Emily pulls her gaze away from Julien and settles it on me, leaning in and lowering her voice. “Can you sneak through the vent tonight and see if you can find Bianca? You said they took Summer to the delivery room…”
“It’s too risky!” Manni hisses.
Emily leans back in her chair. “She goes in there all the time to see Jax. It wouldn’t hurt to try.”
I move to tell her I will, but Jax snaps, “No! Fuck off, Emily. Saya’s not going to the ground floor. It’s safe to enter my room since it’s on the same level, but for you to ask her to go down to the ground floor…” Veins thicken along his neck. “Fuck. Off.”
Emily slumps back in her chair and folds her arms with a huff. “I was just asking.”
I turn to Julien. He still hasn’t touched his food. He wears the same look my mum had when she found out I was growing fangs at sixteen—a morbid, downcast silence.
“Babe,” Jax says, his voice gentle as he leans in closer, resting a warm hand on my leg. “Don’t do anything stupid. We’re getting out soon. Come to my room tonight, and we can have a bit of fun again.”
“Okay.” I avert my gaze from Julien and concentrate on my food. It’s easier to agree with him and avoid another argument. I have always wondered what happened to the women who ended up pregnant here. Jax and I always play it safe, but I know both Emily and Bianca risk the “pull-out” method, and surely others have too.
Still, I don’t believe Jax. I don’t know Serun’s Law well—having only heard snippets from the Feeders and Jax—but there are no rules saying children and babies are offered to nightwalkers.
My hand tightens around the bread roll, acutely aware of Jax’s hand as it moves up my thigh. A touch that carries a great deal of meaning.
“Don’t fucking do anything stupid, Saya.”
CHAPTER SIX
BRANDED
Nightwalkers are prohibited from entering Feeding Grounds to feast.
— Serun’s Law
Emily and Manniare covering for me. Manni lies on my bed, tucked under the sheets, and Emily has arranged pillows to make it look like Manni is asleep in her bunk.
I pull myself up through the vent and move quietly through the airshaft, ducking under lights as I go. The light near Jax’s room sways, and I stop. In the depths of the darkness, I glimpse familiar red eyes. They don’t blink. There is no movement. All they do is watch.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath, counting down from ten.It’s not real.It’s just my own dark thoughts taunting me for being part nightwalker. An icy burn flares across my cheek, and I flinch. With a shaky breath, I open my eyes to face my demons, but they’re gone.
The only monster here is me, I remind myself as I drop down into Jax’s room.
His hands find my waist, and his mouth closes around my pierced nipple, just as he always does. But before we fall intoour relief, my hands move to his face, and I whisper, “Not tonight, Jax. All I want is for you to hold me.”
Jax lies on his back, his arm extending, and I rest my head at the junction of his shoulder and arm. I shuffle close, and he brushes his mouth against my forehead, his fingers tracing up and down my arm.
“Thanks for coming by,” he murmurs. “I thought you were gonna take Emily’s side. She’s always so pushy with you.”
“She’s just curious. We all are.”
Guilt crawls across my skin and is heavy in my throat, thickening at the lies that spill so fluently to a man I’ve grown to care for. Except, I know he won’t understand if I show him who I truly am. He would try to kill me before the words could leave my mouth.
So, what am I doing entertaining this?
We lie in silence. At times, our “situationship”—as Emily calls it—is serene and comfortable. Lovely. His scent is pleasant. Powdery, like lavender soap. His fingers glide from my arm to my stomach, then up to my breast, gently teasing my piercing. Not in a sexual way. More like the curiosity of someone who enjoys tinkering.
“When did you get them pierced?” he asks, his finger tracing circles around my nipple. “I know you don’t talk about your past, but can we talk about this?”
I squirm, reminded of a life I want to leave behind. “Fifteen,” I say. “Bored and stupid.”
“Your parents didn’t care?”
“My mum didn’t know.” I place my hand over his, stopping his play. “Why the curiosity?”
