Chapter 12

I must have dozed off because I snapped awake sometime later, and the clouds had rolled in. My hair was plastered to my skin as raindrops pelted me in the face. Time was so disorienting here, especially with no sun in the sky to guide me.

It made me wonder if I'd ever see another sunrise again. Standing up, I wiped off the graveyard dirt that was quickly turning to mud and said my goodbyes to my parents. I'd come to see them again soon. Scanning the area, I tried to find Jessica, but she wasn't there. I called out for her a few times and expected her to scuttle over, but there was only silence. She'd probably bailed, feeling too creeped out to stay the whole time. I didn't blame her.

I still had that weird feeling from earlier—the feeling of someone nearby. So, I decided to get back to the aunties' before this rain turned into a downpour.

Closing the gates behind me, I looked down the road both ways. There was Hangry Forest to my left and Midnight Hollow to my right. I shivered just looking at that dark tree line. I didn't understand the feeling, but I could have sworn there was something in there with its eyes on me. I needed to get out of here and hoped Jessica somehow found her way back to the aunties' house .

I started walking, then full-out sprinting as thunder crashed overhead. I had no realistic way of knowing how long I'd been out there, and the others were probably about to send out a search party. I was just passing Farmer Orson's—or what used to be Farmer Orson's land—when something shoved me from behind. Tumbling to the asphalt, I caught my fall with my palms, scraping my skin off.

"What the hell?!" I yelped, flipping over and crawling backwards. My eyes scanned the area, but there was nobody there. "Who's there?!" I shouted. The rain began to fall harder, and a freezing cold wind washed over my neck, almost painfully sharp. "I said, who's there?"

Scrambling back, I shot to my feet and broke into a run. Just as I picked up speed, the wind did too, bringing with it a heavy rainfall that pelted me in the face and eyes until I was nearly blinded. I was running faster than I'd ever run before when I heard laughter in the wind. The cornfield blurred by as my head whipped left and right, catching a flash of movement. Something was running really fucking fast through the cornstalks, keeping pace with me. Dread pooled in my stomach as the laughter grew louder. It wasn't a voice I recognized. It was low and maniacal and all around me, even though I was running.

Another shove in the back tried to push me down, but I managed to catch my balance and kept going as if my life depended on it, which I had a feeling it did. This time, though, I veered off the road and barreled my way into the cornstalks. I kept running in the same direction, hoping to make it into town. I had to catch my breath, so I stopped running and bent over at the waist with a stitch in my side.

I could only hear my breathing and the thunder, and that was it. There was no sound of movement in the cornfield I was standing in, except for the slight breeze of the cornstalks rustling with the wind. It was too eerily quiet, and I felt something staring holes into my back. With my breath still in my chest, I looked over my shoulder and let out the loudest scream I'd ever made.

Baggy, weathered clothing hung off his tall, skinny frame with hay sticking out of his dark brown buttoned jacket, and his face was covered in shadows with his wide-brimmed hat obstructing my view.

"Who are y-you?" I couldn't even talk; my voice was trembling from cold, stark fear.

Lightning struck as he lifted his head, a dirty brown fabric like burlap, and stared at me with crossed Xs for eyes made of black stitching and a mouth sewn shut. Its face was held together by more black thread, and I knew it was one of the scarecrows that I'd seen when we were first heading into town the night of the crash.

He was just standing there motionless, his head tilted to the side. I was terrified to move a muscle until another strike of lightning lit up the sky, and I could see three more scarecrows standing a distance behind him in the cornstalks. All were holding short-handled sickles with a reddish brown coloring rusting on the sharp curved end. I was pretty sure they weren't for cutting down corn.

I was going to die in a fucking field where no one would ever find me, scattered across it in pieces, perfect for picking food for crows. That's what got me moving. I knew they weren't here to invite me to tea. It was a run or die moment.

Cornstalks slapped my face, and the mud was growing thicker as the skies opened up, the floodgates spilling out. Soon, I was covered almost head to toe in it. The laughter kept popping up every few seconds in all different directions, followed by another hard shove to the ground. The scarecrows were attacking, and I was defenseless. I was starting to wish I'd been born a witch like my mother and not a necromancer. What good did it do to supposedly control the dead when what you really needed was to fight back?

Not that I'd even mastered how to control anything since bringing my friends back to life. I was floundering, and my vulnerability was coming back to haunt me. I should have known better than to go out on my own when there was still so much about this world we didn't understand yet. It was risky, unnecessary, and stupid. I wish more than anything right now that I had one of the guys here with me. Norman with his super vampire speed, Freddy with his macho strength, or Jason and Michael with their strange magic. Even Maddie. She was a real witch, while I was just useless.

