Page 143 of Possess Me! (I Want You To)

Realistically it didn’t take that long for Prudence to come back, but a century still passed while we waited. I wasn’t sure if I wanted him to stay gone—to prolong the inevitable—or if I desperately wished him beside me, to steal any last time with him I could.

While we waited, Chastity tried to make conversation, but for the first time in my life I did not have the patience. I grunted politely where I could, because I wasn’t an asshole, but my heart—and my mind—were firmly attached to Prudence.

I hated that he was inside the prison without me.

I hated that I was out here.

I hated that he was seeing Lydia again, and that I had to sit idly by. That I hadn’t been able to protect him. That we’d had no choice.

“Why didn’t they kill her?” I blurted, several minutes into the wait.

“What?” Chastity blinked up from her phone where she was scrolling through Instagram. Cat pic after cat pic. A painfully pale bicep. A tall blond man with a tiny black-haired twink laying with their heads together and an itty bitty kitten curled up between them. A sad looking plant. She’d given up talking to me only a few minutes ago.

She put her phone down and swiveled to look at me.

“Lydia,” I elaborated. It was the first time I’d spoken since our brief conversation as Prudence had been walking away. “They killed Prudence because they thought he helped murder people. She actually murdered people. So why is she alive?”

“Oh.” Chastity frowned, tapping her lip thoughtfully. “Well…” Her brow furrowed. “Unfortunately the fact she’s from an old hunting family protected her.”

“But so are you. So is Prudence.”

Chastity shrugged helplessly. “The Rains haven’t actively practiced hunting in over a century. Sure, we have some musty ass books, and some like…distant cousins or whatever that maybe still know the old ways, but us? Yeah. We’re hunters in name only. Lydia’s family is still actively practicing.”

“So?” It didn’t make sense.

“They have secrets,” Chastity sighed. “Knowledge that is useful to The Council. If she dies, that knowledge dies with her.” She shrugged helplessly. “Take Prudence for example. How many ghosts have you seen walking around?”

“Oh.”

“Exactly.” Her cheerful expression shuddered, her brown eyes growing dark as hate dashed to the surface. Quickly, she blinked it away, offering me another more reassuring smile. “Believe me, I think it’s bullshit.”

Surprisingly, that last statement was what quieted my anger.

With a sigh, I turned back to the window, watching for Vanity’s tall silhouette through the glass.

And then something she’d said hit me.

Like a ton of fucking bricks.

“Did you say Rain?” I asked, head snapping toward her again.

“Sorry, what?”

“Your last name.” My breath came out in a flickering burst. “Did you say it was Rain?”

“Oh?” She blinked, obviously surprised. She set her phone down again. “Yeah. Pru didn’t tell you?”

“Nah.” I shook my head, feeling dazed. “You don’t happen to be related to a really uptight—horribly dressed—brunette heiress, do you?”

Chastity cocked her head to the side, eyes blazing with curiosity. “Was her name Temperance?”

Mother. Fucker.

The names.

Chastity, Vanity, Prudence, Temperance.

The stupid fucking names. I should’ve figured this out way sooner. A startled laugh tore its way from my throat as I recalled my first visit to Elmwood. The insults Temperance had thrown my way as I’d tried to sell her my last hope, literally. Because of her rejection. Because of her unkindness, I’d found myself at the club that night, willing to toss the painting away in favor of a lucky necklace.

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