Last Chance (Book Two In The Kingston Series)

Chapter Seventeen: Burning

Chapter Seventeen: Burning

"How long have you been having these dreams?" Jones asks. Jones is wiry. Tall, though not as tall as most of the guys. A little taller than Christian. With green spiky hair. His eyes are pupil-less and a tad on the creepy side.

"I don't know. A few months maybe." I answer. Not wanting to mention the bruises I found in the mornings after.

"They were visions of your pack members from the start?"

"Yes." I say. Meeting his creepy eyes. He has an unrelenting stare. The guys are dead silent from their spot at the other side of the room. Jones had wanted them to leave, but they hadn't budged.

"Interesting."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Killian snaps from his perch across the room. I roll my eyes with a smile. He really didn't like Jones. Kol punches him in the arm. Shushing him.

"You mentioned that the witch that cursed the brothers was in your head at one point?"

"Yes. A few months ago."

"Did you act under her will?"

"Yes."

"Interesting."

"I will fucking kill-" Killian stands up sharply. Kol leads him out of the room with a roll of his eyes.

"Do you think it's her again?"

"It's possible." He reasons. He looks at the table full of different colored jars. Picking one out. He rubs a drop between his two index fingers. "This will help me to see into you head and see what's going on."

"Mhm." I hum. He sets his cold fingers on both of my temples. Sucking in a breath quickly. He pulls his hands away after only a moment. His pupil-less eyes closing. His mouth moving to speak a silent curse.

"Interesting."

"Oh for the love of God-"Killian's voice reaches us across the house. I look at Jones. Curious and worried.

"Is there something wrong?" I ask. "What did you see? Was it her?"

"Yes. She's been possessing you." He keeps his eyes closed. As if thinking. "She also cursed you. We need to speak the counter curse together quickly. It could kill you."

"Countercurse?" Sebastian's voice is wary across the room.

"Zajedno. Zajedno. Prokletstvo kćeri. Prokletstvo prema ženi. Nikad ne mislim, bez boli. Nikad ne dodirujte, bez povrede. Smrt za pamćenje. Smrt ih voli." Jones repeats this. I join in, wanting to help. Trying to pronounce it all correctly.

"Wait!"

"Zajedno. Zajedno. Prokletstvo kćeri. Prokletstvo prema ženi. Nikad ne mislim, bez boli. Nikad ne dodirujte, bez povrede. Smrt za pamćenje. Smrt ih voli."

"Jasmine! Stop it! That means- It's Croatian. It's a curse stop." I can't hear him. My whole body feels dragged down. Sinking. Someone's shaking me.

"Jasmine!"

I feel the breath sucked from me. I hear cackling. My body is shaking roughly. Someone's shaking my shoulders.

"Please-"

My mind is plunged in darkness. I can smell smoke. Somethings burning.

In the black, she appears.

"You look terrible." She says sweetly. My mouth opens, but I can't talk. She notes this with a smile. "You don't get to talk. You can't. In fact, you're not even breathing."

What?

"You'll understand soon enough." She hums. My world shakes and I lose sight of her, finding green eyes for a moment before I'm plunged back.

"There you are." She looks pleased. "For a second I lost you."

Shut up you stupid bitch-

"Now, now." She interrupts my thoughts. "None of that. I'm sure you're wondering what I did."

Obviously.

"It started with the little scare of the brothers."

Little? You killed them.

"They came back. I wanted them dead, yes. But not as much as I wanted to hurt them again. So after you became an Alpha I let you feel safe. You needed to get closer to the guys. Even the ones that don't matter to me. After, what has it been? Four, five months? Anyway, I showed you their lives. Their most emotional moments. Even the meeting between Sebastian and Kaden some 50 years ago. You forgot most of it. It didn't matter, really. It was what I was doing with your body that mattered. You've been quite the busy little bird.

"Leaving every night to complete any little task I need done. You are very useful. You thought you were going insane, covered in bruises.You were just getting yourself ready to be cursed. Poor dead Jones. The moment he touched you, he was mine. He helped me with my little curse and he died a fast painful death.

"I am sorry about including Sebastian in the curse. He was always my favorite. Smart, powerful, and The Vampire. I could've used him." She sighs dramatically. "I might as well tell you the big punchline. You'll have time to tell those guys of yours before it takes affect if you're lucky."

Tell me what?

"I was worried you'd gone for a moment. So silent." She laughs. "You won't remember any of this soon, little bird. You're going to forget."

Forget what?

"Everything. You'll have 2 hours once you wake before the curse kicks in. The curse will take all of your memories of your pack mates."

What? No- No. No. No.

"You'll experience headaches anytime you try to remember them. The headaches will be your brain failing slowly. When you touch them you'll faint. Any doctor will see the damage of your motor skills failing. Your speech becoming gibberish. But no one will know how to cure you." She smiles cruelly. "Of course, if they stay away you'll live happily. As a human. This is the ultimate test of selfishness. Those boys won't want your happiness. They'll want you more. You'll have to ask if they are worth dying for."

My eyes snap open and I gasp. Breathing. Sitting up and slamming my hand to my chest. The guys around me all rush forward. I feel hands grasping. My foot, my shoulder, around my waist, all of them touching and speaking at once.

"She-" I gasp. Trying to breathe. "She cursed me. She made it so that I'll forget you. If I remember you I'll die."

"We know." Sebastian says softly. His eyes on my face. Blood red. "You were talking. You were- she was using your mouth. We heard everything."