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We pull up to my family home, and I can't help but shudder at the sight of it. The once well-kept lawn has become overgrown, and the house stands dark and looming, like a haunting reminder of what my family has endured. I've got no home to return to now—my father has disappeared into the wilderness, and all my siblings are away at Hillcrest University. All except one. My eyes wander up to the window on the side of the house, all the way up on the third floor. Samuel’s room. He was the first one Mom attacked, which is strange even now that my mind is more clear. She was closer to my twin brother than she was to any of her other children.
Khi finally breaks the tension, throwing me a grin as I step out of the car. "Well, Ethan, as much as we'd love to stick around and chat, we've got better things to do. Have fun hunting down Isabella, I know you will.”
I roll my eyes again, this time with more genuine amusement. "Thanks for the ride, guys. I'll see you around.”
Without wasting another second, I climb into my truck and head toward Hillcrest University. My chest is aching with the need to see Isabella, to feel her flesh against my fingertips. Whatever it takes, I'll find her.
CHAPTER2
ETHAN
I’m pissed. My sister Izzy’s phone is going straight to voicemail. Logically, I know she’s probably in class, but I don’t give a fuck. She should be at my disposal at all times, and I won’t budge on that. Maybe it’s better that my visit will be a surprise because since that first time I snapped and took what I needed from her, unexpected encounters have been our favorite kind. I crave the way her heartbeat speeds up and her breathing labors when I grab her out of nowhere with no warning. My cock hardens in my jeans at the memory of the way her pulse feels quickening under my fingertips. Nothing will ever be as phenomenal as my grip around her throat and my knife dragging down her breasts. It’s been far too long since I’ve been afforded the luxury of flicking my tongue over my initials, I carved into her thigh, so she’d never forget who she belongs to. I look around my alma mater and scowl at the students milling about the historic campus founded by my predecessors. Izzy has every right to be here, to get her mind off of everything that happened to our family while I was healing in the hospital and finish her semester. But the possessive, dickish side of me doesn’t give a fuck. I’m all that should matter to Isabella Hillcrest, and she’s going to understand that by the time my visit is over.
Our mother was intent on killing our entire family, and she almost succeeded in taking my life. If it hadn’t been for Isabella, I wouldn’t have made it. If Isabella hadn’t chased our mother that night, stopping her from doing any more damage than she already had, the butcher knife she carefully selected from the kitchen would have claimed all six of her children and our father as well. When I was in the hospital, I remember hearing the nurses talking about how I had the largest knife wounds they’d ever seen in the emergency room. I suspect that she started with Samuel and me because we’re the oldest at twenty-five, and the biggest threat to her. Landon was supposed to be next. From what I’ve pieced together, when Izzy walked in on Mom attacking Samuel and me while we were sleeping, Izzy chased her out of the room and immediately checked on me and called 9-1-1. I was told that Mom went to Landon’s room next, but she didn’t find him there. He was in Sophia’s room, both of them sound asleep, and Sophia jumped in front of him and was stabbed once in the process. She wasn’t injured as badly as I was, but she’s a small girl and was traumatized by it. Izzy chased Mom out of Sophia’s room, and they tumbled down the stairs and out on the front porch.
Despite it being two in the morning when Mom’s attack began, when I was in the hospital, I heard the nurses saying that Dad had no idea what was going on until he saw the flashing lights and blaring sirens pull up on our lawn because he was out in his work shed with Olivia, Isabella’s twin. I heard one of my nurses say that Izzy attacked Mom in front of the police, took the knife she was pointing at Dad and Olivia from across the lawn, and slit her throat.
None of my siblings, except for Izzy, will admit that they believe in the Hillcrest curse. I haven’t seen any of them since the attack, so I’m unsure if the massacre that unfolded in our home is enough to convince them. Even Landon, who is straight-up obsessed with Sophia, says it's lore and that Isabella and I are just sick. He’s fighting what he feels for Sophia, but that’s okay. He’ll snap just like I did, and I can’t wait to watch the aftermath.
A flash of familiar, long black hair pulled back in some kind of French braid bullshit catches my eye. I’m annoyed that it’s not the sister I’m here to see, but it’s a start. She’ll be able to point me in the right direction. The light pink ribbon securing the bottom swings across the back of her blazer as my sister, Sophia, sets a fluffy white blanket out under a vibrantly red maple tree. She’s so innocent, painfully so, but that’s because Landon has made being her bodyguard his entire personality. I watch her curiously for a second as she pulls a dark book out of her backpack. I've been out of commission since the attack, but I’m sure since she was hurt, he’s way worse than usual. I’m actually surprised to see her by herself, without him hovering over her and glaring at anyone who might attempt to speak to her. It doesn’t matter because right now, my only priority is finding my other half and getting inside her. Dad is so freaked out about what happened that he fucked off to the wilderness to build the cabin he always wanted for our family. That’s where I intend to take Isabella once I find her and paint her insides with all my come. I haven’t been able to spill inside her for far too long.
I scan the grassy area in front of the ice arena where the hockey players practice for Landon before I approach Sophia. I can kick his ass if I have to, but I’m still not at 100 percent from being fucking stabbed, and I don’t need him clotheslining me out of nowhere.
“Boo.” I grin when little Sophia lets out a gasp of surprise when I flop my much larger frame down next to her on the blanket. She’s reading a book that has teal letters and some Polaroids on the front of it. I glance at the title which readsNo Crosses Countas I swipe it out of her hands and toss it in the grass. I need her full attention because I don’t have the patience to play any games in regard to where Isabella is hiding from me. I’d never hurt Sophia, mostly because she’s not mine to hurt, but I’m not opposed to shaking the answers I want out of her.
