I fear he’s lost his mind.
But every day he gets bigger and stronger, I won’t be able to survive challenging his delusion soon. So I’ll have to start from scratch.
Perhaps I should go younger next time. They’re more pliable.
The nest. We were bound simply because I accidently stumbled upon it? So it wasn’t something Levicy intentionally put in place. It could have just as easily been Shannon bound to him. This was a side effect.
So there might not be a way to undo it. I swallowed the rock lodged in my throat.
“He can’t let you leave then.” Shannon said the words I didn’t want to face.
I cleared my throat loudly, but it didn’t make my voice crack any less when I spoke, “For the record, he doesn’t intend to let anyone leave. It’s not just about me.”
Determination set in her mouth. “So what’s our plan?”
She was right about one thing. He wanted to destroy everyone, but he couldn’t be capable of letting me leave. No matter how much he despised me.
His feelings didn’t matter. He’d repeatedly showed that he needed me alive and well, and if the way he’d fucked me, until my head spun said anything, he’d waited for his breeder a long time.
The memory flooded me, and I pulled my top layer away from my skin to get some cooler air.
Focus on problem solving, not the delicious way his attention hurt.“You are the plan.”
“Me?” Her eyes went wide.
“You’re right. He can’t let me go. So I’ll be his first priority. While he’s dealing with me. Run. Don’t look back.”
“Do you think it will be that easy?” Worry creased her brow.
“It never is. Feel free to add some of your dramatic flourish where needed.”
She chuckled, but let her eyes drift closed. My eyelids grew heavy, but I flipped another chunk of pages forward.
The words were blurry, but I made out one more passage. The water shifted behind me, as ifhewas settling in to rest too.
I’ve tried numerous recipes, but Defect #3, also known as Rot, is the only one to survive the change. I fear I’ll never avenge my family.
Perhaps, I am damned.
Chapter 18:
Desireburnedhotenoughto sicken me. It made me want to protect and provide in a way I’d never felt before.
I came into view naked, laying in the nest as if I was awaiting something... But I was experiencing this from someone else’s perspective.
I wasn’t me anymore.
Pale skin was ethereal in the darkness. Wild curly hair was free from its bun, and I loved the way it contrasted against her skin. Piercing blue eyes drew me like a magnet I was powerless to resist. Even though I knew it was the eyes of destruction.
It didn’t settle the urge to tame such a wild force of nature. The kind of force that ruined civilization.
My mate.
Part of me respected her fire. Levicy never had that kind of fight in her. She’d lay there and starve if someone didn’t hand feed her.
This woman. A hungry need I’d never felt before made me ravenous for something that couldn’t be fed by anything else.
“I hate you,” I told the naked version of myself.
