by Katie May
despondent eyes.
I shoved him yet again, and the movement propelled me forward, off my
feet. His large hands curved around my waist, and he too fell to the ground.
His breathing was just as heavy as mine. I laid over him, our noses
practically touching. I could feel his heartbeat beneath my breasts, pumping
in tandem with mine.
“I hate you,” I whispered, sitting up so I was now straddling him. My
bare pussy clenched with need, even with the layer of clothing separating us.
I yearned to be skin to skin with him...and I hated myself for it.
I felt him begin to harden beneath me. The twisted asshole was getting
turned on. Granted, so was I, but I was a shameless hussy and he was the
supposed prince of the Genies. I would’ve thought he would have more class.
“Susan...I mean Zara…”
“You don’t get to talk,” I cut him off. He reached a hand out, as if to
touch me, and I grabbed his wrist and placed it behind his head. “You don’t
get to move either.”
Now, the little shit was rock-hard beneath me. Quite distracting, if I did
say so myself.
“You hurt me. You left me. Do you get that? Does that comprehend in
that thick head of yours? You left me. You never even told me why.”
“I told you-”
I pressed a hand over his mouth.
“I said you can’t speak.” Instinctively, my hips began to rock against his
length. He let out a muffled groan, but quickly smothered it when I glared at
him. “Now here is what’s going to happen. I’m going to get off of you, and
you’re going to disappear from my life. You’re quite good at that, aren’t you?
You’re not going to speak to me again. You’re not going to talk to me again.
Hell, you’re not even going to think about me.” With each statement, I rolled
my hips to emphasize my point. Pleasure bloomed low in my stomach, and
my eyes closed in bliss.
Just as quickly, they snapped back open to focus on the quivering Genie
beneath me.
“Do you understand?” When he remained silent, I grabbed a fistful of his
hair and pulled his head back. “You answer when I speak to you.”
“Yes I understand,” he grunted.
“Great.” Without another word, I climbed to my feet. I knew from his
sprawled position on the ground he got a front-row seat to my lady parts. Too
bad for him. Hopefully, he would forever be pained by what he could never
have.
I placed one hand on my hip and used the other to gesture towards the
doorway.
“Now get the fuck out of my room.”
“YOU’RE SUCH A TURD,” I teased, swatting at Lin’s arm. His curly hair
was cut short, a contrast to his usual stylish locks. He told me that one of his
brothers, Bash, claimed he had looked too feminine with his long hair. I had
profusely argued. Personally, I loved running my hands through his
shoulder-length curls, pushing them to the side to kiss the nape of his neck.
This Bash person sounded like an asshole.
“You’re a nerd,” he retorted.
“Why are you even dressed like that?” I said, throwing back my head to
laugh. “You look like a stuffy businessman.”
We were sitting on the bed of the hotel where Lin was staying. This was
his first solo mission as a Genie, granting the wishes of a middle-aged human
man. From what Lin had told me, the man had uncovered their family’s lamp.
Thus, he was given three wishes.
Fortunately for us, the man was indecisive on what he wanted. I found it
hilarious when Lin would act out their interactions, lowering his voice
dramatically in a poor impersonation of his client. The man, Jerry, couldn’t
decide if he wanted his final wish to be a wife or a million dollars. He had
stupidly wasted his first two wishes on a new car and a new gaming device.
Proof that evolution could go in reverse. I also loved the way Lin talked
about his Genie duties - as if it was a job and he was an experienced
entrepreneur.
Lin smiled, leaning forward to kiss me. I allowed myself to melt in his
embrace, momentarily forgetting that I was on a mission to rid the world of a
murderous Mermaid. B would’ve been expecting me to check in by then, but
he, along with the rest of the word, was a distant memory. How could I
possibly focus on death when Lin was breathing life into me? Each stroke of
his tongue sent me further and further over the edge.
His hand pushed my shirt up, gently cupping my breasts through my bra.
I groaned at the sensation.
“I want you,” he whispered between kisses.
“You have me.”
Forever and always.
I AWOKE WITH A GASP. Waning sunlight came through the opened
blinds, casting the room in shadows. I must’ve fallen asleep after my
confrontation with Devlin. My body ached at the uncomfortable position I
had found myself in. The towel, at some point, had fallen off, leaving me butt
naked.
In a matter of hours, I had discovered that I was participating in a fight to
the death, fought against three assassins, came face to face with my ex-
boyfriend, and fallen asleep in my birthday suit. All in all, it wasn’t my worst
Friday night.
There was a slip of paper folded at the end of my bed. I recognized Mali’s
delicate script immediately and reached for the card.
Hunter German. Age 33. Vampire. Murdered seventeen children but
never convicted. Seventh floor. Fourth door.