Terror clawed at me as I frantically parted the cornstalks, but an ice-cold tingle slipped up my fingers and arms. Glancing down as I ran, I yelped as I watched each and every cornstalk I touched wither and die, turning to little black dust particles.

Holy shit, holy shit! Turn it off!

I was shoved hard again when I came to the edge of the cornfield. The shove sent me flying forward, tumbling to the muddy ground, and all I could do was roll. My body was covered in cuts and bruises, and I was getting bone tired as my energy drained fast.

There was a small road that cut through town, avoiding Main Street. It would bring me to the aunties' house quicker than going through the usual route. Besides, I'd just create a spectacle if someone saw me like this. I didn't know why the scarecrows weren't really attacking me. I had a feeling they were only trying to spook me, and they were doing a bang-up job. I felt like I was the star of Jeepers Creepers, and it was only a matter of time before one of the scarecrows stopped messing around and cut me into little pieces, eating my eyeballs for dinner.

There were tall, flickering lanterns lining the streets as it turned into neighborhoods. I ran for my life down the tree-covered street, in between houses and small shops. Street after street, I tripped, wheezed, and cried until finally, the aunties' manor was in sight. I cried out, screaming for help. I hadn't meant to do it; it just came out when I realized safety was so close. My scream echoed down the street, and I watched as every light in the manor flickered on.

I fell to the ground, my legs collapsing under me as my strength to stand completely fled. My knees scraped against the asphalt, and I tried to stifle the whimper that wanted to escape, but it was so painful that it couldn't be helped. On my hands and knees, I crawled desperately towards the manor. I heard the sound of a wooden door clapping against a doorframe and the sudden stampede of feet. People were shouting, but they sounded so far away through the downpour.

"October!" came a familiar, deep voice. I looked up to see Freddy barreling towards me. "October, what the fuck happened?" He dropped to a squat, hooking his hands under my arms and hauling me up. "Talk to me; what happened?"

Norman came up behind Freddy, eyes as black as the night sky and veins of inky darkness slithering under his skin. His fangs were elongated, but at the sight of my blood, he seemed to be fighting rage rather than hunger. Jason, Michael, and Maddie rushed up behind the two of them, circling me and blocking out the rain.

I looked up at Freddy, who held me tightly in his arms. "Scarecrows!" I choked, trying to suppress a gag. The adrenaline was beginning to fade. "Scarecrows from the fields attacked me... I don't know why. I didn't hang around to find out," I breathed in a rush.

" I'm going to kill...fucker... " Freddy's dark thoughts whispered through my mind. I smiled weakly at the venom in his protective tone.

"What were you doing at the cemetery by yourself?" Norman seethed. "Are you stupid?" Hurt and surprise lanced through me at his outburst.

Jason suddenly shoved Norman to the side. "Not the right time, dumbass. Can't you see she's fucking hurt?" He looked at me, and his gaze softened. "How bad is it?"

Surprised by the tenderness in his voice, I let myself relax in Freddy's arms. "It hurts. I think my finger is broken, but I'll be okay."

Freddy started shaking. His arms were vibrating under my back, and I looked up, my eyes widening as his skin seemed to undulate. Something sharp poked me in the side, and I yelped. Jason was there in an instant, scooping me from Freddy's arms in less than a heartbeat.

"Dude, get ahold of yourself," Michael muttered, placing a hand on Freddy's shoulder, but Freddy yanked his arm away and literally growled at Michael like a wild beast. His face was twisted up in a snarl, and his eyes flickered to a bright yellow that reflected the moons, the whites fading completely.

The clacking of heels ran up on us. "Move aside!" urged Auntie Pip. She shoved everyone out of the way with a snap of her fingers. Her orange curls were wild, and her robes slapped against her legs in sopping wet layers, the colorful shimmer of the rainbow reflecting off her robes from the moonlight with each step she took. Just seeing her face made me breathe easier. Clicking her tongue down at me, she said, "Oh, dear, we need to get some tonic in you. "

Auntie Fe beside us was staring at Freddy with a pucker between her brows. "It's the change, dear. Your wolf is coming out. You need to control the anger and let yourselves become one."

Freddy's yellow eyes flickered at Auntie Fe, filled with equal parts fear, anger, and confusion. He tried to say something back, but cried out a second later in agony as we all watched in horror. I truly felt helpless at the moment, as rippling pain came over him. His jaw lengthened, and his skin fell off in gruesome chunks of flesh as sprouts of hair seemed to take over his whole body. The sound of bones cracking filled the silent, rainy night, and I shrank closer to Jason's chest. I could feel his hands shaking as he watched Freddy morph into something that wasn't human.

