Page 10 of Venom Within Her

“I know what you are, and I’ll tell her.” I’d never heard a voice so thick with hate.

A throaty chuckle escaped in a huff as I stepped closer, towering over her. An ancient alarm screamed deep in my bones, penetrating through every cell from my very DNA. Whoever she was, she was dangerous.

The thrumming urge to shift became too strong to control. I felt the stinging pressure of my claws and stinger, begging to grow. I clenched my teeth, only allowing myself the slightest relief. I let my eyes shift to their natural black.

The tiny punk in front of me gasped as the whites of my eyes disappeared. I leaned down, so close to her that I could smell the coffee on her breath and fear simmering under her skin.

“What makes you think she doesn’t already know?” My voice lowered to a threatening growl, “What makes you think she doesn’t like it?”

Her nostrils flared, her spittle splashing against my cheeks as she seethed. “You’re a fucking freak.”

“And you’re about to regret setting foot into this forest.” I was teetering on the edge of control. My entire body pulsated like a giant heartbeat. It would be so easy to shift and rip her into shreds. Searing pain stabbed into my palms as I squeezed my fists, my nails digging into the soft flesh. It was the only thing keeping me grounded and unshifted.

She backed away slowly, her chest still heaving as she disappeared behind the trees. I might regret what I’d just done, but I couldn’t help it. When it came to Ilona, the possession I felt was too strong to control and this small, irritating woman needed to know she couldn’t have what was mine.

Some might’ve called it controlling. Jealous. Crazy. I didn’t care. Ilona was mine and I’d rather expose myself to the world than have anyone else think for a second they could lay claim on her.

7

Ilona

“Okay, you always look good, but today you look amazing.”

Bev’s mouth hung open as she walked into the bookstore. She wriggled her brows suggestively, raking her eyes over my form. I tugged my form-fitting, black mini skirt lower over my sheer tights and smiled, almost embarrassed that my monumental effort to look good was so obvious.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I just wanted to look a bit more put-together today. I had some extra time this morning.” I could see the hunger of curiosity growing in Bev’s eyes from across the room.

She raced over to the counter, planting her palm on the top and hoisting herself up. She flopped her ass right in front of me, causing the whole desk to shake in protest. I looked around, praying a customer would walk in before she asked what her eyes were preparing to say.

“So who’s the lucky guy? I bet I know him.” She turned towards me, crossing her legs and fully sitting on top of the desk, the flimsy piece of furniture swaying with her movements. “Oh, oh, wait. Let me guess. It has to be one of the skaters. Jeremy? Ryan? No…Ben?!”

I had to squeeze my eyes shut to keep them from rolling to the back of my head. If I didn’t tell her now, she would take the entire remaining hours of my shift and name off every breathing man on Earth.

“Larz.” Just saying her name made my skin tingle and my stomach flutter. My chest tugged with the familiar pull. I couldn’t help the smile forming at the corner of my lips, laying this small claim on her felt nice.

Bev went silent for the first time in history. She just stared at me like she was trying to decipher a riddle. Uncertainty crackled around me, closing in and squeezing my lungs with anxiety. I didn’t care what other people thought, but sharing a place of employment with someone who might be homophobic made my skin crawl.

“Larz?” She finally broke the silence, sliding off the desk and standing uncomfortably close to me. Did anyone ever teach her about personal space? Or business?

“Uh, yeah.” I twisted my striped, long-sleeved undershirt in my fingers, trying to avoid her gaze.

“Larz…as in Larazeth? With the freaky tongue and tattoos everywhere? The…girl?”

Larazeth, how beautiful.

“That’s the one.” I crossed my arms and cocked a brow, preparing for whatever opinion she had about that. I pushed the anxiety out of my body. I’d worked too hard to get away from homophobic, judgmental people; I wasn’t about to back down now.

“For fuck’s sake, Ilona,” she threw her hands in the air, finally giving me space to breathe. “Why didn’t you tell me you were a lesbian? I am such an idiot, I’m sorry.”

“I didn’t think it was important. But it's all good, don’t worry about it. You didn’t know.” The mortified look on her face made it all worth it.

After a few moments of processing, she turned to me again with the devilish curiosity returning to her face.

“She’s a little. Well,” Bev looked me up and down before shrugging her shoulders with a smile, “you guys would actually look perfect together.”

I wasn’t sure whether to take that as a compliment or not, but now that my secret was out, I decided to take advantage of Bev’s nosey nature.

“So, what do you know about her?”