned to Eric sending him an apologetic smile. “Be back soon, Mrs. Eric Wilson,” he grinned, winking. “That sounds so amazing, Jen,” he then smirked at me. That was going to take some getting used to.

  I leaned closer to him, kissing his cheek lightly, then got up and followed Katalin out of the crowded massive hall, into the garden at the side of the house. As soon as we were out of the mansion I stopped walking, staring at Katalin’s back as she continued on. “If you’re here to threaten or hurt anyone I love, Katalin, I won’t hesitate again,” I threatened, not recognizing my own voice. It had gone deadly and so serious I scared a little part of myself. Suddenly I was a warrior, a cold-hearted killer.

  Katalin stopped walking, but didn’t turn to face me. Instead she plucked out a flower and held it up to her nose, inhaling. She was silent for a short second and then she turned to me, twirling the flower – a pure white rose – between her thumb and index fingers. “I know what you’ve seen, Jenifer, and I also know what you’ve done…” she trailed off as she began walking again, trailing her hand along all the leaves and flowers at her side.

  “And?” I asked coolly, following her. I wasn’t going to let her know that I was about to freak out. Eric and I had topped Thirdworld from the bottom, and they weren’t going to let that go.

  “I’ll keep your secret… if you’ll keep mine, from Eric included,” she said, turning to face me and my eyes began to scan her, looking for any sign that she was lying. I found none. Instead, what I saw confused me a little; everything about her was calm and collected. Katalin seemed to be in total peace. It was the opposite of what she had been in the vision.

  “Okay,” I agreed.

  She stopped suddenly, making me almost walk into her back. The silence stretched on but Katalin did and said nothing for a long while. Then, after what left like forever, she turned to me smiling - a warm, genuine smile – as she held out her hand to me, palm facing the sky. I remained unmoving, not sure if I should take her hand or not. “It’s a wedding gift, as well as token of our agreement,” she mused. “Besides, this is something you need. I swear you’ll want this chance…”

  I took a deep breath, staring at her. Again I could only see honesty, yet after what I’d seen her do - even if technically she didn’t do it in reality - I couldn’t fully trust her. Katalin stretched out her hand further to me. “My time is running out…”

  I nodded and hesitantly held onto her hand lightly. The moment our hands touched, she grabbed me roughly with both hands as everything around us faded into a blinding light. Then, before the light could fully engulf me, it was gone and I found myself standing in an open space directly under a huge, protective, tall tree.

  Immediately I knew where exactly in Trinidad I was and as soon as I was steady on my feet, I circled the tree, knowing he was here. When I found him, I dropped to my knees directly in front of the tombstone, not caring that I was getting dirt all over my wedding dress.

  “You've never came,” Katalin muttered behind me. “Even at his funeral, you stood outside the cemetery. I understand, you weren’t ready, but we all deserve the chance to say goodbye and let go of what was at some point.” I turned around, wanting to thank her but found that she was already gone, sitting on the wall at the other end of the cemetery. I turned back to Daren smiling.

  “Hey Daren,” I said running my fingers along the letters of his name, carved into the tombstone. I didn’t know what to say to him. There were so many things I wanted him to know, yet I didn’t have the words. I decided that it was better to start at the beginning.

  I swallowed and then took a deep breath. My heart was heavy in my chest. “So you
died,” I blinked back tears. “You left me alone… to face a world I knew nothing about… and for a very long time I hated you for it. I was so angry and mad at you for leaving me, for being so selfish… and selfless at the same time.” Tears spilled out now. “What you did, Daren… it wasn’t heroic, it was stupid… but I’m grateful and now I’m no longer mad at you - I understand now… so thank you. Thank you for saving me…

  “I want you to know I’m happy right now and you made that possible. Eric is an amazing, warm and kind person that I’m in love with him… He’s not a douche,” I laughed slightly, remembering his letter.

  “I got your letter and the birthday gift - it’s beautiful. I love it. Just so you know I don’t hate you, I never could, not really anyway. I still love you even though you lied to me. I always will love you. You were my first love and your place in my heart is forever. I’ll never forget you, the bond that we have is unbreakable and nothing can change that. I love you, Daren,” I whispered, “but this is goodbye.” I closed my eyes and stayed still, focusing on breathing as the words sunk into my skin. After a moment, I opened my eyes and pressed the tips of my fingers to my lips, then pressed my fingers to his name. After I got up and began walking to Katalin.

  Before I could take a footstep, she was suddenly standing at my side. She placed the rose she’d picked on the tombstone and then turned to me.

  “Shall we get back?” she asked. When Katalin was this person, it was almost impossible to hate her. I wanted to. I had seen her kill my family without hesitation or remorse to prove a point to me, and I wanted to hate her so much for it, yet I couldn’t.

  “Thank you for this, Katalin.” Her only response was a half hearted shrug. “What are you going to do now… because I know I’m not the only one who has learnt something from that vision...”

  “Now?” she paused, looking to the far side of the cemetery where she had been sitting while I was talking to Daren. I followed her eyes and saw Dean. “Now, everything changes…”