Bingo.
He swung at me without a second thought. I saw it coming from a mile away and stepped back, chuckling at how predictable he was.
“Jesus, you’re predictable,” I taunted. “I’ve never known anyone to piss you off so much, and you voluntarily spend time with Sera.”
His ex—or whatever label fits. Fuck buddy, mistake, walking headache. She’s a piece of work either way. Spreads her legs for anyone with a pulse and can’t seem to keep her tongue off the floor whenever Vespera is around.
Obsessed doesn’t even cut it. It’s pathetic.
“Piss off, Kieran.” He snapped, ripping off whatever bandages were still on his hands. As they hit the floor in a careless heap, he walked over to his bag.
I watched him grab his water bottle, chugging half before tipping the rest over his head. His chest heaved as he tried to cool off, water running down his jaw and soaking the waistband of his shorts.
Darian was unravelling, and it was pretty fucking entertaining because he never lets anything get to him unless it's dirt or an untidy kitchen.
“Did she leave?” He asked after a moment, dragging a towel over his face, gaze locked onto me, waiting for an answer.
I smirked, sliding my hands into my pockets. My fingers brushed the small blade I kept there, and I pressed against it until I felt the sting—just enough to ground me. The sharp bite cut through the craving, dulled the urge to drink.
For now.
“No,” I drawled. “Pretty sure Ronan’s balls deep in her right about now.”
Lucky bastard.
His body went rigid, his grip on the towel tightening like he was imagining strangling someone with it. For a second, I thought he might lose it, but instead, he forced a slow breath through his nose and bent down to grab his shit.
“He’s letting his dick control him.” He muttered, shoving things into his bag with more force than necessary.
I have no room to comment about that, as I’m pretty sure my cock and alcohol control me.
Stepping closer to him, my voice dropped just enough to make him listen. “You’re wrong, Darian.” His jaw clenched as he looked at me. “He cares about her. You can see it every time he looks at her or talks about her. If you think he’s just in it for a quick fuck, then you don’t know him as well as you think. It won’t be long before he loves her.”
“Then he’s just going to get hurt.” He responded, throwing his bag over his shoulder.
“Whatever happened between you two, you need to get over it. I don’t have a clue what happened, and I don't really care. The past is the past, you need to try and be civil or next time I won’t stop Ronan from fucking you up.”
He scoffed, barely sparing me a glance. “She’s trouble, always has been. And ever since she showed up again, shits been off—vamps walking around in the damn sunlight and coming into Velmore a lot more frequently. She’s hiding something. I can feel it.”
He's not wrong, and I wish I could tell him, but he’s too close to Vespera.
I side-stepped him. “I’m not disagreeing with you. But, maybe instead of threatening to chop her up, ask her why she left, because I think she’s here to stay. And she also stopped Daleyza from being killed last night.”
His head snapped towards me so fast I thought he might give himself whiplash. “What are you talking about?”
I kept pressing the blade into my skin. “She’s in our place recovering because she nearly drained herself dry saving Daleyza from those fuckers who won’t leave her alone,” I said, voice low. “They had a knife this time.”
I paused, letting him take it in.
“She didn’t even know your sister. But she stepped in anyway, risking her life for a stranger.”
Darian just stood there, gripping the handle of the bag over his shoulder. “She got my respect and a sliver of my trust the moment Drew and Daleyza told me.”
She’s keeping secrets. Can’t blame her for that—she doesn’t know us, well, she doesn’t know me. But I know she hasn’t lied to us. I’d feel it if she had—perks of whatever witch crept in my bloodline generations ago. It’s not a flashy gift, but it’s useful for my job as a Hunter. I can always tell if someone is lying.
Ronan’s different. He can block his mind. Only a handful of Hunters get abilities, and even then, it's rare. You’ve gotta be descended from witches, and most witches don’t shack up with humans or anything else. They stick to their own.
Darian exhaled sharply, tilting his head to stare at the ceiling like the answer to all of his problems was written up there. “I still hate her.”
