AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My breaths quicken and my mouth waters. No. No. No. This can't really be happening.
"Albert. I need. I must." I press my lips together, teeth grinding as I fight back the urge to get a taste of him. It's too strong. My father needed it to be, didn't he? If Albert can look past my outer appearance, will the same go for the rest too?
"What is it? You have to go again?"
Shaking my head, I bite the inside of my cheek so hard, a rancid taste fills my mouth. His blood might taste delicious but mine is straight up poison. It has a temporary paralysis effect on any human who drinks it but only tastes like I've eaten something rotten when hitting my own tongue.
"Then what? Is something else wrong?"
"Yes. So much and nothing all at once."
His eyes widen and he tries to pull away but I grip his hand harder, keeping it on my cheek.
"Rorian… you're scaring me."
Small horns protrude from my neck and the red cracks in my skin grow deeper, the spaces between glowing like a fire's flame, matching my tail. I've never been in this form here. I don't know what it means—how people will react. No one else can see me. It would cause an uproar and upset a balance. We are to continue existing alongside humans without them noticing and aren't supposed to be up here for long. I've already broken so many rules, and I’m sure my father is hoping my uncle's punishment will be a lot worse than his once he discovers the path I've chosen. It was never my decision to make.
Screaming and struggling in my grasp, Albert's skin turns red and is burning. The smell of his blood is stronger now. So sweet and lovely.
"I'm sorry," I say. "It's not supposed to be this way. I don't want to hurt you."
He finally breaks free from me, yanking himself so hard that he crashes to the ground. "But you did and you always will. Won't you? It's what you are."
"No," I shout, everything around me sounding like static.
"I was right before. You're a monster. Stay away from me. Go back to where you came from." He pulls out the cross attached to his necklace from under his shirt.
"No. Please. Not too loud or he'll hear you. You said nothing would ever break us apart."
Tears spring in his eyes and he stares toward the ground, scooting farther back. "That was before I knew what you were. I was blindsided. You tricked me. I don't love you. Who in their right mind ever could?"
My heart cracks in two. My father was right. This hurts more than anything. The pain is spreading through my limbs and it’s almost as if I’m being pulled from every direction. "You don't mean that."
"I do." He finally looks at me again, his eyes red and angry. "You don't belong here. I don't want you here."
The ground starts to shake and I can feel heat rising from it. The floor cracks, and Albert gets to his feet and runs to the living room the moment I start to sink. "Please, Albert. Say you love me still." It’s my last hope. I have to hear it more for myself than anything else. We both promised each other forever. What we have can't end here. I'll have nothing if it does. I gave up so much for us. Can't he see that?
"I… I'm sorry," he tells me, his voice cracking. "I'm so sorry. What I thought I felt isn't enough for me to get past this. Your father was right to keep us apart and to try and stop you from being with me. It's unnatural."
Knots twist in my stomach and the fire within me burns brighter as I fall into the widening hole in the ground, my tears burning my eyes. "Maybe what you felt for me wasn't real but what I feel for you always will be."
Darkness takes me. Gravel and dirt close in on me when I'm finally all the way in the ground underneath the house. Albert will change his mind and come for me. Or all I can do is hope he will. Feeling heavy and aching, my eyes close and I start to slip into a deep sleep I might never wake up from.
I loved him while awake and above ground, and I'll love him down here while sleeping too.
One
Everly
"You look beautiful, baby." Theon's warm lips press to my neck and his arms wrap around me from behind, our eyes locking in the mirror.
Shaking my head, I shove him away. "You're not supposed to be in here."
"Says who?"
"Says everyone. It's bad luck to see each other before the wedding."
"You sure that doesn't only apply to straight couples?" He waggles his brows, reaching for me again.
