“Always.”
Olivia pulls up to the service entrance of Pyre. We gather our things out of her car and head to the door. A security guard is posted at the entrance, and he lets us in, giving Olivia a second look over. Her devil outfit makes her look like a succubus, and it seems like she has him under her spell.
Olivia turns, giving him a wink, and we giggle, making our way through the kitchen. “You little minx,” I say, teasing her.
“I’m a single woman who is about to be in a room full of masked men; someone is coming home with me tonight!” Olivia declares, loud enough for all to hear.
We laugh, linking arms, heading out to the main floor, and my jaw drops open. “Holy shit, Olivia.”
Pyre has been transformed into a 2009 gothic girls' wet dream. Black curtains hang from the bannisters, with floating candles lining the entire dance floor. Red lights flood the dance floor, setting the mood for the evening.
“It’s perfect, right?”
“More than perfect. This is amazing, everyone will kiss your feet.”
“Let’s head to the back. Everyone is on the second floor right now getting set up, and you’re still our surprise guest for the evening, so we need you out of sight.” Olivia takes my hand,and we walk across the floor to the DJ stage, climb the steps, and she shoves me behind the curtain. “Stay here until you hear me on the microphone, and then stand on the red X in the middle of the stage. Jordyn should be here soon, and I’ll let her know you’re back here, okay?” I nod. “Once all the guests are accounted for, Jordyn will introduce you as the surprise guest. The guests will linger in the author's hall upstairs until then. The dance floor and bars won’t be open until after the evening starts for real, so it’ll just be you back here for now until go time.”
“Got it. I’ll be back here until showtime. You’re such an amazing friend, Olivia. Thank you for putting all of this together. I’m so proud of you, you’re such an independent badass bitch that whoever comes along for you in the future better be ready to fight tooth and nail to breathe the same air you breathe because you deserve nothing less.”
Olivia blushes, smiling. “Next time, you’re helping me.” She closes the curtain, leaving me alone.
I turn, with my wings in hand, walking over to the small green couch at the back of the room. I slip my trench coat off, donning my wings to finish off my look. I find a mirror off to the side and check myself out, smoothing my hands over the wings and skirt when I feel a familiar prickle at the base of my neck.
I look past me in the mirror to find Wolfy in his usual outfit, but with the half-faced mask I left on my bed, standing in the shadows. His eyes are wide, and I know it’s from my outfit.
I am his angel after all.
“Dante,” I say, turning to him. “Take off the masks.” He does as he’s told, slowly pulling them off and facing me. I swallow hard, seeing his face after a week makes me want to run to him, but he needs to hear what I have to say. “Now, you are going to listen to me, and you are going to hear me.” I take a step closer to him. "You don’t get to choose for me what I do with my life.” Step. “If I want to be madly in love with a psychopath who’s so obsessed with me that he stalked me, I can!” Step. “If I want to be so in love with the man who has shown me what it means to be seen, no one is going to stop me, not even you.” I stand infront of him now, his eyes bore into me, and I revel in it. “You don’t get to walk out of my life after you freed the darkest parts of me. Part of me I always knew lay dormant. I’ve always known I had this darkness inside me. I wanted to kill Greg. I wanted him to die, long before you came into the picture. The night I left him, I had the opportunity to do it. I drugged him; he was lying in his chair, and I had his knife in my hand. The only reason I stopped myself from slitting his throat was that I couldn’t clean up the mess without getting caught. So I left. And when I couldn’t satisfy that itch I so desperately crave. I wrote books about killing people because I want nothing more than to kill them in real life. I’m already fucked up, Dante. I’m a fallen angel, and it was you who has released me onto the world. And now I need you to help me turn my fiction into reality. You aren’t my damnation, Dante, you’re my salvation.”
Dante pulls my face to his, kissing me hard. “I’m sorry, angel. I tried to do the right thing, but I can’t. I’m a selfish fucked up degenerate, but I’m madly in love with you. I made a deal with Johnny to keep you safe, and I promised myself to stay away from you, but it’s tearing me apart, Luna. I miss you so much. I don’t want you to get mixed up in all of this, and I’m scared to lose you–seeing you covered in so much blood reminded me of my mother, and I—” Tears fall from his eyes, and I wipe them away. “I will always protect you, Luna. I didn’t mean any of what I said that day. I didn’t pick you because I saw that you were weak. I saw a beautiful woman, strong and full of life, and I selfishly wanted to touch the light that surrounds you, even for a little while.”
“I know, my love,” I say, petting his face. “I understand why you did what you did, and if you want to really make it up to me, you’ll stay with me tonight. You’ll be Wolfy, and you’ll be my guest for the evening, and then we’ll go home. Together. After that, you’ll teach me to be like you, because I have a long list of people we need to take care of, and we’ll live happily fucked up ever after because I love you, too, Dante. I want this. I want you.”
Dante surges forward, pinning me against the wall andlifting my legs around his middle. “Fuck, angel. I’m so sorry. I love you so much. I’m so stupid for making that deal, and I don’t know how to undo what I’ve done. I’ve spent the past few days with Alex trying to come up with ideas—”
“Hush, now,” I say, holding a finger to his soft lips. “We will figure all that out later. For tonight, we will just be, okay? This fallen angel needs her darkness; without him, she cannot be. Put your masks back on, and play the part. When we get home, you’ll fuck me on every surface in my apartment as an apology.”
Dante’s eyes flare, and a smile twitches at the corners of his mouth. “I think I like you telling me what to do.”
“Good. You'd better get used to it.” Dante leans in, capturing my mouth once again. I push against his chest, “Mask. Now. I can hear Jordyn on the mic.”
“Good evening, Ladies, Gents, and all those who identify in between! How are we feeling tonight!?” Jordyn says to the crowd, and I unlock my legs from Dante’s waist.
I push him to the X on the floor, and he slips his balaclava on. “Pyre and Spines & Stiens would like to present our special guest for the evening. You know her as the queen of the Vixxens on Booktok.” Cheers and screams of excitement echo around the room.
Dante pulls the skull mask over his balaclava, concealing the rest of his face. “Are you ready, angel?”
I look up at him, staring into those pits of green behind the mask. “I’m ready. Now and forever, Dante.”
He reaches up, touching my face gently. “Forever.”
The curtain pulls back, and a bright spotlight illuminates us. “Put your hands together for Luna Stirling!... Oh my god, is that Wolfy? What a surprise of surprises! It’s Masktoks, WolfeInSheepsClothing, and Luna Stirling!” The crowd goes wild, and I turn my attention to them, waving.
Jordyn joins us on stage, and Olivia comes over, handing me a mic. “Did you guys have this planned all along?” Jordyn asks, smiling ear-to-ear.
“Yes, we did. Wolfy, of course, planned his original videos, but it was my idea for him to come to the ball and surprise everyone.He will be my guest at my author table upstairs, and we will be available for pictures, but Wolfy will remain silent during the meet-and-greet to keep some of his anonymity concealed.”
The crowd claps and cheers, humming with excitement. “Well, that’s amazing. The signing hall will remain closed for now to give our guests time to set up. Enjoy the dance floor and refreshments in the meantime!” Jordyn ushers us back, and the curtain closes behind us. “Holy shit! What a surprise!” She says, throwing her arms around me.
