Beast Within

14| Like Clockwork

SHADOW'S P.O.V.

I missed the simple things. The joy of walking during the daytime, feeling the sunlight hit my skin, and getting sweat on my face. Despite what mortals thought about them, I even missed sunburns. I never got them. But it was always funny seeing how much they ruined Nolan and Warner's summer break. They looked like big, peeling tomatoes, leaving skin flakes in their wake. And the sight of that would brighten up my entire summer growing up.

Granted, I was about fourteen when I first found that funny. I'd like to think my humor has aged like a fine wine, adding needed depth. Thankfully I'd grown out of my weird enjoyment in watching other people suffer.

I digress.

Inside the walls of my own estate, I could move as freely as I wanted to. Regardless of where the moon or sun was in the sky, I remained in my human form. At each entrance, a crystal was embedded into the threshold, hidden enough that no one could move it or see it. That was what helped us stay intact, solving our problem with a somewhat solution. From on the roof, I could still enjoy the morning sun. The crystals, in some odd way, acted as a forcefield around our home.

Certain hours of the day dictated when we could go into town. You were a mad man if you were to leave at any hours between dawn and dusk. The sun was not our friend. Strangely enough, Warner called us vampires during our first two years. Didn't matter how often we begged him to stop, he would always relate himself to some infamous bloodsucker.

"Where the fuck is Dario?" I asked.

Despite a text message I got from him, I hadn't seen him all morning. It was getting closer to noon. Kaia was still up in here room. She was more compliant today. I wasn't the one that said that, trust me. January was the one to relay that she was eating again, saying she finished her food.

"I think she's beginning to acclimate to her surroundings, sir," January had said this morning. "She didn't leave any food behind."

I didn't smile at his wording. "You're making her sound like a prisoner."

"I'm sorry, sir, what would you prefer I say instead?"

"Say she's liking it here," I professed, "Say that she's enjoying her time with me."

"You haven't spent any time with her, though. For the last couple nights, you've been staying in your room for dinner."

"She's in her room, too."

"Then why don't you arrange for you two to have a dinner, then?" He offered, snapping his fingers. "I could set something up tonight."

That conversation we had was a little over an hour ago. 

January left to go into town, fetching up food and supplies for our dinner. Usually, around this time, the house would be loud with motion. Warner would be in the attic, doing some art installation or something political, and Nolan always had his head in the second kitchen, whipping up a meal that had way too many steps and took up most of the counter space. And Dario....

"What the hell?" I opened the door to Dario's room, finding it completely empty. He hardly left his room before nightfall.

When I went to check up on the other guys, they were exactly where I thought they'd be. Neither of them had heard from Dario. My thoughts rattled with ideas, conjuring up where I could imagine him to be.

"What's wrong?" Warner asked. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine...I have a bad feeling."

"I hate when you use that as a reason," he rolled his eyes, "You don't have a sixth sense. You can't just magically know when things are going wrong."