The entire change happened in less than five seconds, but it felt like a millennium. Where Freddy once stood, there was now a massive creature with a curved, pronounced spine, long, muscled legs, and claw-tipped hands that looked sharp enough to kill. It had a wolfish head with bright yellow eyes. He tipped his head back, sniffing the air with a snarl, and whipped around to growl at us. His skin was covered in a grayish-black fur that looked coarse to the touch.

I knew what he was immediately. A werewolf, the very opposite of his vampire twin. I'd done this to him. My necromancy had turned him into a monster. Freddy howled, tipping his head towards the moons, and everyone staggered back a step. I had no idea how much of my Freddy was still inside there or if he was about to attack all of us.

He looked like he was ready to snap, so Jason carried me a few feet away until I was straining over his shoulder to see Freddy. Auntie Fe said, "Go, Freddy. Your wolf wants to find the danger, and you'll only turn back if you seek it out. Let it guide you."

"We'll take care of her," Norman said, meeting his brother's eyes. Freddy stilled, but I could tell he was itching to run away and find the scarecrows that had attacked me. "Go," Norman added.

Freddy howled again and took off in a dead run, dropping to all fours. He sprinted out into the dark, through the rain and wind, until he disappeared around the corner. My heart lurched, wanting to go find him. It was my fault he was going through this, and it was my fault for going to the cemetery alone. I buried my face in Jason's chest, trying to keep the tears at bay. Fingers stroked over my wet hair.

"Let's get inside before we catch our deaths, so to speak," Auntie Pip said with a clap of her hands, ushering us all back towards the house.

I looked up from Jason's chest and saw Maddie walking beside us. She offered me a small smile, then looked at Jason and back at me again before winking exaggeratedly. In any other situation, I would have rolled my eyes. Trust Maddie to see the benefits of this dire situation.

We filed into the house, and warmth enveloped me. The aunties bustled off to the kitchen, Fe mumbling something about a tonic, while Jason practically sprinted with me up the stairs and down the hallway towards my bedroom. Norman and Michael tagged along with us, and I was beginning to feel a little nervous with all of their attention suddenly on me.

The last year had seriously jaded me. I constantly expected them to try to pull some kind of prank or to say something scathing just to piss me off. But as Jason kicked open my door, Michael rushed to the bed and yanked back my black bedsheets. Norman went to my standing wardrobe, opened one of the drawers inside, and pulled out an oversized T-shirt. I wondered idly how the hell he still knew his way around my room after not having been here for over a year.

I didn't want to be set down sopping wet on my duvet. "I need to shower; just let me... Just for a little bit," I whispered to Jason, hoping he would understand I needed a few moments alone.

He was reluctant to set me down, but Michael went ahead and started the shower for me until steam filled the room. I watched him walk out of the bathroom, pushing back his silver hair with a small smile. His eyes averted, and he cleared his throat awkwardly, probably feeling just as weird as me right now. Everything felt awkward. There were so many unspoken things between us. In the end, I finally convinced Jason to let me bathe myself.

I didn't know if they left or not, but as soon as I stood under the spray, I let out the world's longest sigh. I scrubbed at my hair and skin, but I winced because I was pretty sure my finger was indeed broken. I must have bent it wrong while falling to the asphalt one too many times. The shock had completely worn off, so I was beginning to feel each and every cut and bruise on my body, and I still shivered from the cold, even though the water ran piping hot.

There was a knock on my bathroom door, and I went tense, calling out, "Yeah?"

The door squeaked open. "How are you feeling?" Maddie asked. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm not gonna lie," I said, wincing as I tried to shut the water off. "I've had better days."

Maddie snorted. "I figured," she said. "The aunties sent up a tonic that should heal you. I left it on the bedside table. "

My nose wrinkled as I asked, "Pip didn't make it, did she?" My mind flickered through the horrendous concoctions I'd been forced to drink over the years.

Maddie laughed for real this time, saying, "Oh hell no! Trust me, I watched the whole time; this was all Fe. We're trying to heal you, not kill you."

Once the water was off, I grabbed a towel from the hook and tried to dry myself off. "Thanks, Mads."

"Don't thank me. Thank those boys out there lighting candles and shit in your room."

I sucked in a horrified breath. "What?!"

Maddie snorted. "So, yeah, I'm getting some shut-eye. See you in the morning!"

"Maddie, don't you dare leave."

She was gone, the door shutting with an audible click. I grumbled as I dried myself off, wincing as I tried to wring out my long hair. After changing into a clean Corpse Bride shirt that reached my upper thighs and brushing my hair out, I decided it was time to face the music.

