Page 29 of Beast of Blood and Roses
Her gaze flicked over her shoulder, back into the room, and her body shifted slightly, just enough to suggest she was considering retreating. Her fingers flexed at her sides, and for a heartbeat, she stood there frozen, caught between the urge to flee and the decision to stay.
Then, slowly, she turned back to me.
“I was having trouble sleeping and Colette…” Her voice tapered off as her gaze found the stone figures just behind me.
Colette and Marcel stood frozen in their final embrace, arms wrapped around each other like they’d been caught mid-farewell. The sight tugged at something in my chest. They rarely allowed themselves such displays of affection, even in private.
“They will be like that until morning,” I said quietly.
“I know,” she whispered, eyes lingering on them. “It’s still hard to get used to. They’ve been so kind to me.” Her eyes were filled with compassion, and it made something twist deep inside me.
I nodded, though the lump in my throat made it hard to speak.
“You said you were having trouble sleeping?” I asked, trying to anchor us both to the present.
She nodded once, tucking a damp strand of hair behind her ear. “Colette said she made dinner…and there was wine. I was going downstairs to eat.” She hesitated, then looked up at me through thick lashes. “Do you want to join me?”
I froze. The last time I’d let myself get close, I’d said something stupid, too human, too vulnerable. I didn’t want to make a fool of myself again. Not in front of her.
“I’m not hungry,” I muttered, keeping my voice cool, distant.
But my stomach betrayed me with a low, unmistakable growl.
Her eyes lit up and her lips curved into a teasing smile. “I think your stomach has other ideas.”
A hot flush of irritation flared up myspine. “I said I wasn’t hungry,” I snapped, my voice rougher than I’d planned. The harshness of my tone made me immediately regret it.
She flinched, just slightly, and looked down. Guilt twisted in my gut.
“I didn’t mean—” I started, but she cut me off gently, her voice quieter now.
“You don’t have to eat,” she said, “but…will you at least keep me company?” She began to tuck loose strands of hair behind her ear repeatedly. “I have some questions you might be able to answer.”
I narrowed my eyes, curiosity overtaking my pride. “Questions?”
She nodded, a crease forming between her brows. “About what I did with the wolves. I don’t understand it. It just…happened. And it scares me.”
The mask she’d been holding up slipped. She wasn’t teasing or deflecting; she was just a girl in a strange place, trying to make sense of something bigger than herself.
And for reasons I didn’t want to examine too closely…I couldn’t walk away from that.
But I should have.
She was a witch.
Maybe she didn’t know it yet, but I did. I’d seen that kind of raw power before, felt it like a blade sinking into my skin. And I’d paid the price. I was still paying the price.
Every inch of me wanted to turn away. To remind myself who she really was. Witches were dangerous. They wielded power like weapons, striking without warning or mercy. And one of them, Tinker Bell, had twisted my life into this nightmare.
What happened with her sister...that had been different. Atleast, that’s what I told myself. I never hid where I lived. It was the girl’s fault for trespassing on my property. Wasn’t it? People were invited to my home. Trespassers faced a hard truth. My truth. But even as I thought it, the justification felt hollow.
If Tinker Bell was head of the Moon Coven, then she should have known about my reputation. She’d seen an opportunity for revenge and taken it, wrapping her cruelty in righteous fury.
That was what witches did. They played judge and jury, deciding who deserved to suffer and for how long. As if they were somehow above the rest of us. As if their power made them gods.
Did I really want to open that door for her?
Even now, months later, I could still hear the curse echoing in my head, the rage, the humiliation, the helplessness. I’d been a man. A warrior. And in a heartbeat, she’d stripped that away and left me a monster.
