Page 73 of Fighting My Demons

"Ari, stay with me. I need you conscious, or I might…" Latham doesn't finish what he is about to say.

"I want to sleep," I murmur, my entire body felt heavy.

"I could still sense his taint," I hear Blaine whisper, yet my brain is mush, so I have trouble deciphering what he means.

"Latham?" Xavier asks, his voice sounding far away.

Fingers grip my chin, and my eyes flutter open slightly. Latham's blurred figure hovers above me.

"Wake up. Don't go to sleep yet."

My words are inaudible and gurgled even to my own ears as I reply.

"Latham?" Xavier says.

"It's started now. I back out now, and his taint will remain and remove yours."

Latham seems angry. His voice is more of a growl.

"I don't get it. We should have been able to remove it," I hear Blaine say, their voices growing louder as my surroundings slowly come back.

"And you have no idea who it would be?"

I turn my head to where Xavier's voice comes from, his hand brushing my hair back.

"Hey, pretty girl, almost over," Xavier whispers.

My brows furrow. What is almost over?

"No, but I will by the time I am finished," Latham growls, and my head rolls to look at him sitting up between my legs.

Latham's eyes turn black as his gaze meets mine and settles on me. The demonic look makes my heart beat erratically. Sharp teeth are pointed out, and I blink back at him when he shudders, and it is like a ripple effect. I must be seeing things. I try to lift my heavy arms to rub my eyes, but I am paralyzed when I feel his essence rush over me, holding me still so I can't move. It is like he’s chucked a weighted blanket over me, a hefty one. I wonder if I have gone mad.

"You're scaring her," Xavier whispers as I stare in pure bone-rattling fear at the monster above me.

I have never seen anything so terrifying, so inhuman. His teeth are sharp points reminding me of shark teeth. His eyes glow like onyx stones back at me, but the horns protruding from his head are what scare me the most.

My eyes flicker to Blaine and Xavier, yet they don't share the same appearance. I know why it scared me the way it does. I have seen horns before, but it was like the memory was shoved to the back of my mind, and seeing Latham has suddenly brought it forward for my recollection.

My breath wheezes out of me, and I looked at Blaine in panic as he comes to sit by my head. Blaine reaches for my hand, and Latham moves and comes closer, pressing his lips gently to mine. I want to pull away and run from the terrifying looming monster he has become.

When he pulls back, Blaine moves my hand. "Let her move," Blaine whispers to him.

"She will run," Latham growls, and he is right.

I want nothing more than to run from the room screaming; I won't even care if they lock me in the loony bin as long as I am away from him.

"Shh, it's just Latham," Blaine whispers, and I try to shake my head. He looks nothing like my Latham. Even the texture of his skin looks thicker, rougher, and scalier.

My heart feels like it is about to lurch out my chest when Blaine lifts my hand to touch the horns on Latham's head. They are smooth like ivory, yet cold. He glides my hand over them to the tip, and Latham dips his head lower before my finger is nicked by the sharp point.

"Shit!" Blaine curses.

Yet if it wasn't for the trickle of blood running down my finger and across my palm, I wouldn't have noticed it. I feel numb with horror. Latham grips my wrist before sucking on my cut finger, and the ripple of energy around him makes the room shudder and warp. Latham growls, the sound promising violence to whoever upsets him.

"Of course, I needed her fucking fear," Latham murmurs.

Tears well in my eyes when I feel his magic wash over me again. Latham kisses my palm before placing my hand back on the bed. His hand moves to my face.