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I snuck in closer, my stomach growling. The woman was talking to two small rodents.
How wonderful! Two appetizers and a main course.
Something in the back of my head screamed for me to stop, but I pushed it back. I was too hungry to listen.
Silently, like the stealthy hunter I was, I got as close as possible. The bigger black rat, which was sitting on top of the human’s head, sniffed the air before letting out a screech and scrambling down to hide in the human’s clothes.
Fuck! It had spotted me and sounded the alarm. The human whipped around, spying me in the grass. But she didn’t run.
“It’s okay, Pepper. That’s just Zayn. He won’t hurt us.”
Both rats were hiding in the human’s clothes now. That was fine. I could swallow them all together.
Stop it! Stop it now!
That voice in the back of my mind again. Always telling me what to do. So annoying.
I ignored it, rearing up onto my back end.
“Zayn, Zayn. What’s wrong?” The dumb human stepped closer.
I didn’t wait.
Ravenous, I lunged.
---
I bolted upright in bed, awake and sweating, the blood pounding in my ears.
“What’s wrong?” my little witch mumbled sleepily from beside me, her hand touching my arm. She yawned and cuddled in a little closer to me.
I blinked a few times as my hammering heart slowed, and I got a grip on reality. I lay back down and took her in my arms. Sybil was already falling back asleep.
I stared at the ceiling. We were in the master bedroom at the cottage. We’d cleaned out most of her great grandmother’s stuff this evening and moved some of Sybil’s things in. We lay on brand new sheets, sheets we’d picked up on the way up on Friday like an old married couple. We’d even talked about getting a new mattress, like we expected me to move out here with her.
What the hell was I doing, playing house with this woman when the curse was still hanging over my head like a death sentence?
I felt my wrist for the watch, only to remember that it was broken. Sybil had put it in her magical purse, so it was currently sitting in the cabinet at her condo.
The last two weeks with Sybil had altered my thinking. I’d started to trust my serpent, started working with him again. But I saw now just how dangerous that could be. It only took one moment of anger and everything could be completely ruined.
I’d lost control completely today. I could’ve killed the sniveling bastard Nigel and not have had a clue what I’d done. I could’ve hurt Sybil in the process.
I thought back to my nightmare. What if one day I got so hungry that I—
No. My brain refused to even entertain such a possibility.
I looked down at Sybil, sleeping peacefully again. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was my mate. Nagas could only mate bond with other nagas, but I clearly didn’t follow that rule. Maybe it was because I was half-human. Or maybe it was a fairy tale, made up to keep centuries of wealth firmly in naga hands. I didn’t know, and I didn’t care.
She was mine. But I couldn’t keep her.
I’d spent my whole life avoiding just this quandary, and yet here I was.
Sybil was sure my serpent would never harm her, but she was wrong. She was in danger. I understood now why my father left us, because I knew I had to do the same. I pulled her in closer, wanting to remember every detail of the way she felt in my arms. I inhaled her scent, committing it to memory as well. These memories would be all I had of her for the rest of my life. But they would have to do.
I’d think of her and recall the two weekends of perfection fondly. In my mind, I’d live with her here forever. We’d get that new mattress, and I’d build that enclosure for Salt and Pepper. We’d oil the joints on that creaky swing and cuddle on it, watching the sunset. And everything would be perfect. Forever.
In my head, I could pretend, and remember. I clenched my jaw at the wave of desperate longing that filled my being.
