Page 38 of Pretty Little Shadow
"Made sure someone was with him at all times, and tracked him with the site I had someone make. The public did the rest. Now that you're involved, it has to be you."
"I've used the site," I admitted grudgingly. "Sexyscorchtracker?"
"Yeah. I didn't name it."
"I don't know how to help Darius. He wants his life to revolve around me. I can't handle that. I can't do romance. I don't even have friends."
"He just needs your skin touching his as much as possible. That's what negates the impact of our magic. If you can't stand having him around, at least make more of your shadows cling to his skin so he suffers a little less. Make sure he knows what is and isn't acceptable in your relationship when you're not together, too.”
"My shadows can help him?"
"He and Grayson didn't tell you?"
"No."
"Grayson's shadows ease the cost of Merrily's magic to the point where she can function normally without having panic attacks even when he's not around."
Holy shit.
That was good news... and bad news.
Because my shadows weren't normal shadows. They anchored me to my body and my life.
Something had been slightly wrong with them since I fed from Darius. I knew what the problem was, even if I still wasn't ready to admit it.
They had been keeping me alive, before. When I added blood to the mix, I changed the way they were anchoring me to my body. I could no longer survive without drinking blood.
Which was why I'd been so hungry.
"Is he okay?" I asked.
"Darius will always claim he's okay. He doesn’t open up about his struggle. Given your connection to him, I obviously can't force you to talk to him or seal the mate bond, but please consider it." Callum stood up. The movement was stiff, reminding me what he'd said about being in physical pain. "If you tell anyone I was here, I'll deny it."
With that, he left.
About three minutes after he disappeared down the hallway, someone showed up to deliver my food.
I no longer felt interested in eating, despite my horrific, raging hunger.
I paced the hotel room for a few minutes, ignoring the shadows tugging and yanking at my hair. They felt significantly weaker than usual. Probably because I hadn't had blood in a week, but I wasn't ready to admit that either.
While I paced, I pulled up the stalking website, and hit the button to watch the live feed of Darius working at a café.
There was a gigantic, nearly-empty cup of iced coffee a foot or so away from where he was standing. He was chatting with a woman as he handed her a drink, and he wore a grin that didn't even come close to reaching his eyes.My shadows danced on his skin, barely a whisper of magic but absolutely still there.
Physically, he looked fine. But there was something in the way he held himself that reminded me of what he'd told me on the roof.
I'm always dark.
I watched him for a few minutes before maneuvering to our texts and sending him a message.
Me
Can you come by the hotel after your shift?
We should probably talk about the mate thing
I went back to the video, and watched him abandon his conversation the second his phone went off, sitting right next to his drink.
