Rinse and repeat.The cool liquid swirls around my mouth.The mundane action brings me serenity.
Place the mouthwash back on the shelf and shut the cabinet door?—
When I look at my reflection in the cabinet mirror, I am not alone.
The dark face from my nightmares is standing right behind me.
ChapterTwenty-Six
Luna
The shock compels a scream out of me.But before the air can be expelled from my lungs and over my vocal cords, Wulf has his hand over my mouth.
The iron hard clamp stops all the breath from escaping.
I feel my ears pop like a cork as the suppressed air tries to find a way out.For a moment, I experience the feeling of being truly lightheaded.
I know I tried to run, but somehow, I am still in the same spot, held firmly in place by his other hand.“Unlike my bloodsucking brethren, Luna Blackwood, I don’t need an invite to come in.”
All I can do is stare bug-eyed at Wulf’s face in the mirror.
Under the patina of dust and grime on his skin and clothes, I notice the color of his hair.It is a deep, dark red with knitted filaments of black interwoven in the strands.And his eyes are the same color.Starkly black irises with scarlet flecks.
And yet his beautiful features are freakishly similar to my own.He has a noble, masculine face, but he is almost too perfect to be human.If he were to approach me in a wine bar at night, I would look around to see if he had made a mistake, like maybe there was a supermodel standing behind me who was the one to catch his eye.
His wretched existence makes my heart hurt.Rejected by vampires and too eerily handsome to be part of the human race.
But he killed Linda Farmer, and probably countless other women, too.And he killed Tempest.
“If I take my hand away, Luna, are you still going to scream?”
“Mmph-uh.”I shake my head.
When he releases his hand from my mouth, I realize I have been holding my breath.Gasping, I inhale.
If he wanted to kill me, I would be dead by now.
“Now, when I let you go, sweet cousin, I want you to go back downstairs and shoo the dog outside.If you disobey me in any way, I’ll rip out half of your liver and eat it in front of you.Don’t worry—you will live after I have done it, but the pain will be indescribable.”
When I feel his breath on the back of my neck, I shudder.When I look down, I see that the crotch of my pants is wet with urine.
Wulf smirks.“And you can change your outfit.See?I’m onlyhalfa monster, Luna.”
He lets me go.Running out of the bathroom without daring to look back, I slam the door of my bedroom shut.Tears of fear are pouring down my face.My limbs begin to prickle as the adrenaline floods my body.
Sniffing back the mucous, I pull facial wipe tissues out of the pouch and use them to pat myself dry.
Oh my God.Oh my God.He’s out there waiting for me.
A sweeping thought crosses my mind.I am tempted to climb out of the sash window and make my escape over the porch roof.But his threat prevents me from even trying.Any attempt to pit my feeble female strength against Wulf would end in my demise.I know it.
Grabbing a fresh pair of panties and thrusting my wobbling legs into some leggings and socks, I know what I have to do next.
Desperation had turned me into some kind of a survival genius.Using the brow pencil out of my makeup case, I hold the now dry facial tissue straight with my fingers and start writing.I am not embarrassed that I literally pissed my pants, nor do I care that the mineral smell of urine is on the tissue.
All I want is for Shadow to know what is happening.
Wulf is here.Come quick.
