Page 37 of Afflicted

Jules.He called me Jules. No one’s called me Jules in years.

“What’s going on here?” A woman’s voice snaps across the bathroom, and I jerk with panic, burying my face in his chest. Silas keeps his arms around me.

“She collapsed,” he says, his voice commanding. “I needed to get her warm, I was worried she’d go into shock.”

The woman makes a sound of contempt. “This looks like more than treatment for shock, King.”

“I can let her go if you want her to hit her head, Simpson.” The way he emphasizes the other vamp’s name is like a whip of authority, and footsteps retreat quickly.

Silas notches his fingers under my chin and tips my head back to look up at him. He smiles at me. “Come on now, let’s get you dried off and warm, yeah? You need to sleep.”

He ushers me into the locker room, and just as he hands me a towel, Matt comes in. He looks us up and down with confusion, and shakes his head.

“What the fuck is going on here?” He asks, moving to my side and putting his arms around me. “Are you OK, babe?”

“I’m fine, I just - I nearly collapsed and Silas caught me.”

Matt is staring daggers at Silas, who holds his gaze. It’s like being caught between two bulldogs who want to tear each other apart over me. Matt pulls me a little closer to him, and Silas’s eyes flicker down to me for a moment.

“She needs to be kept warm,” he says, looking back at Matt. “Clean clothes, and a warm bed.”

“I know how to keep her warm, don’t you worry,” Matt snaps.

Silas quirks an eyebrow, and tucks his hands into his pockets. “Perfect.” He backs off with a nod. “It’s probably obvious to say this, but don’t try to keep her warm by fucking her.”

“Fuck off,” Matt growls.

Silas’s eyes blaze, and his mouth curls into a cruel grin. “Not that we’d need to worry about her working up a sweat in 10 seconds I suppose.” He turns on his heel as Matt yells obscenities after him, calling him an asshole. He’s so angry he’s shaking.

I falter a little, and Matt quickly turns to look down at me.

“Babe? You OK?”

I nod. “I’m just tired, and I’m getting cold.”

“Of course sorry, come on, let’s get these wet clothes off you.” He helps me get undressed, and rubs me all over with the towel until my skin is pink. He pulls sweatpants and a tank top from one of the lockers, and I shuffle them on, starting to shiver again.

“Did that guy touch you?” Matt asks quietly, his voice dripping with anger.

I frown at him. “Yeah he did, but I wanted him to.”

Matt’s eyes widen. “Youwantedhim to?”

I shake my head adamantly. “No, not like that. I mean, he didn’t touch me without my permission. He was just helping me. He was being nice.”

“Nice?” Matt scoffs. “Nice? These feeders aren’tnice, Juliet. They’re monsters. I don’t want that guy coming anywhere near you.”

I’m too exhausted to argue. I just nod and let Matt take me back to the dorm. But I can’t get Silas’s voice out of my head.

It’s alright, Jules. I’ve got you. It’s alright, Jules. I’ve got you. I’ve got you.

CHAPTER13

SILAS

The punching baggroans and creaks as I pound my fists into it. The chain clatters, threatening to come loose from the metal bolt in the ceiling. But I keep punching it, imagining it’s that useless, limp-dicked fuck’s face.

Fuck that guy. Fuck him and his limp dick. Fuck him that he gets to touch her and I don’t.

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