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Drake himself wasn’t human.
At first I didn’t believe it, but with everything happening at Dark Haven I couldn’t hide from the reality I found myself in. And Roman would never lie to me.
“He did,” I whispered back. “I’m not scared of you, Drake.”
“Why not?” he demanded as his body tensed. “Everyone else is. I’m a fucking monster, or half of one at least.”
“No, you’re Drake,” I explained, wishing I could see him. “And humans fucking suck, so I’ll take a half demon over a full human any day. We’re mates.”
He let out a shocked chuckle. “I’d call you crazy for that but we’re all a little crazy here.”
My chest tightened when he didn’t address my comment about being mates. Were we still going to pretend it wasn’t real?
“We are,” I agreed, both of us laughing quietly. Drake had always intrigued me but we’d never connected like this—a quiet, vulnerable conversation.
I found that I enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed them with Harlow. Both were confident in themselves and who they were.
They didn’t hide things from me intentionally, as far as I knew. With her I found solace, a person who could understand and accept me as I was, all of me. And Drake didn't seem to care how I got here or what was ‘wrong’ with me, he for some reason saw me, as Hiro, when no one else really did. He didn’t talk over me or avoid me like others did, in fact, he’d talk over someone else to ensure I wasn’t pulling away or losing myself in our group.
Being seen meant a lot in a world that only saw what they wanted to.
Even now as we sat in silence, his arm around me and demons moving in the halls far away, I felt something settle in my soul.
“I like you, Drake,” I blurted out. “I like Harlow, too, but differently. You… I…” I was rambling and lost my train of thought, unable to force more words out as panic started to seize me.
Vulnerability and honesty were dangerous and here I was taking chances. I just didn’t want to hide from this anymore.
“Hiro!” Drake’s voice was loud enough in my ear that the panic stopped. He let out a slow chuckle before I felt his free hand pull my face gently in his direction.
Soft lips ghosted over mine as an answer to my unasked question, and I couldn’t hide the smile that spread over my face.
It was the confirmation I needed and Drake’s way of putting the ball in my court.
Now I just had to figure out what I wanted or how to put into words that I didn’t want to let this fade away.
Something crashed in the distance, telling us we weren’t alone.
Harlow
Tuesday Morning
Third Floor
“Wake up!” The deep voice that roared in my dream was so intense that I jolted awake in my room.
Sweat covered my body and I glanced around, seeing nothing but an empty room and the dim light from the hall.
A quick glance at my alarm clock had me groaning. It was barely after four thirty in the morning.
My door creaked open, and my breath caught at the amplified sound of the nightmarish halls of Dark Haven after dark.
Vane’s words echoed in my head. He promised he’d double down on his efforts, was this the product of that?
“Hello there? Are you lost?” The slithery smooth voice had me spinning around to face a large demon whose tongue was flicking out like a snake’s, like he was tasting the air between us.
“No, get the fuck away from me!” I screamed before I was snatched by something behind me and slammed on my bed. The demon’s laughter filled the space before the door closed in his face and a very angry Monty was looming over me.
“I told you to not leave your room at night! Tonight of all nights you disobey me?!” he screamed loud enough my ears rang. The desperation in his voice was unlike him.
