Rose licked her lips. “I didn’t even know monsters existed until that night.”
“And then you found out I was one of the baddest of them all.” He gave a grim laugh. “I saw how you looked at me when you opened your eyes. You were in that bed, blood still on your skin, and you stared at me as if I were the one who’d fired those bullets into you.”
It was her turn to flinch because she knew he spoke the truth.
“But then, I guess I kind of was…right? You were hit, because of me. You died, because of me. So it only seemed fair that I find a way to make you live again. And, no, I didn’t fucking ask if that was what you wanted. There wasn’t time to ask. You were gone. I didn’t stop to think that you wouldn’t want to become someone like me. I wasn’t thinking at all. For a time there, I…went a little mad.”
Once more, she looked back toward the water. Sometimes, it was too hard to look into his eyes. “Where did you go, after I woke up?” Her lips twisted in a humorless smile. “After I told you to stay the hell away from me.”
“I had a debt to pay. I hunted. I killed.”
“For Luke.”
“For you.”
No, no, she didn’t want to think of anyone dying for her. “They were…what?” Now she gave a brittle laugh. “The bad paranormals? Are you some kind of paranormal Dexter, eliminating the threats so that everyone else can be safe?”
“I don’t fucking know Dexter.”
Her gaze shot back to him.
“I only know Luke doesn’t put anyone in my path unless there is no other option. Do I kill the worst scum out there? Yes. I take out the vampires who drain innocent kids. I stop the werewolves who tear teenage girls limb from limb. Luke rules the dark. That means he is judge and jury, and I’m his executioner.”
She just—
He reached for her. His claws were out.
She stumbled back. “I need…I need some time alone, okay?”
He stared at his hands. At his razor sharp claws “Do you still see the blood there?”
“Julian…”
“Because I do. The only time I couldn’t see it…it was during that brief time when I was with you. When you made me feel like I was someone else.” His hands hung between them. His claws slowly retracted. “You want to know why I didn’t tell you the truth sooner? It was because humans aren’t supposed to know. They can’t handle the real shit that’s around them. That’s the—”
“Paranormal law. Yes, I know it.” Now.
“That wasn’t the only reason, though. I break plenty of laws.” His hands lowered back to his sides. A faint smile tilted the corners of his lips. If anything, that smile made him appear more sinister. “I liked pretending to be normal. It was a fantasy, but it was a damn fine one. Imagining what it would be like, to have a human life. To have a woman like you. To go out on dates and make love and do everything else a normal man does.”
But in the end, the fantasy had ended. He hadn’t become human. She’d become the vampire.
And now she was hunted. She always seemed to be. Go after the weak. That was the motto in the paranormal world. It appeared everyone could sense just how weak she was. A vamp who hated drinking blood. A vamp who felt guilty when she used compulsions. A vamp who had to literally psych herself up so that she could hunt.
I am evil. That was her hunting mantra.
It was utter bullshit.
“The island is safe for you. I had Marcos take the other paranormals away before dawn. So it’s just me, you and Rayce.” His lips tightened. “And the human, for now.”
The waves crashed against the shore and the sound was oddly soothing to her.
“So if you want to go off on your own for a while, do it. Get your space. Run free. I needed to run last night. Only seems fair that you get the same chance now. Go. I’ll be here when you come back.”
His words sounded like a promise.
She started walking toward the beach. Rose wouldn’t let herself look back at him.
Chapter Eight
An angel wasn’t supposed to be in hell.
Lila stared at her wings. A pale imitation of what they’d once been. She’d already lost so many feathers, and the others didn’t shine any longer. They were darker.
Weaker.
Just as she was weak.
“Hey, angel!” Another female voice called out to her. Her head turned, and she saw the muse frowning at her.
She didn’t know the muse’s name, just what she was. A muse inspired humans. Sent them soaring to incredible heights…because she obsessed them. Her power was dark. She focused the mortals on their task to the extent that they lost focus on everything else.
Her magic was deadly.
And she was supposed to be an angel’s enemy.
“Don’t cry, angel,” the muse said, her voice soft. “We’re going to get out of here.” She moved closer to the bars of her own cell and Lila saw the glint of the woman’s blonde hair.
Was she crying? Lila lifted a hand and touched her cheek. She was surprised by the wetness she felt there. Angels weren’t supposed to cry.
Angels weren’t supposed to feel.