He will be the prey in our next hunt.
The thought of plunging my knife into that son of a bitch makes me excited with anticipation.
“He’s in a house not far from here,” Boston informs me. “I’ll pick him up on Saturday and take him out to the hunting grounds.” He stands, nodding to me before he walks away.
We wear masks when we hunt. The tradition has been around for generations. I’ve been told that the founder of the Forsaken had a badly disfigured face, and that the mask’s design was all his idea. It’s covered in broken pieces of mirror, so when you look at it, it’s a cracked version of yourself staring back at you. Poetic, really.
Those chosen as prey for the hunt are usually people who won’t be missed. I always make the selection, and I take great pride in that fact. And then the members of the Forsaken get to do what their darkest desires want them to do.
They hunt.
TWENTY-THREE
CRESSIDA
I’ve emailedSoren to let him know that I’ll start my new job next week. That gives me time to spend the rest of this week with my son. Soren responded, saying that was perfectly fine, and left it at that. I haven’t heard from him in two days. Truth be told, I’m a little surprised.
On the day of my meeting with Soren, I picked up Oliver from school, and we spent the afternoon eating ice cream and playing together. For the rest of the week, I did the exact same thing every afternoon.
Oliver usually goes to after-school care in the afternoons, so his excitement at seeing me waiting for him outside the school building makes my heart incredibly happy. I bank those smiles to keep me company when the weekends roll around and Noah comes to collect Oliver. It’s those times that make me wish our marriage had worked out. Not because I want to be with Noah, but because I hate the separation from Oliver. So, yes, on days like today, I do wish I were still married to someone I no longer love.
I watch as Oliver walks away with my ex-husband. Taylor sits in the car, never getting out to talk to me, the mother of the boywho will soon be her stepson. It irritates me to no end that Noah still hasn’t made the effort yet to introduce us.
Once Oliver is in the car, I say to Noah, “I want to meet Taylor properly.”
“Yeah, it’s probably time,” he replies, then opens the car door and says something to her before she climbs out of the car, looking down and avoiding eye contact with me. She runs her palms over her dress as she meets my eyes.
“My son likes you, so I want to tell you that if you upset him in any way, I won’t be happy. I don’t care that you’re with his father… Iwillfind you.”
“Cressida,” Noah says, shaking his head in irritation.
“I respect that. I’ve mentioned a few times to Noah that I wanted to meet you before I met Oliver, but it never worked out that way. He’s a good kid, and has good manners. I would never intentionally do anything to upset him.”
“Good. I’m glad to hear that,” I say with a smile. “Have a good weekend. Please get him to call me.” Noah just stares at me.Did he expect anything less of me?
We never really had a conversation about dating other people after the divorce. We should have, because I don’t want Oliver to think it’s normal for his parents to bring a parade of men or women into his life. I want him to have stability. I had that growing up, and I think it’s made me a better person for it.
I head back inside to get ready. I tend not to go out too much because Oliver is with me most of the time. I love spending time with Oliver, but when I don’t have him, I try to catch up with friends. And it just so happens that tonight is a celebration. My sister, Izzy, just flew in for work, and she wants me to meet up with her once she’s done with her meeting. She won’t be in town long, which is sad because she’ll miss seeing Oliver, but I get it. She wants to be at home with her own family.
After quickly changing into a short red dress and my black Louboutins, I release my hair from its bun and let it fall gently over my shoulders in waves. I paint some red lipstick on my lips and add some mascara to my eyelashes before I head out the door.
When I step outside, the Uber is already waiting for me. Getting into the car, I text my sister that I’m ten minutes out, and she replies that she’s already had one glasses of wine and is waiting for me. She has to catch a flight out later tonight, but first we’re going to have a few drinks together.
When I arrive, I find Izzy sitting at the bar, nursing a glass of wine as the man next to her talks to her. Stepping up to her other side, I place my hand on her lower back.
She turns her head in my direction, and when she sees me, her sour expression morphs into a smile, and she pulls me in for a hug. “Gosh, Cres, I missed you so much.”
Most of my family calls me Cres.
“Same. And you should see Oliver. He’s so big now.”
She pulls back and smiles. “I’m so sad, I’m going to miss him. You must come home for the holidays. Please tell me you will.”
I’ve actually thought about going home for the holidays this year. I was hesitant because I didn’t want to take Oliver away from Noah for so long, but he just took Oliver on a week-long vacation to see his family, so I feel it’s only fair that I should be able to do the same.
“I think I might,” I tell her.
She turns back to the bar and waves the bartender over, ordering me a glass of wine.
