Page 62 of Cursed Beasts

I looked up to see Aeon looking at me passively, blocking me from chasing after her. We stared at each other as I waited to see if he was going to say anything. He kept his face neutral, but I could see his anger. He was also very curious about her.

Anger consumed me when he walked away. It seemed that we were not ok anymore. I wouldn’t doubt that he took this as me choosing her over him. When in reality, I was choosing me this time; just this once, I needed to do this for me.

27

KATARINA

Going back to the library after almost kissing Lucien was nerve-wracking. I almost chickened out five times before I finally just told myself to get a grip. Before entering the library, I took a deep breath, expecting him not to show up, but there he was, shirtless, and looking like my wet dream from last night.

He turned around with a small smile. No man should be as hot as he was, or any of them, for that matter. Our small moment didn’t last long before I felt like someone else was watching us. At the entrance to the library stood Aeon and Zev with their arms across their wide chests.

Both of them looked like they wanted to rip out my throat or at least hurt me. I hadn’t seen Aeon since the night Lucien had thrown us out of the window. It seemed my assumption of us moving past whatever we had was wrong.

The anger on his face was jarring, and I hated that these men were so hot and cold. I looked back at Lucien, wondering if it was a matter of time before he did the same to me.

As much as I wanted to walk away from all of them, I needed Lucien to help me break the spell. I needed to get as much information from him before he jumped ship and went back to Aeon and Zev. They were in this together; it seemed smart that they stayed together, right?

Why did it feel like we were a bomb waiting to explode?

I took one last glance at Zev and Aeon before I turned around to head to our table, when I ran into Lucien’s chest.

“Shit,” I said, bouncing off all that hard muscle, until he steadied me with both hands on my upper arms.

I looked up at him to see his gaze on Aeon and Zev. The air charged with tension like a hurricane was about to explode and I was in the eye of the storm.

“Come on Kit Kat, let’s get to work.” He grabbed my hand, pulling me away. I felt the daggers in my back as we walked away, but I couldn’t help but glance back at them. Zev looked like he might bust a blood vessel with how red his face had gotten. Aeon looked furious, but I also saw the hurt in his eyes.

I shouldn’t have felt guilty, but I felt like I was tearing Aeon and Lucien apart. Maybe if there wasn’t so much animosity, it didn’t have to be like this.

“Are you ok?” Lucien cupped my face when we got to our table. “Did they hurt you?”

“I’m fine. I didn’t see them until after I came into the library,” I said, with the urge to pull away, but the way he was looking at me with concern, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

“Maybe you shouldn’t walk alone anywhere,” he suggested, as he let me go, making me instantly miss his warm hands.

“Did you call me Kit Kat?” I asked, changing the subject because I didn’t want to think about what it meant that he had basically sided with me. It was like he had declared war, making me nervous for my safety and his.

“Yeah, I did,” he said, with a smirk. “I think it’s fitting, but I can call you Katarina if you like?”

“You can call me anything except Belladonna,” I said, setting my bag on the table. “You guys make it sound like I'm trash, and I’m still salty about my father leaving me here.”

“Salty?” He looked confused.

“Yeah, you know, I’m still mad.” I looked at him, thinking it was cute that I was basically teaching him new things.

“I don’t understand how you didn’t know you were coming here,” he said, as we sat down.

“I ask myself that almost every day. Everyone knew except me, and I don’t know how,” I said, looking away. “Growing up with no magic made me the family black sheep. They always blamed me for it, like I had a choice to be born with no magic.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, leaning forward.

“You don’t need to say sorry on their behalf. My family is a bunch of self-important assholes.” I smiled like they didn‘t bother me much. “What about you? What was your family like?”

He smiled instantly.

“My mother was amazing. She was stern, loving, and funny. She was just an amazing woman.” He looked like he was in a memory that made him look so young. “My fathers didn’t stay home much, but they were supportive. They trained vigorously to be Zev’s advisor and protector if needed.”

“Your mom sounds amazing, but did you say fathers? Like more than one?” I asked, thinking I heard wrong.

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