Of Magic And Monsters

9. Of Tea and Scorn

Chapter Nine

Of Tea and Scorn

✵

Soft light shone over my closed eyes, encouraging them to open. The wooden ceiling blurred in my eyesight and the fan blowing down on me didn't help. I craned my neck, taking in my surroundings. The room was small; only a single bed and a curtain-less window to my right and a wooden door to my left. The white walls contrasted to the darkness outside of the window.

My bones cracked upon movement. Sitting with my legs dangling over the edge of the simple bed, I stared down at the bruises and cuts that covered my arms. I still wore the same clothing as before. Grimacing, I pressed my fingers against the tender spots of my arms where Titus had grabbed me.

Any creature who's main form is human is usually one I dislike. Well, maybe always. I'm not sure when my hatred blossomed, or how it bloomed, but any human form was a form I despised without reason. Still, as I sat on this uncomfortable bed, I remembered the look in Titus' eyes when he realized I couldn't do the spell. Hearing the crack in his voice when he told me his only son would not live through his first shift.

My chest hurt, and not from my injuries. Lying was always easy. Always had been. I lied to survive. Before, I never had to witness the repercussions of my lies; I always ran before it got too hard.

Kase's smile filled my mind. Titus' tears. Adira's determination. I'd have gone about the entire situation differently if I knew the whole story. I thought it was another typical Alpha doing everything they can to get as much power as possible. I didn't know it was an Alpha desperate to save his son's life.

Hope is powerful. That's why it hurts so much when it's ripped away from you. Rory said that to me once.

"I'm a bad person, aren't I, Charles?" My eyes widened and my heart nearly stopped in my chest. "Charles? Charles?" I sprung up, nearly fast enough to fall flat on my face. Nobody else accompanied me in this room. I pressed my fingers against the racing pulse of my neck; Charles was still in the house with a family who wanted me dead. "No. No. No!"

Just as I was about to sprint for the door, it burst open hard enough to make an indent on the wall. At the sight of the man stepping inside, I scrambled backward until I bumped into the opposite wall.

"You don't need to fear me."

"The hell I don't!" I exclaimed. Fear for Charles made my heart race, but fear for this man made my stomach churn. "Stay away from me!"

Dominic ignored me. He wore that same emotionless expression that he wore the last time I saw him. His hair was slightly longer; a messy brown hair that curled to his chin. Facial hair covered his tan skin; he never used to have facial hair. Something I hadn't seen on him before was the scar, thick as a finger, that ran from the corner of his forehead down to his opposite chin. Another scar marred his bottom lip.

He looked like a monster, with dead brown eyes set on me.

"You don't need to fear me," he repeated in a tone almost flat. "Cecily." He took another step.

"Don't you dare say that name!" I snarled. "It died alongside my friends."

Finally, a glint of emotion shone. A frown, or what looked like one, pulled at the corner of his eyes. "I'm sorry about your friends."

I gasped. "You're sorry? It was your weird red-eyed monsters who killed them!" Panic seized at my lungs. I worked so hard to put my fears at bay. I couldn't stand there in front of the man I gave everything to. The reason my friends are dead.