I smiled at the card. My rage was consuming me with an almost
elemental fury, and I needed an outlet. My world had quickly fallen into
shambles around me. I didn’t know how to deal with this newfound
knowledge about my old lover. I kept replaying every conversation in my
head, wondering when and how our love turned into something so toxic and
dangerous. A prince and an assassin.
How could I possibly kill Lin? I had loved him so fiercely at one point. It
was inconceivable to be in a world where he no longer existed.
But ridding the world of scum like this Hunter person? That I could do.
I grabbed my necklace off of my bedside drawer and pressed down.
Immediately, I was clothed in Z’s badass attire.
Just another day in the life of an assassin.
I GRAPPLED with the rock protruding from the side of the Capital.
The layout of the building - alternating between rocks and painted wood -
provided surprisingly easy handholds for me as I climbed. My arms wobbled
as I attempted to pull myself up onto a windowsill.
Shit. I was getting out of shape.
Pressing myself against the wall, I surveyed the room. The window was
opened slightly, providing circulation into the small bedroom.
A man and a woman were in the room. The man was handsome, a sort of
traditional, sculpted beauty I was beginning to associate with all Vampires.
The woman was naked, moaning loudly as the Vampire pounded into her.
Well…
I wasn’t in the mood to watch a porno.
The Vampire - Hunter - pressed his lips against her neck, and at first I
thought that he was kissing her. It took me a moment to realize that he was
bit
ing her. Sucking her blood.
The woman’s eyes rolled back into her head, and her body tilted to the
side. Tiny gasps of pleasure escaped her parted lips. I had heard that a
Vampire’s bite was the equivalent to ten orgasms. Of course, I had never
experienced it myself.
I pulled a dagger from its sheath, flicking my gaze between the blissed-
out woman to the Vampire. Without giving myself too much time to think
about it, I threw the dagger through the opened window. It sailed through the
air, hitting the Vampire’s chest directly over his heart. He stopped in mid-
thrust, and the woman turned her head marginally to see her lover. An
anguished cry escaped her lips, and I almost felt bad. Almost. And then I
remembered the horrendous crimes that Hunter has committed and my guilt
diminished. If this girl was capable of loving such a monster, if she was
willing to defend him, then she was a monster too.
Her pupils dilated when they rested on me, face contorting until it was
entirely unrecognizable. Tiny sprouts of hair grew on her body. Her once
delicate features had sharpened, mouth elongonating into what resembled a
snout.
A Shifter.
I attempted to maneuver myself down to the level below me. I kicked my
feet, gaining momentum to pull myself into a lower floor window. The
Shifter rushed at me, and I used one hand to aim at a dagger at her face.
But that movement caused me to lose my balance. The hold I had on the
rock slipped, and my feet struggled to find purchase on the sill.
The Shifter snapped her teeth at me, but I was already falling.
Down and down and down and down…
TEN
LUPE
Icould barely focus on the words in front of me. I tried to concentrate,
tried to read the story that had once entranced me, but all I could think
about was her.
The girl without a name.
The girl that was the star of every one of my dreams.
The girl that I couldn’t get out of my head.
When I had sniffed her, my Bear began to pace inside the confines of my
brain. I could feel him, an almost physical entity, demanding to be let out. To
claim what he thought was his. The urge to hold that strange woman, to
protect her, was overwhelming.
To see her walk away from me was hell.
I could see her clearly: blond hair, like sunlit spun silk cascading around
her shoulders in perfect waves. Her cheekbones, sharp and chiseled. The
rose-tint to her cheeks. The white curve of her neck.
She was an angel in human-form.
I had resisted the urge to write a soliloquy commenting on her ethereal
beauty. I wasn’t sure how much that would be appreciated. Shifters were
known for their muscles and strength, not their eloquent words. I would scare
her away if I began sending her poems and flowers.
Besides, I didn’t even know her name, nor what type of Nightmare she
was. Usually, a Shifter was able to scent what type of species someone was -
but I had been a little distracted by her ethereal beauty and the floral aroma of
her perfume. She was an enigma, a box with lock after lock on it, and I ached
to uncover every secret she had.
What I wouldn’t give to paint her…
The swoop of her shoulders. The hourglass figure. The-
“You’re brooding more than usual. What’s up?” My sister, Atta, moved
to sit on the couch beside me. We were in an abandoned corner of the library,
light slanting through the stained-glass windows. The smell of dust and worn
leather assaulted my enhanced senses. Still, I couldn’t think of a better, more
enticing, smell.
Unless you counted her sweet scent, a combination of roses and
something almost spicy.
Mate, my Bear had growled.
I couldn’t help but agree.
