Chapter Twenty-Seven - Belonging

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I woke up that night freezing.

At some point as I slept, the duvet shifted down, exposing my bare shoulders. My body had curled into a fetal position and was shivering in the chilled air.

I stretched out and sat up slightly, looking over to see the curtains blowing in the frigid breeze that wafted in from the half-open window.

That was not open when I went to bed, I thought.

In fact, I specifically remembered Luca lighting the fireplace to warm up the room before we got into bed. He certainly wouldn't have cracked a window.

I turned over in the bed to see it was empty, the covers pulled back and the sheets laid bare where Luca had once slept. I sat up all the way to see that the fire had been extinguished and the bedroom door was slightly open.

Suddenly, I saw a dark figure move in the corner of the room and felt panic begin to set in.

"Luca?"

The shadow returned my question with a slow, deep voice.

"No."

My blood ran cold.

Jonathan stepped forward, the moonlight streaming in from the windows now partially illuminating his face.

"He's gone," he said, taking another step forward. I heard the floorboards creak with each step he took towards me.

I fought to get air in my lungs. My body was completely frozen in fear, like a deer in headlights.

"What do you want?" I whispered, afraid of his answer.

He stopped moving, his lucent blue eyes staring straight at me.

"You."

He reached out to touch the outline of my leg under the duvet and I immediately withdrew back into the headboard, pulling my knees into my chest.

"Leave me alone," I warned him.

"I can't," he admitted, getting closer.

Where is Luca?

I moved to the other side of the bed to escape his advances, though he moved quickly to reach out and grab my upper arm.

I let out a shout of pain as Johnathan forcefully yanked me back across the bed, towards him.

Kicking and screaming, I clawed at his face when he pinned my back against the mattress, his forearm pressing down into my throat.

I was gasping for air as he cooed, running his hand over my head in an odd attempt to comfort me, despite the restriction still crushing against my wind pipe.

He moved on top of me and I jabbed him in the rib cage with my knee but he made no indication that it bothered him.

"You don't carry his mark," he said, his breath fanning against my ear as I turned my face away. "You're free for the taking..."

I began to poke at his eyes in a desperate last attempt to get him off of me before I would lose consciousness. I could already see the darkness invading the corners of my vision.

"You're mine," he whispered.

His arm released from my neck and I gasped in a sudden intake of air, my lungs burning.

"Wake up!"

My eyes opened to see Luca over me, his eyes wide with worry and hands pressing down into my shoulders.

I was still heaving for air as I realized it had all been a dream.

Feeling the lingering ghost pain, I raised a hand to gently touch my throat before beginning to sob uncontrollably.

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