Page 9 of The Black Lotus
If his mother ever appeared before me, I would slit her throat and bathe in her blood, dancing while her screams rang out. She hurt the man I love in irreparable ways, and she will never be forgiven.
She will pay. She will burn. She will regret the day she locked out her precious fox.
FOUR
ASTER
Icarry Serena back to the house bridal style, and we lay in bed, silently wrapped around one another. She was processing everything I told her, what I went through. After I left the orphanage, I sought out my parents, desperate to gain advice about what to do next, how to continue their legacy. We’d already lost so much time, I wanted to rekindle our relationship, be the son they always wanted me to be, and being ignored each time left me gutted.
Like any good son who had been waiting a lifetime to see his parents, I tried again. And again. And again. After the fifth time, I was thirsty for blood, and the next thing I remember is finding myself in the darker, more depraved parts of a town near their prison. Some hooker walked up to me, trying to get money from a lost kid who seemed down on his luck, and I let her take me away. I remember walking down an alley. I remember her kissing my neck. I remember being repulsed by it, disgust roiling in my veins. I shoved her off and just as she turned to walk away, I snatched her by her hair, hissing I wasn’t done with her yet. She was shorter than me, but that wasn’t unusual. I’ve always been tall, and when her back slammed against my chest, I didn’thesitate. I gutted her, leaving evidence of how I felt behind, her blood and entrails staining my shoes.
All I saw was red, all I felt was piping hot anger, and I took it out on her. Some helpless, nameless whore. I felt no remorse or empathy for what I’d just done. It was my first kill and the only emotion I felt was hunger. I needed to kill again. I needed to see crimson splayed everywhere.
I left her body for the police to find and I walked away, taking the knife my parents gifted with me. The weapon I kept close by as a reminder of what could have been.
The police never found who killed her, but it was all over the news. Turns out she was a runaway from a prestigious family and they wanted to find her murderer. I didn’t know, or care, if I left behind any evidence. I didn’t, but I knew I needed more. More blood. More destruction. More carnage. No matter how pissed I was, I knew my parents’ legacy would live on. I had a taste for blood, one that needed to be quenched, but it wouldn’t be careless hookers. No, I neededmore. I wanted to learn from my parents, but after being treated like I was never born, I created my own legacy. And the Morbid Monet was born.
Since meeting my vixen I haven’t thought once about another little lamb. I haven’t been the Monet for several months. If I’d never met Serena I would have hunted my next victim, killed, and displayed her by now. My hands would be red with lamb blood not contaminated by all the other lives I’ve taken. I’ve strayed so far from who I was, but who I am becoming with Serena is the man I should have always been. Knowing what it is making my mother go through to not have her little boy be who she wants makes falling in love that much sweeter. I may not be the Morbid Monet right now. May not become him ever again. Now I have a partner in crime and together we will create a new legacy. One that will have everyone always looking over their shoulder.
I stay quiet, letting Serena think about the important parts I told her, wrapping her in my arms. If she wanted to know more about how I became who I am, I would tell her, but only if she asks. Until then, I’ll just teach her what I know. Her cold hand rests on my naked chest, and I wrap my hand around hers to warm her. She smiles slightly, eyes closed, falling asleep with the comfort from one another and our shared pasts.
When we woke up she was her cheerful self, and said she wanted to go out for breakfast. I was grateful the events of last night didn’t dampen her appetite. I teased her, telling her I had something she could eat, but her stomach rumbled and we both laughed. We pulled on our clothes and drove into the city to the diner.
The weather outside is much colder, all the trees are dead, and with Christmas approaching, every store and restaurant is playing the same songs and making my ears bleed. Serena sits across from me, hands clasped around her mug, blowing on her coffee and mouthing every word to the song. I don’t know what is playing, something about jingle bells? They all sound the same to me.
