Greys III - Revelations

Chapter 44 - Glass Houses

Malachi skipped the rest of his classes, and we let him. When he didn't return to his room at the end of the day, I crawled into James' bed. I laid my head on his chest, my fingers drifting through his hair. More than once I heard an appreciative soft sound as I ran my hands through the dark strands, running my nails up his neck. Soon we were asleep, and I was fully prepared for a night of soft and sweet dreams.

I saw the manor, and my heart jumped, though I knew it was from dread, not excitement. Something was watching me as I walked to the door, as I pushed it open, and disappeared into the dark maw of the house that still seemed haunted.

Shadows clung to every corner as dark shapes scuttled away from the edges of my vision. I felt a cold breeze pushing me further into the home and my feet followed.

I found myself reaching for the hidden door that led to the basement, to James' room, but I paused, there was something else for me to see. I continued to the back of the house, to the glass wall that looked out over the grounds. The yard was pitch black, with no moon to shed light. I pulled my Shift over my eyes to see better as my fingers lightly touched the glass.

Immediately, I snatched my hand away and bit back a cry. The yard was littered with bodies, both wolf and Human. It was a massacre, Hunan and canine remains, parts and pieces flowed across the dark grass like beach debris left there by changing red tides. The worst of it was the small bodies, the children mangled in piles as if they had been rounded up and slaughtered. I felt my Red Shift itch, pinching something behind my ribs as I looked out at the horrifying carnage, the execution of the entire pack that James and Nevaeh and Kael and I had fought for, fought alongside.

Then I saw him. One man. The one responsible for the wreckage before me. He was shrouded in darkness like it flowed from him, standing at the edge of the forest with his face upturned to watch me through the pane. Even from my distance, I knew that devastatingly handsome face, recognized that smile. James' father watched me from the edge of our grounds, his eyes locked on mine despite the distance.

Then as I watched, his face changed, his eyes turning black, his teeth lengthening, sharpening, dripping down. He looked terrifying, fierce and cruel, the most tantalizing creature I had ever seen. A quake ran up my legs from the house like the very Earth shuddered at his power, and the pull I felt to him actually ached, physically hurt, catching the breath in my chest. But I wouldn't submit to his call, not in a dream and not in the waking world, not ever.

A burst of warm air moved over me, and on it was a scent I knew and loved: pine and smoke and mint. James was here. I turned but didn't see anyone, though the front door now swung open.

Shit.

My first thought was that James was going out there, alone, to attack his father. My second thought was that he wouldn't be so stupid. My third was that he absolutely would be.

I sprinted out the open door, turning the corner of the house to be caught like a rabbit in a snare by the freezing arms of the Collector. He held me flush against him with arms like chains, so cold they burned, but I felt my traitorous heart flutter up into my throat as a soft sigh escaped me and my body melted involuntarily into his anyway.

A purr that quivered my insides rumbled out from his chest and through me as I turned my face up to his. His black eyes dove into mine, his canines poking down from his lips, shining in the low light. His grip grew tighter until they felt like the cold bars of the gate leading to the white rock garden, like they pulled heat and life from any who dared be trapped within them.

"Mmmh," his purr turned to a groan as he dipped his face past mine, his nose brushing my neck as he breathed me in. "You're mine," he whispered in my ear, and then he bit, his teeth piercing my skin like rocky cliffs parting water.