Page 144 of A Wild Darkness

I drop my bag onto the counter, then head into my bedroom. Without a thought, I fall face-first into the softness of my comforter, pulling the pillows close to my face, I breathe in my own scent. An unexpected tear falls from my eye. Am I mourning who I used to be?

Then a sound from the kitchen alerts me, and I sit right up.

“Hello?”

No answer. My heart beats faster.

I lift from the bed, reluctantly walking in the direction of the sound. “Hello?”

Then, from the corner of my eye, I see a figure standing by the front door and immediately know who it is.

“Sebastian! How the hell did you get in here?” I exclaim.

His boots thud on the tiled floor as he approaches me with a smirk. “Do you really need to ask me that at this point?”

I cock my head to the side. “I guess not.”

“What did you come back here for?” he asks.

I take my bottom lip between my teeth and shrug. “I don’t know.”

“You do.”

I sigh, hopping up to sit on top of the counter. “The last event is coming up so soon, and I’m having mixed feelings about it.”

His forehead furrows. “What do you mean by mixed feelings? This is almost over, and then we can relax for a bit.”

“For a bit? As in, how long? Until the next project comes?” I ask.

“Well…yeah.”

Running a hand through my hair, I think of a few different ways to explain to him my feelings and how scared I am that he’s going to take on a group of dangerous men. And that this won’t be his last.

“What if Moore Mansion doesn’t go the way we want it to?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like, what if you get hurt or killed?” My voice cracks as the words fall from my lips.

Sebastian’s face softens. He walks into the kitchen, stopping when his waist slides between my legs. His commanding fingers thread through my hair. “That’s not going to happen.”

I swallow hard, believing him, but he can’t predict everything, and there is always going to be a chance something could go wrong. “You don’t know that for certain.”

“I do,” he corrects me sternly. “This is my purpose. It’s why I was put on this earth, Stevie. If I was meant to die, then why would I be here in the first place?”

A million questions bounce around in my head. Like what happens after this project is complete? And us?

“And what happens if everything goes the way it’s supposed to? Am I supposed to simply go back to living my normal life?” I press more as a question for myself than for him.

“You can do whatever you want to do,” he tells me. “You were only needed for the Black Veil Society project. After that, it’s up to you how you move forward.”

Cotton forms in my throat. What does he mean that I was only needed for this project? “What about us?”

Sebastian’s hand falls from my face as he steps back. “What about us?”

“I go on dating a serial killer?” I ask. My tone didn’t come out how I intended, but I’m sure he got what I’m implying.

“Why wouldn’t you? There is no other option when it comes to us,” he states in a deeper tone than usual. Only briefly does it cause a shiver to crawl up my back.