Page 5 of The Teddy Bear's Prize

“No, I’m alright.” Jeff reaches for the remote.

“You don’t have to pause it,” she smiles, “I’ve seen it so many times.”

As soon as she’s out of view, Jeff tosses me across the room, letting out a small victorious grunt as I hit the chair. I fall onto my side, my arm draped over one eye, obscuring my vision.

He shifts in his seat, palming himself and throwing a glance towards the kitchen. Of course, he sees her as his property. In his mind, he is owed something for taking her out.

These sorts of mortal men disgust me, ignoring the gentle balance of seduction with their selfish arrogance.

There must be a way for me to scare him off, a weakness I can press upon. Something buried within his thoughts.

I latch on to his frustration, following the thread. So much is buried underneath, resentment for chasing Mia for months before she accepted his invitations.

A pressure builds in my chest, no, an emotion. Jealousy. There’s no way she would let him touch her. I don’t need to read her mind to recognize her disinterest,but he wishes to press it. To make her feel obligated.

She doesn’t belong to you.

Jeff sits bolt upright, looking around with the remote in his hand. He pauses the movie, frozen, before he eases himself back against the couch.

It’s simple enough to push past his defenses and into his thoughts. I peel them away, one by one.

This is a trick he’s used with other women, the ones he sees as too kind to refuse. Mia is kind, but I do not see her as helpless.

Jeff's thoughts don’t let up with my intervention. They only get worse until I glimpse something deeper. He doesn’t care for her or respect her. He sees this night as a means to an end.

Mia can take care of herself and I shouldn’t intervene, I might not even have the power to do so, but by the way she held me at the carnival, I feel oddly protective of this witch so I must try.

I unleash my powers, testing their limits.

If you so much as touch a hair on her head, I will end you.

Fear coats my tongue as Jeff scans the room, his eyes finding mine. With a gentle nudge, his subconscious flares and I show him what I truly am.

“What the fuck?”

He stands and strides across the room to pick me up. I can feel his thoughts fighting against logic, the truth trying to overtake the lie. He stares right into my eyes, unblinking.

I latch onto him and call upon the powers, shadows twist into vines to coil around his feet and up his legs.

He tries to shake me free, but I have him frozen in my sights, unable to turn away.

You’re going to leave and never contact her again. If you as much as look upon her, I will find you and twist your every dream into a waking nightmare.

His body shakes, but I keep him tethered until his eyes tear up and his jaw flexes into a silent scream, only then I release him.

“Shit.” Jeff growls out, throwing me to the ground, “Hey, uh, Mia?” He stumbles forward, tripping over my shadows as they fade into the carpet, “I should probably get going.”

“Really?” Mia asks from the other room, “O-okay.”

After a few minutes, I hear the door slam.

“What are you doing on the floor?” She scoops me into her arms, “Did he throw you? I swear, what kind of person does that?”

Humans are terrible, little doe, but don’t worry, I will protect you. No harm will come to you as long as I am near.

Mia holds me close as she checks the lock on the door and flicks off the overhead light before settling back on the couch. I sit patiently waiting for her to touch me again, but instead she pulls me onto her lap, her arms wrapping around the vessel’s middle. This time, I swear I can feel the ghost of her touch.

“Guess it’s just you and me.” She mutters, resting her chin on the top of my head.

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