Growing up, Christmas wasn’t a holiday I looked forward to. The children rarely got anything, and when we did, it would be socks or scarves, sometimes even mittens, to keep us warm from the harsh winter weather. The other kids would fight over whose was whose even though they all looked the same. Black socks. Black scarves. Black mittens. All as dark as the hell we lived in. I didn’t care for any of it. The only reason I participated in the frivolous holiday at all was because it was a rule, and if the rules weren’t followed you would be punished. The punishments were far worse than they sounded, and I was given them more than the other children because of who my parents were. The people who ran the orphanage called me evil and treated me like the devil's maker. They didn’t know how right they were, and theday I turned eighteen I ran, trying not to slit the throats of every single person who made my life a living hell. My fingers shake around my mug, rage surging through me.One day I will get my revenge, hopefully with my little vixen by my side.
Taking a sip of coffee, I watch Serena, now humming to herself and smiling at me, the blood lust dissipating, making this month a little more bearable.
The waitress returns to our table, food in her hand, and slowly places my plate in front of me, attempting to brush her hand with mine. I move it away, and she straightens her back, clearing her throat. Serena glares daggers at the unsuspecting woman, clutching the butter knife in her hand, pointed up and ready to strike. I bite the inside of my cheek, suppressing a moan at the thought of watchingmy vixenkill this woman.
“Can I get you anything else?” the waitress asks, addressing only me.
The waitress jumps back at the sound of the knife Serena was holding as it hits the floor. Serena says nothing, just bends down, picks up her cutlery, and returns to eating her food, her eyes never leaving the spooked woman. I bite the back of my knuckles to keep from laughing at the whole ordeal.
The waitresses face pales, her eyes looking like they’re about to pop out of her skull, and instead of apologizing, she huffs and stomps away. Serena tracks her through the busy restaurant, mindlessly twisting the knife in her hand.
“I’m going to kill her,” she whispers, her leg bouncing up and down.
I reach over and grab her hand, her leg stilling. “You can’t kill her,” I say in a soothing voice.
She whips her head in my direction, her daggers now pointed towards me. She tries, and fails, to take her hand from mine. “Why the fuck not? She was blatantly flirting with you, ignoring my presence. I’m surprised she even took my order at all.”
I run my thumb across the back of her hand. “She probably already told her co-workers about your little stunt, so if she were to go missing, we would be the first suspects, and we have enough heat right now with Tyler because I let my anger get the best of me.”
She manages to pull her hands from mine, crossing her arms over her chest. “Oh, so you can let your anger get the better of you, but I can’t?”
I sit back, taking a deep breath and smothering the beast for a moment. As much as I love how jealous my little vixen is right now, we can’t have her getting us caught. Pushing away from the table, I walk over to her side of the booth and trap her in her seat. Before she can look away, I catch her chin and force her to look at me. Lowering my voice, making sure no one can overhear me, I loom over her. “Soon, little vixen, you will have someone onyourtable and you can pretend it’s that waitress, slicing them beautifully and making the floor pool red.”
Her eyes, finally meeting my own, show the depths her beast is aching to go. “Promise?”
“I promise, Serena. Once this is all over, and we are free to do as we please again, we can come back here and slaughter the bitch.”
Her eyes light up with that promise, and she kisses me. “I’m sorry I snapped like that; this thing with your mom has me on edge, and trying to keep it together, while also trying not to get killed has been, a lot.”
I kiss her forehead. “Hey, it’s okay. I know this is a lot, and we are in the unknown and have to keep our wits about us, but I am right beside you. You are not alone; you will never be alone. It’s me and you until the end.” I lean back, looking down at her as heat floods me. “If you need to get your stress out, use my body.” I run my finger up her covered thigh, caressing the cuts I knowlay just underneath the fabric “Maybe I’ll let you make me bleed next time.”
She hums, turning to her plate and shaking hot sauce over her food before taking a big bite. I shake my head, amazed at how fast my vixen's mood can change with the promise of revenge and playtime, pulling my plate over and eating in silence, my arm slung possessively over her shoulder.
