Page 31 of Trick or Treat: The Rebirth
“Stop,” I warn, a chill coursing down my spine. “I’ll kill you if you don’t.”
His response is a grin, a devilish one that could ignite any fire in me—both passionate and lethal. “Maybe that’s exactly what I want. Got the bloodlust in your veins just like me. We’re more alike than you want to admit.”
A memory flashes—a moment spent bound and lost in Blade’s embrace, a tumultuous closeness where pain was intermingled with pleasure.
“You’re wrong. I don’t want this. I don’t want any part of what you’re offering.” I can hardly keep the quiver from my voice, but determination fuels me nonetheless. “I’m not that girl anymore.”
“Oh, but you are.” He steps up, invading my space, his eyes fiery and manic. “You think that just because they’re gone, you can be anything but who you really are? I see you, Bones. Thedarkness, the chaos—it’s in your blood.” He leans closer, his breath warm against my ear, stirring wild memories I thought I had buried. “You crave destruction. You crave power. You just needed a little push,” he exhales, his words thick with promise.
“No.” I shake my head violently, desperate to convince even myself that I wasn’t drawn to the malevolence he represented. “I want to be free of all this.”
“Are you? Because right now, you're clinging onto whatever's left of that dark world. That's your truth.”
His words echo in my mind, taunting me with an unsettling truth I hadn’t wanted to confront. “You’re sick,” I hurl back, steeling myself against the truth that grazed too close to the bone.
“But you’re still here, aren’t you?” The smirk never leaves his face, the core of him, maddening and unsettling. “You won't walk away from me, Bones. You need me; I can help you harness that fire. You’ll burn brighter than you ever thought you could.”
Horror overtakes me as I cast a glance back at the freshly disturbed grave. “Help me? You’ve only twisted everything!” I scream, yet even as I lash out, I can feel the heat building within me—the growing urge to lean into the chaos instead of running from it. It nauseates me.
“Then why are you still standing here?” he pressed, eyes flicking to my mouth as if drinking in the scent of my fury, the tension coiling tighter.
“Why would you want to keep testing me? Why dig up their bones?” I need answers, but I fear what I might find within them.
“Because it’ll help you remember,” he says swiftly, his brow furrowing as he steps back. "It’ll remind you that we never truly escape our past—only learn how to dance amongst the shadows.”
“Only a monster would twist their memory to meet your sick desires,” I counter, trying to reclaim the narrative, but the realization stings—sickly sweet and seductive—and I already feel my resolve wavering against the darkness swirling between us.
His face sets like stone. “Who the fuck do you think I am? I am the monster, and you’re the one dancing with me.”
As the weight of his words settles, I find myself at a crossroads, the flame between us dancing dangerously close to the combustible. “You don’t know me,” I dare, voice just above a whisper.
“Oh, but I do.” He steps closer again, and I can feel the suffocating pull of the magnetic bond that shackles us. “You can deny it all you want, sweetheart, but the truth is burning just beneath the surface, ready to consume us both if we let it.”
Hunter's gaze is steady, unyielding, and whether it was the ghosts of the past that lingered around us or the raw power igniting in the moment, I can’t deny how alive I feel.
“Fight this... if you’re brave enough,” he dares.
The battlefield of my mind ignites, instinct and chaos swirling until all I can focus on is him—a weapon, a shield, and a fire. The past dances before my eyes, the memories reeling me in, and I teeter between our twisted reality.
Torn between burning it all to the ground or rising from the ashes. A decision looms so close—but I don’t know if I have it in me to choose between life and death, freedom and shackles. The dichotomy of our circumstances weighs heavily upon me.
In a heated breath, I find my voice again. “Together we’ll either rise or burn completely.”
“Together, then.” Hunter’s eyes gleam with a wicked promise, pulling me closer until our bodies align, chaos calling us home. Everything else fades as we straddle the line between survival and destruction, caught in our dance of madness—togetheramidst the ashes of our past, daring to embrace whatever the future holds.
12
The informant
Kellin
Inever thought I'd find myself a felon at thirty-five, much less an undercover informant and hacker for the feds. Yet, here I am. In some twisted sense, I guess you could say I’ve made it—my name graced the pages of the newspaper, for better or worse.
And I certainly didn’t expect the FBI to show up at my door just as dawn was breaking, catching me considerably off guard. There I stood, bleary-eyed and half-asleep in my boxer briefs, with a raging boner courtesy of a dream about Scarlett. And honestly? I didn’t even bother to hide it. Fuck them.
I opened the door slowly, keeping the chain latched as a petty gesture. Rubbing my eyes, I squinted against the harsh light that pierced through the gap. Shielding my gaze with my hand,I peered through the crack, trying to grasp the absurdity of the moment.
"What the hell is this?" I scoffed, irritated that the cavalry had arrived for what I assumed was a grave mistake.