I didn’t know what I had expected when I eventually found my soulmate,
but it wasn’t this. I most certainly hadn’t expected this all-consuming need to
be by her side. Loving her, the way a woman like her deserved to be loved.
But I was terrified. I had seen firsthand how toxic love could be. It wasn’t
a blissful emotion. It was the waters that drowned you, the knife that stabbed
your heart, the iron clamps around your neck, choking the life from you.
Falling in love was dangerous because there was no guarantee that both
parties would fall. Besides, who would be willing to accept a mate like me?
A Shifter that preferred words over actions. A Shifter that was over two-
hundred pounds of pure muscle, yet had never been in a fight.
“Where did your mind go?” Atta elbowed me yet again, voice inquisitive.
While I looked more like my father, Atta had my mother’s characteristics.
Soft, dewy features and bright red hair.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I mumbled, turning a page in my book.
The words were barely comprehensible in the mess that was my brain. I
wouldn’t even be able to tell you what the name of the book was.
“Well…” Atta gave me a knowing look but dropped the subject. My
sister sometimes knew me better than I knew myself. “I’ve been enjoying The
Matching immensely.” Her eyes twinkled mischievously, and I snorted.
“You competing with Bash?”
She scoffed.
“It’s not a competition when I always win. You’ll be surprised how many
of those women prefer the boobs over the dick. Bash has nothing on me. I
saw this one girl that was super hot. Blond, curvy-”
Before I realized what was happening, I began to growl. All I could think
about was someone else, someone besides me, looking at my mate.
And her looking back.
The thought made my nails sharpen until they were keen claws. The
fabric of the chair ripped with my death grip.
Atta blinked, her eyes widening at my uncharacteristic behavior.
Understanding dawned on her face suddenly, and her lips parted.
“Oh…”
“Don’t even say it,” I hissed.
“Holy shit! You found your mate!” She bounced up from the chair,
jumping and clapping her hands in glee.
“Shhh…” I whispered, putting a finger to my lips. I could feel my cheeks
flaming.
“You found your mate! You found your mate!” she sang, punctuating
each word with a shake to her hips. “What’s her name? Where is she? What
did she do? Tell me everything!”
I didn’t know how to answer those questions. I was told that no matter
what the species was, a Nightmare would know immediately when they came
into contact with their mate. Yet, the beautiful girl had barely even
acknowledged my presence. My heart ached at the memory of her running
away from me.
My dad was right. I would never find love. They would always run from
me, always leave me. I was a mistake - a malfunction - and my mate surely
realized that. Why else would she leave as if she had the hounds from hell on
her heels?
“I heard that Jax put on quite the show,” Atta said, changing the subject.
Her eyes continued to study my face, but she smiled softly as she reminisced
on her “fiancé’s” antics.
Grateful for her ability to gaug
e my emotions, I said, “What did he do this
time?”
“Besides meeting the girls ass naked? He told them that his blood tingled
from fairy spells.”
I paused, mouth opening as I prepared to speak before shutting it once
more. Sometimes, I really didn’t know what to do about my brother. Though
none of us were brothers by blood, we all grew up with each other. Our entire
childhoods revolved around our friendships with one another. Without them,
I wouldn’t be the man I was today. They were more of my family than my
own parents.
“He needs to feed,” I groaned at last, running a large hand through my
hair. Jax’s decision not to drink blood was slowly breaking him. Already, I
had trouble recognizing the person he had turned into from the man he once
was. I understood the reasoning behind his decision, I honestly did, but that
didn’t mean I agreed with it. What happened to Sasha was an accident and,
though tragic, shouldn’t have defined the rest of his life. He had to learn to
forgive himself for what had happened.
Atta’s nose scrunched up, the only indication that she agreed with me.
Though the relationship between Atta and Jax was strictly platonic, I knew
that she cared about him. She cared about all of them the way she cared about
me - as brothers. The fact that our parents were pushing for a marriage
between Jax and her was disgusting.
A boisterous laugh interrupted whatever she was going to say. Frowning,
I closed my book and set it on the library table. Life at the Capital, I realized,
was chaotic. I was never able to have more than a few minutes to myself
before the devils ascended.
The devil this time took the form of my Mage brother, Bash. He had his
arms slung around two, petite brunettes - competitors for The Matching - and
his shirt was unbuttoned. Alcohol wafted off of him, unsurprisingly pungent.
Both Atta and I wrinkled our noses. Behind the three of them, Killian
followed timidly.
“Are you kidding me Bash?” Atta snapped.
“What?” he drawled lazily, flopping into the seat opposite us. One of the
girls perched on the armchair while the other sat beside Atta. I could see the
two females exchange meaningful glances.
No doubt, this was one of the girls that Atta had...relations with.
I shuddered. That was the last thing I wanted to think about.
