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Sweat drops roll down my back as I try not to act unhinged. I clutch my purse tightly as I walk up the steps and follow Irina and Brooke into the Phantom Society mansion, the one place my brother told me never to step foot in.
God, if I’d known the party was here, I never would’ve said yes.
Not because I’m scared, but because I really don’t want to find those three fuckers, nor do I want them to find me. And on top of that, I don’t want to deal with Felix’s rage the second he finds out I was here.
I touch the mask with two fingers, sighing into my hand. Let’s fucking hope this mask does enough to hide my identity while I’m here.
“Lana! Lana!” Irina waves at me from the middle of the hallway.
Well, that was a great success.
“What are you waiting for? C’mon, everyone’s in here.” She points at two wide-open doors that lead into what looks like a grand ballroom.
But on the floor above her, a suited-up guy catches my attention. Even from a distance, the muscles on his body are clearly visible through the seam of his suit, tight at the waist, a red tie clutching the thick strand of neck muscles. A mask hides the stranger underneath, but the broad jawline and subtle stubble still peek out to play, and the slightest tension of his downturned lips makes me suck in a breath. He clutches the banister with one hand while he holds a plastic cup in the other as he stares right down at me. Dark streaks of half-long wavy hair cover half of the white mask, but on the other side, a freakishly green eye connects with mine.
And something about the way it sparkles, almost as if a hint of a smile forms, makes all the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
I suck in a breath.
I’m torn between sticking up a big middle finger to my brother and father and following Irina and Brooke or running like hell.
Brooke runs back to me and hooks her arm around mine. “You okay?”
“I’m fine. I just had a thought.”
“Save the thinking for class,” she muses. “C’mon, let’s go dance!” Brooke tugs me along onto the dance floor in the ballroom until there’s no way back.
KAI
When I spot that red ribbon, I know it’s her.
My little vicious kitty.
Lana Rivera, you’ve finally come to my fucking domain.
I knew she’d take the bait. Those friends of hers were so easily persuaded to come to a party of ours, and of course they’d drag her along.
A dark grin spreads as I clutch the banister and home in on her. My gaze sweeps over her red lace dress, her body fitting neatly in the fabric like hard candy waiting to be unwrapped and sucked whole. I can’t fucking wait to sink my teeth into her sweetness.
Her eyes finally find mine from down below, and fuck me, the fear slowly settling in her eyes is nothing short of pure magic.
Yes, little kitty … I know all your dirty little secrets.
But do you even know it’s me?
Do you realize all the things you’ve unchained in me?
Her friend suddenly comes running toward her, breaking the spell, but I don’t mind. I can easily tell her apart in a crowd of a thousand people.
My tongue trails along my teeth, wishing she could look into my mind and see all the ways I’m going to make her scream.
She’s dragged into the ballroom by her friend, but not before a final glance, emboldening the predator lurking within.
I knew it when I first saw her that I’d found the one thing I was looking for—a challenge. Something to conquer. Something to tame.
My fists tighten around the banister.
Ever since I lost my eye, I’ve been struggling to fit in, constantly confronted with my disfigurement and its effect on my peers. I can’t go anywhere without people looking at me, and it makes me want to hole up in this mansion until the end of time.
