Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 81279 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81279 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
The wind rattles the window again, as if to encourage my boy. I know he has it in him. He doesn’t seem worried about the blood dripping from his knife, or about Galanis squirming like a maggot that just won’t die. Maybe it’s stage fright. Or that instinct most people have that makes it so exponentially hard to stab something into another person’s body.
I can’t help a smirk when Galanis starts sobbing. With hands and legs both cuffed to the sturdy chair, he has no means of escape, and I know that one look at me tells him I’m not going to back away. I’ve been told I have this aura about me, of someone who carries out every job to the very end, and I’m proud of it. I can only hope Rowan will be proud of me too.
“How do you want me to do it?” I ask, kneeling next to him. He’s trembling, but no matter how much I want to, I cannot make this any easier on him.
Relief washes over his face, and his shoulders sag as he passes me the knife. He doesn’t back away though or run out of the room. No, he wants to be here, wants to see it, just isn’t ready to take that final step.
When his bloodied hand rubs my arm, I don’t have the heart to tell him he’s leaving stains on my shirt. I can get a new one, and we will only have this moment together once.
“Stab in the heart,” he says, and I focus on his soft lips releasing those words.
It’s as if he releases me from my cage with this not-quite-command. I stayed back because I wanted to accommodate his needs, but the beast within me was clawing at the bars, ready to bite.
Now I get to kill the man who hurt my Rowan so much he couldn’t bring himself to live a normal life, and the smile that fact brings to my face reflects at me from those pretty eyes. “Of course, baby.”
The knife feels perfectly balanced in my hand. It’s light but sturdy, and its blade could cut through a sheet of paper if the fancy struck me. What point is there in waiting when the night isn’t getting any younger and I have so many activities planned for us?
My blood feels hot when I trap the wriggling beast with my knee and then push the blade in, avoiding bone. Pallor sets in as Galanis fights a battle he can no longer win.
Seconds later, it’s all over.
Rowan puts his hand on Galanis’s chest, not blinking once. “I could feel it stopping,” he whispers, flushed. He’s so beautiful with the storm raging behind him it takes my breath away.
I’m elated at his reaction. Maybe he wasn’t ready to take a life, but he stayed with me every step of the way and didn’t flinch when the blade sank into flesh.
I was right. He’s the one.
“Exciting, isn’t it?” I ask, letting go of the knife before blood can stain my hands. Turning toward him, I scoop him into my arms and press our lips together. The kill itself was like many others before it, but sharing it with my lover means everything, and as warmth spreads through my chest, I realize just how much I’ve missed this kind of companionship.
It's such a primal need to want to share your kill.
He glances at Galanis as he wraps his arms around my neck with a shaky exhale. “Yes. It’s done. Irreversibly. He’s gone because I chose to erase him from society.” His eyes meet mine with the intensity of a wolf cub hungering for blood. “Thank you for finishing the job when I couldn’t. Maybe the next one will be easier.”
I’m melting.
He is the epitome of perfection, and I want him at my side. Forever.
“I can be your blade for as long as you need,” I promise, pushing my forehead to his and then cocking my head so our noses touch.
He’s eager to kiss me, and I love toying with his tongue. I don’t care that Galanis is right next to us, dead as a rock. My other plans can wait, because it looks like Rowan isn’t ready to go and clutches at me, starting to shake.
“Baby?” I ask, eager to give him whatever he needs.
In the dim light, Rowan’s eyes are so dark I could drown in them. “You’re not only my blade. You’re my monster. One everyone else should be afraid of.”
His words pump the air out of my lungs, because he sees me for who I am and not only doesn’t run but provokes me. The rusty scent of blood looms in the background, but the peppermint I’ve learned to associate with him becomes ever more intense as his body heats up against mine.
“They should. I’m good at hiding what I am, but that part of me is always there, ravenous,” I whisper, closing my hand on his throat as I lean above him, ready to strike.