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Narcissa had no idea what she was talking about.
She wouldn’t know a single thing. I had been too careful, had covered up every sign since the ball, since I shared blood with Lyra.
Since I almost lost control.
No, I didn’t lose control. I couldn’t keep reliving that moment, couldn’t keep going back there. That was what fed the darkness, the memories. The fear.
This was normal. This was only me getting the urges out of my system before I could hurt her.
And I would never fucking hurt her.
The door swung open, and a woman rushed out, doubled over and no-doubt looking for a place to vomit, or just to get some fresh air from the mass of bodies inside, dancing and drinking and merging into a unit of lost souls.
She had no idea I was there.
Neither did the older man that followed out the door a few seconds later, hovering over her. “Are you okay, beautiful?” he asked her. “We should get you home. I can take you.”
The woman was still doubled over, but she swatted him away with her hand as he tried to comfort her.
It made my blood turn cold just watching the way he looked at her.
Although I had to admit, there was a certain beauty in this moment; in the way humans acted when they thought they were alone, when they were ignorant in those few precious moments before something horrible happened.
In this life, I was that horrible thing.
I stepped out of the shadows. “She won’t be going anywhere with you.”
Both sets of eyes snapped in my direction, realizing they weren’t actually alone out here in the darkness of the back alley.
“Who the hell are you?” the man asked. He stepped in front of the woman, blocking her from my view.
I took another step away from the wall. “That’s none of your concern. What concerns me, however, is the fact that you’re about to take advantage of this young woman.”
The man’s jaw fell open as he stuttered a partial response. “I wasn’t—I didn’t—”
“Save it.” I peered around him. The woman must have been Lyra’s age, and I could smell the alcohol pouring off her. “Do you know this man?” I asked.
Her glazed eyes slid slowly from me to the man. They widened, as if she was just realizing the severity of what could have happened.
She shook her head, stumbling backward. “No,” she breathed. “No, I don’t. I have to find my friend—”
“She doesn’t know what she’s saying,” the man interrupted. “Come on, sweetie. You drank too much and you’re confused.” He moved to grip her upper arm, but the woman let out a small cry.
I was on him in an instant, gripping his throat with my right hand and hauling him away from her.
The thick metal door swung open again, another woman peering outside. “Caroline?” the woman asked. Her eyes scanned all three of us before focusing back on her friend. “What the hell are you doing? We’ve been looking for you everywhere!”
“Get her home,” I barked. “Now.”
Caroline half-stumbled into her friend’s arms. I didn’t care if my voice scared them, it would only send them home even faster.
A few seconds later, the door slammed shut.
Leaving me and the predator alone in the alley.
He squirmed beneath my grasp, but even though he was nearly my height, his strength was no match for mine.
“I don’t want any trouble,” he muttered.
