Page 139 of The Order

The boy starts to cry, his body bracing to be electrocuted.

Fuck.

I allow that unbridled part of myself freedom, feeling It embrace me like a warm hug. My hand flies out in front of me, latching onto the minds of both Officials, listening to their vile thoughts of how much they enjoy hurting the boy. With the rage of a thousand scorned soldiers, I take control of their weapons.

“They deserve to feel pain,” I affirm to myself, feeling the other part of me agree.

“Fight. The winner walks away without a broken leg,” I command, slowly backing away from the wall.

The man’s eyes meet, and they become tangled, focused on delivering blow after blow to one another. The boy scrambles to get away, watching the men with a look of shock, only lingering for a few seconds before taking off down the alleyway. I hear the men groan in pain, focusing on keeping their minds within my grasp. As they continue to hit one another, I find myself smiling with satisfaction.

Glancing at a puddle on the ground, I see my reflection. My eyes seem to gleam. Drawing in a deep breath, I force that other part of me back, feeling my energy start to fade as the men's fight suddenly becomes nothing but screams of pain and confusion.

“Better get going, princess,”It barks, pissed off to be shoved back so soon.

I turn away from the Officials, headed back on my path once more.

“Don't be angry that I didn't want them dead,”I hiss. Fallan’s building finally comes into view.

“It's comical, really,”It says, laughing.

“What is?”

“The fact that you don’t get it. I am a part of you. Nothing happens unless you want it. And you definitely wanted to hurt them. And if you think I’m murderous, then you’re murderous too. My desires are your desires. Self-awareness is a bitch for us, isn’t it?”

What the fuck is happening to me?

I knock on his door, my eyes shifting down the hallway, making sure I wasn’t followed. I can still see the singe on the ground from where the Shifter died. There’s a flickering light coming from under the door, casting shadows by my boots. Gradually, the locks begin to move, the hinges creaking as the door swings open.

With a sleepy expression, Fallan stands in the doorway, his hair a wild mess. His shirt looks like it was thrown on in a rush, barely covering his torso. At first, he looks over me with relief, only to grow more confused the longer we stand there. I peer inside his unit, my stomach sinking as I see movement in his bed. There’s a woman’s body warming his sheets and my imagination runs rampant as I notice the nail marks traveling up his left side.

“Why are you back here?” he asks, stepping outside the unit so as not to disturb whoever he’s clearly just hooked up with.

“You're the one who asked me to come here, Fallan,” I whisper angrily. His eyebrows crease as he shakes his head.

“You heard that,” he says in disbelief, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I was drinking after I got home and heard you with Blondie. I felt your panic-” he starts, a swell of conflicting emotions rolling off of him.

“I heard a man's voice,” he pauses, stopping his other train of thought. “Did you hear it, too?” he pushes, my head slowly nodding.

“I have no idea who it is. I only know it's the same voice-”

“From the festival. Yeah, I've gathered that much,” Fallan says sarcastically, back to being the asshole I've gotten to know so well.

He takes a moment to look me over, sighing gently.

“You should go home, Forest. You being here only makes things more difficult,” he says, crossing his arms out of frustration.

“I don't have anyone at home I can trust, and I can't say I trust you,” I start, ready to throw it all on the table. “But I need to understand whatever this thing inside of me is, and tonight, the only person I wanted to be around was you. So, forgive me if I’m a bit confused,” I finish, ready to leave this place and beg for Xavier’s forgiveness.

“You don't need to go back to that blonde twit,” he starts, taking another step toward me. “You’re falling down a rabbit hole you can't come back from. The more you keep coming back here, the harder it is to leave things the way they need to be,” he says, his hand raising as if he’s going to touch my face.

“I’m starting to understand that,” I say, meeting his deep blue eyes. “So, are you going to help me channel this fucking mess of energy, or am I going to have to keep playing target practice with Officials?” I question, his mouth pulling into the slightest of smirks.

He glances inside his unit.

“I'll grab my things, and then we can go. Wait out here.”

“Go where?” I question, watching him move inside.

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