Page 98 of Scrooged for the Holidays
“You said it yourself: You’ve never heard of this place. This isn’t a normal town, Greer. The magic that created it is so old, evenwedon’t understand everything about it. What we do know is that it will only allow those who need to find us to cross its borders. It hides itself from the outside world otherwise.”
“How often do people show up here?”
“It depends. Some humans need to experience their past, present, and future. Sometimes, they only need a warm bed for the night or someone to talk to. It depends on the person and the read we get on them when they arrive. That determines how we move forward.”
“What you’re saying is only people like me need the fullexperience?”
“Not everyone, no.” My body naturally shifts closer to her. “But I can confidently say I don’t think there’s anyone like you, Greer.”
“Meaning?”
“For one, you’re the only you in the world. There is no one else like you, no one who has your genetic makeup or lived your life. You’ve been through struggles and had success only some could dream of. The life you’ve built for yourself is something I know you’re proud of and that you take pride in, even when you believe others don’t.”
Her nails drum on the arm of the chair. “I see you know a lot about me.”
“Being Nephilim guardians, having the abilities that we do, we see and feel many things. I’ve experienced your past and present through Kai’s and Remi’s times with you, and I’ll show you your future. Everything I see and know allows me to better help you while you’re here.”
“Funny, I don’t remember needing or asking for help,” she snarks, a flare of anger flashing through her ever-changing aura.
“I understand that us seeing what we’ve seen can be upsetting. I know this is your life, your memories and your future. But Elysian Pines would not have brought you here if you did not want it. Over the centuries I’ve been doing this, I’ve seen enough to know you must have had a stray thought or fleeting moment where you longed to be something or someone else.”
“I’m fine with who I am.”
“Maybe so, and I’m not saying you are wrong or that you need to change. But I think you know after what you’ve seen so far why Elysian Pines brought you here. You don’t need me to explain more.”
Greer pauses for a moment, thinking over what I said. She doesn’t disagree or fight back, and the slight gold in her aura pulses, telling me I’m right in my thinking. “And secondly?”
“What?”
“You saidfor one—what’s the second reason I’m not like anyone else?” As she asks the question, her hand subconsciously presses to her stomach, and I feel a craving tug in mine as well, the one that’s only gotten louder and hungrier the longer I’ve been sitting here. That feeling, that undying need, is the biggest reason she’s different from all the other humans that have crossed my path.
Greer Mallory stirs something in me and my fellow guardians—strange, unnameable feelings that spark wants we have no right to, wants Kai and Remi have never denied, even as I keep trying to bury mine. Because we shouldn’t want her, not in any way, shape, or form.
“You don’t want to answer?” she asks, a teasing yet vulnerable tone in her voice. “Is it that bad?”
Words spill from my lips before I can stop them, like snow raging down a mountain in an avalanche. “We don’t usually fuck the humans that cross our borders.”
Samael.Both Kai’s and Remi’s voices snap through our link, sharp enough to make my eye twitch. I don’t look away from Greer. She isn’t shocked by my statement—in fact, she looks almost…lighter. Her unique irises are brighter as the weight of our conversation evaporates into the air and is replaced by a different kind of energy.
Lust.
“Funny.” She crosses one leg over the other. “Because I don’t remember you fucking me, Samael.”
The sound of my full name on her tongue is like a match to gasoline. The space between our gaze lights up, and my aura pulses, pushing out of me like it did at the rink. My heart rate picks up to the point I can feel it beating in my chest, rare for a being like me—but apparently not when I’m around Greer.
Sam.Remi’s voice snaps through my mind, yanking my attention to the tendrils of my aura now curling toward the woman before me. Fear spikes, and I wrench at the reins of my control, trying to pull the dark shadows back. But every part of me—mind, body, and soul—wants Greer. And it wants hernow.
“Sam?” Her voice wades through the fog in my mind.
My attention snaps to her at the shock and astonishment in her voice, to her pupils tracking up and over the tentacle-like black waves that are creeping toward her across the floor, almost touching her.
I sit up straight, fear curling up my neck. “Can you see my aura?”
“The shadows?” she asks, still in awe. “Yes.”
I’m up and out of the chair, ready to snap myself away from the bookstore. Why is she seeing my aura? She didn’t see it reaching for her yesterday at the rink. Humans should not be able to see what it looks like unless I want them to, much less someone who was sent to us for help and guidance.
“Sam!” Greer calls.
