Page 30 of Sound
“Lucien, that’s enough!” The windows rattle from my roar, but none of them blink an eye, including Melody.
“I can’t say you are lying,” she tells my brother evenly, my anger not bothering her one bit. “You see, I had no idea what I was until today. Or was it yesterday? I have no clue since I have no idea how long I was held captive. I don’t even know what day it is. So, you could be right. That’s why I will leave and never bother any of you again. I’ll find a way to save my friends alone.”
“Like hell you will leave. Melody …” My blood turns to ice at her words, but when she turns her dark, tear-filled eyes on me, the words I want to say get stuck in my throat and I can’t get any of them out.
“No, Étienne. Thank you for saving me and giving me the opportunity to do the same for Vi and Harmony, but your brother is right. I don’t belong here.” One fat tear trickles down her face, and it’s like a dagger to my heart. “I don’t belong around anyone that I can harm, for that matter.”
“I could be wrong,” Moël offers, but Melody is already shaking her head.
“You could also be right.” A sad smile tilts her lips up. “Are you willing to chance it? Because I’m not. That’s not how I want to show gratitude for saving my life.”
I’m frozen in place when she stands, glancing around the room as if trying to remember it because she never plans on returning here. The chasm in my chest spreads wider, the gaping hole shredding my insides with a pain I’ve never felt before. Melody shuffles her feet as if expecting me to stop her, but I can’t move or open my mouth to save my life. Panic grips me in its clutches when she takes the first step to lead her away from me. Something primal rears its head, and it takes over all rational thoughts. My body jerks off the lounge where I’m perched.
“You will not walk away from me.” I don’t recognize my own voice, and apparently neither does Melody because she jumps away with wide eyes.
“Étienne.” The warning in Moël’s voice only angers me more. Melody, on the other hand is a different story.
“Oh, yeah?” Her hip cocks and she slams a fist on it, defiance flashing in her brown eyes. “And what are you going to do about it? Force me to stay?”
“That’s exactly what I’m going to do if you take one more step, Melody. Do not test me.” In the back of my mind, I know I’m making things worse and I should reason with her, but the predator in me is awake and will tear this house down to prevent his mate from leaving.
The feisty female I saw in the club what feels like lifetimes ago smiles at me, a dare to stop her as clear as a sunshine on her face. Melody takes one purposeful step away from me, her chin jutting out stubbornly. My vision bathes in red and my shoulders hunch, readying my body to pounce on her. Her eyes widen for a second before something dark comes flying at my head from the open door. Twisting around, I snatch it in the air and fling it at the wall away from me. Melody shrieks so loud my eardrums almost burst from the sound, and it takes a moment for what she screamed to actually penetrate my clouded brain.
“No! Salmon!” is what my mate screamed just a second before the damn cat slammed into the wall falling limp on the floor.
“Fuck!” The word is a hiss that’s jumbled through my fangs.
24
Melody
Horror like I’ve never felt before strangles any other words that are trying to push through my mouth. Hearing that I’m not just unwanted but also feared in the only place I have felt safe for the first time in what feels like forever is the final straw in this entire nightmare. I mean, what kind of monster do you need to be for vampires to be afraid? I should’ve stayed in my prison and let Seraphina drain my life. Being turned into a cat is better than having this empty, painful feeling overtaking my chest cavity.
“Don’t!” My choked cry stops Étienne when he takes a step closer to me.
What do I even know about him?
Trapped in that damn place, I let my emotions and fear guide my actions, following and trusting him blindly. But isn’t that what got me in this whole mess in the first place? Latching onto the first person who can help me, I didn’t think things through. Now here he is, fangs bared, snarling and threatening me while hurting Salmon without a care in the world. My feet shuffle back until I’m closer to the open door. All three of them track me with their eyes, eerily still like statues in a horror movie where only eyes follow your movements. Although my heart is thundering in my ears, I still slide further away from them in a futile attempt to get the hell out of here.You are so stupid, Melody. This is what you get for being a freak.Tears keep rolling down my cheeks unchecked, but I couldn’t care less if they see me cry. Still, my trembling fingers brush them away to clear my blurry vision. As if that will make things better. If I can see them, they won’t hurt me. Rigghhtt …
“I believe what Melody needs is some time to gather her thoughts.” The last one who walked in, the one with the scar, says conversationally, like he didn’t just announce to everyone in the room that I’m a monster.
Everything in me wants to ask if Salmon is okay, but survival is more important to me now. I don’t want any part of this anymore. Cats that turn into humans, magic, witches, vampires … they can all go to hell. I just want to run and keep running for eternity if I have to, or until I get my sanity and life back. A life before music. A life before I stupidly started having feelings for a guy I saw only once—and a few minutes at that—before he showed up to save the day. One hell of a coincidence if you ask me. Something that didn’t occur to me until just now. With clenched fists, I inch closer to the door, my eyes darting between the three men in the room with me.
“Melody …” Étienne sighs and brushes a hand roughly over his face. “Toutes mes excuses, chère petite.” Clenching his chiseled jaw, he groans as if pained. “I apologize is what I tried to say.” More words in French follow, and I don’t need to understand them to know he is cursing up a storm. “Emotions are running high at the moment, so let us all calm down and talk this through. This is one of the reasons I detest magic. Whenever magic gets involved, no one acts like themselves and we all turn on each other.”
“Umm, no. I’m good, actually.” His eyes narrow when I slide further away, and I’m almost at the open door now. “No need to talk anything through. Look at us.” Pointing with a trembling finger, I wave my hand between us, first pointing at my chest. “I’m calm, he is calm, he is calm too, and you are practically an epitome of calmness yourself, sir. All is good in da hood. I’ll just be on my way—”
“You can’t leave, Melody,” he tells me evenly, while the other two are watching us like they are at a tennis match.
“Of course I can. Watch me, I’ll just put one foot in front of the other and I’ll be out of here before you say tamale.” Which is a lie since I have no idea where the damn front door is.
“You can’t leave because I marked you, mon amour. Remember that? You agreed and urged me to do it.” The intensity in his blue eyes makes my knees wobble, so I lock them in case I crumble on the floor in a heap like some idiot.
“I can’t be the only girl you bit, Étienne. You might be the first vampire I’ve seen, but I’m not stupid. Who knows how many had you chewing on their neck, and I don’t see any girls prancing around this place.” Dread spreads through me before I’m done talking. “Oh my God, do you have them locked up somewhere?”
“Melody.” He rubs his forehead as if he is getting a headache, but I’m beside myself from the thought.
“Don’t youMelodyme you monster! You are worse than Seraphina if you keep them locked away like cattle only to let them out so you can gnaw on their necks.”