“You’re okay!” Sophia exclaims excitedly, launching her whole body toward me and wrapping her arms around my shoulders. There’s nothing here between us except a younger sister grateful that her older brother didn’t die. “Dad won’t answer any phone calls, and we were so worried about you.”
“Dad’s gone off the deep end, but we’ll bring him back around,” I chuckle at the way she turns her pert nose up in distaste at my assertion. “He’s off in the wilderness playing Davy Crockett because he can’t come to terms with the fact that he wants to fuck Olivia,” I say matter-of-factly, rolling my eyes as if what I’ve just said isn’t absurd to most people.
“Maybe it’s over losing Samuel or Mom or—” Sophia starts, but I snort out a laugh, cutting her off.
“We can pretend the Hillcrest curse isn’t real if you want, but it is, so you’re wrong.” I shrug my shoulders. “Which reminds me. I’m here for Isabella. I’ve looked all over for her, and she’s not answering her phone.” I don’t have time to process the look of panic that overtakes Sophia’s face before a fucking hockey puck is launched at me, hitting me square in the back.
“Get the fuck away from my sister!” Landon bellows at me, stalking up toward us with a scowl on his face. His jet-black hair is wet, presumably from sweat, and he’s still wearing his black hockey pants and pads. He’s shirtless, and instead of shoes, he’s only in tall socks. I suspect he popped out of hockey practice to get eyes on Sophia.
“It’s me, you fuckhead,” I growl, hurling the puck back at him, which he catches in one hand, his eyes narrowing at me.
“I know who the fuck you are, Ethan. Get away from her,” he snaps, now right up at the edge of the blanket. His movements are jerky and far too rough for someone as delicate as Sophia, and I can’t help but snicker because the curse has him in a chokehold far worse than I thought. He’s ready to lose his mind if he doesn’t get what he wants, and what he wants is sweet, little Sophia. Maybe it’s all a hoax, maybe Grandma is a loon. Who fucking knows? The only thing I do know is that my need for Isabella is insatiable. Maybe it’s the curse, maybe I’m just sick with obsession, but either way, thinking of a life without her makes me go into an insanely destructive rage. Mom never explained herself to me, but I remember lying there in a pool of my own blood and hearing her screeching rant as Isabella managed to get her off of me. She believed in the curse, and she knew what was in store for our family.
I decide to taunt Landon a little, just to see how whipped his twin has him. “She’s just as much my sister as she is yours,” I tell him, standing up and trying to reach my hand back to feel where the puck hit me.
Landon’s nostrils flare in annoyance, and I can see his mouth twitch like he wants to scream at me that she’s far more than just his sister. He’s holding back, and that’s fine. He’ll snap just like I did, and the first time he slides inside her pussy, he’ll regret waiting so long to claim what’s his.
It catches my attention when Sophia places her hand on Landon’s chest in a soothing gesture, and I notice that his body seems to relax a little from the tightly wound stance he’s been in since he yanked her up off the blanket. Sophia looks at me apologetically like she feels responsible for Landon’s surly attitude toward me. She’s too sweet to fathom that Landon and I don’t give a shit about each other, and our only singular focus is the objects of our obsessions. “I’ve been having night terrors since—” she cuts herself off, taking a deep breath. “Well, you know what happened. But they’re better since the campus doctor prescribed me some sleeping pills. When I wake up, I don’t remember any of the nightmares,” she says sweetly, smiling at me and then turning her attention back to look up at Landon. I notice how uncomfortable he looks at the mention of the pills, but I’ve lost interest in irritating him for now. I don’t know exactly what injuries Sophia sustained that night, but I was told that she passed out when she saw Isabella with Mom’s nearly decapitated body.
“Where’s Isabella?” I only realize how harsh my words are when Sophia flinches at my tone and averts her eyes away from me. “What are you hiding?” I snap at her, and Landon’s arm pulls her into his body protectively. “One of you better answer me now,” I tell them, but I’m looking at Landon.
“She’s in the asylum. She freaked the fuck out when Dad made her leave home to come back here without you, and she became an absolute menace.” Landon shrugs, and my chest tightens with some sort of emotion I can’t quite put my finger on. They better not have hurt a fucking hair on her head. “And don’t get any fucking ideas. They’re keeping her until the end of the month, and then her case gets put into review. All of us have tried to get her released, but you know this fucking place.” He waves his hand dismissively, and he doesn't have to elaborate. Hillcrest is all grandiosity that was founded by our great, great, great grandfather, and to this day, follows his traditions. The sole purpose is to uphold the Hillcrest reputation, and if she was making a spectacle of herself, this is the exact solution these fuckers would have.
“You have to be on a list to visit her. I can try to get you added tomorrow if you want. Do you want to stay the night in Landon’s room?” Sophia offers. “Landon usually stays in my room to make sure I don’t have any nightmares. You could take his room.”
“Does Dad know?” I ask, ignoring her offer and already turning to walk away from them. I need to find her. I don’t give a shit about being on a list. I will burn this campus to the ground if I have to. She’s leaving with me tonight.
Sophia’s face pales. “That Landon sleeps in my room?”
“No,” I clip out the words. “Everyone assumes that. Does he know about Isabella?”
“No. He won’t answer any calls,” Landon says, annoyed. “He hasn’t checked on Sophia or Olivia either.”
