Page 56 of Kat Bethel

This time, under the canopy and the lowering sun, he appeared before me. I wished I could see his expression, but it didn’t matter. His disapproval crawled through my veins as my pulse raced. “He intended to harm you.”

“I don’t know if you noticed, but I kill things for a living. What did you think he could do to me?” Fucking shadow monsters.

I kicked a rock so I could take my frustration out on something tangible. Since hitting him wasn’t an option.

His head cocked to the side as if he were confused. “Your capability was never up for debate. I’m confident you could handle the human just fine.”

I laughed at his sure words, but I heard an edge of insanity in the sound. “Then what was the point of all that destruction? You killed people who didn’t deserve it.”

“What kind of man would I be if I allowed such a vile Neanderthal to touch a sacred dandelion?”

My brain short-circuited, and it took me two seconds too long to come up with a retort.

“You aren’t a man.” The words came out harsh, on the border of cruel, but I didn’t try to take it back.

We both needed to remember the truth.

So why did I feel like shit for saying it?

He shrugged and shook his head as if that was of no consequence.

“You make me want to scream.” I rolled my eyes. At least if it didn’t offend him, I didn’t need to feel guilty for saying something bitchy.

He chuckled, and even though he didn’t say it out loud, I could hear the commentary about how he’d already made me scream.

I wanted to blame him for encouraging the driver into being stupid, but the locked door already confirmed that’s what was going to happen, whether Abiel toyed with him or not.

The memory of that man’s hand almost touching me made the back of my neck throb and itch, like it was rejecting the memory. I scratched at the skin there when the feeling wouldn’t go away.

That tow truck driver was going to die today. I would have never let him walk away. I killed monsters, even if they wore human skin.

But I could not justify the senseless murder of the masses.

My nails dug deeper into my skin. It was hot, like an infection. Something wasn’t right.

Abiel pulled my fingers away. “Careful, Dandelion.”

When I brought my hand back, my fingers were coated in blood. “What did you do to me?”

“Marked you as mine.” He sounded so proud of himself.

“What?” I grabbed a mirror from my hip bag and practically broke my arm to see what he’d done. But I couldn’t see anythingother than blood. It would have to wait until I got to a bathroom. I found myself stuttering more than I was comfortable with, “I never agreed to be yours. I’m married. What is wrong with you?”

Who was I talking to?

Him?

Or myself?

He let out a deep, terrifying roar that rattled my bones. “That foolish, weak boy isn’t worthy of you.”

On the left, the apple orchard we were passing turned black, until it became nothing more than ash on the wind.

Fuck.

My heart pounded as I waited for screams and destruction to fill the air. Instead, it smelled like a fire that had already long ago burned out, accompanied by an eerie silence.

I stared at him for a few moments, holding my breath for his next move. It felt wrong when nothing else happened, so I kept walking to hide how unsure I was.