I crept out of the bathroom, first peeking around the door, but my room was blissfully empty. I let out a breath, walking into my candle-lit bedroom. Maddie wasn't lying. Someone had lit pretty much every single candle in my bedroom, and I had a lot of them. The room was cast in a warm orange glow and smelled like spiced apple cider. Rain pelted my bedroom window, and the covers of my black duvet were pulled back invitingly.

I took a moment to look around my familiar bedroom, and my attention settled on my vanity. It was a small, black clawfoot table with an ornate oval mirror. It belonged to my mother when she was my age and was passed down to me after she died. On top was a little snow globe. Every year since I was two years old, my dad had given me a snowglobe for my birthday. Most of them played music or lit up in some way. He found them in antique stores, and I always looked forward to adding to my collection. This particular one had a small jack-o'-lantern in the very center of it, modeled after the TV show, Halloween Town , that I used to secretly watch when my parents weren't paying attention.

I found out one year that my parents had known the whole time that I was sneaking certain TV shows and spooky movies, and my dad had surprised me with this special snowglobe for my fifteenth birthday. I stare at it now with an ache in my heart. Something hollow sat in my chest the more I watched the little black flecks of confetti sitting idly at the bottom of the globe.

Picking it up, I turned it upside down, letting the confetti fall towards the top of the glass, and twisted the little golden winding key. Immediately, my quiet bedroom was filled with soft, tinkling music. I still couldn't identify the exact song that it was playing, but it was beautiful, haunting, and kind of spooky, and it calmed me down after the chaos of the night.

Climbing into bed with the lovely music in the background, I settled back into my pillow, reaching out for the hot mug of steaming tonic next to the bed. I gave it a cautionary sniff and shrugged as I smelled nothing but licorice root and a hint of ginger. In my head, I told myself this was just tea, but after watching the aunties cook up potions and spells, I was positive it was about to be more potent than any tea I'd ever had.

Well, as long as it doesn't turn me into a toad or something, bottoms up.

I held in a choked gag as I drank deeply. I was right; it was fucking potent. The spice went right up my nostrils, and I fought to swallow every gulp. Trying to breathe, I finished off every last drop and slammed the mug down on the nightstand. The hot tonic burned my throat, but almost immediately I began to feel its effects. Where my muscles had been screaming before and my cuts were stinging, there was only smooth, if a little reddened, skin. I felt a jerking motion in my finger and looked down in amazement as my bone righted itself right before my eyes, without the pain to go along with it.

Shaking my head, I glanced warily at the empty cup, suddenly wondering what other things that tonic had healed. How far did the magic go? If I had a brain tumor I didn't know about, would that have healed it? Or what about some crazy blood disease or a pimple? I suddenly needed to know if it could chase away menstrual cramps.

My eyes were growing heavy now that the tonic had worked its magic, so I settled back on the bed and let my eyes fall shut. I replayed the night over again, wondering what the hell that voice had been before the scarecrows showed up. Who was it? Who hated me enough to try and seriously hurt me like that?

It wasn't the scarecrows; their mouths were sewn shut, so who? As far as I knew, I didn't have any enemies. Also, I wondered where the hell Jessica had run off to. She'd left me there alone without a word, and I wasn't sure if it was just some spidery thing she did, disappearing now and then, but something about her absence made me feel nervous. I'd grown a little attached to the beastie.

I must have dozed off for a while, because when my eyes flew open again, the music box was no longer playing and several of the candles had burned all the way down. The room was still flickering with a hazy orange light, but it was darker than before. Before I fully came to, I realized I was no longer alone in the room .

Jason, I said as I sat up in bed, heart racing, staring across my room to where a small, plum purple wingback chair sat in the corner. Jason was asleep, sitting in the chair as if he'd been there for a while, but his eyes popped open the moment I breathed his name.

Grey eyes met mine across the room, and we simply stared at each other for a few tense minutes. "How long have you been here?" I asked as I brushed a few wayward strands of hair from my face, ignoring the lone white piece of hair that stuck out like a sore thumb.

Jason stretched, yawning a little, before smirking slightly. "Long enough." He leaned forward, hands clasped in front of him. "Do you know you talk in your sleep?"

I felt my cheeks heat, but I knew he was full of shit. He was trying to embarrass me, and it wouldn't work. I was beyond embarrassed these days. After the hell they put me through senior year, there was nothing he could say to me that I hadn't already heard.

"Why are you here, Jason?" I asked.

His face sobered, and he met my eyes dead on. "I was worried about you."

"Well, don't be. I'm fine."

"That tonic really did the trick, huh?" he asked, standing up from the chair. I tensed as he approached the bed.

"So it would seem," I mumbled, too focused on the sight of his towering frame. When had Jason gotten so fucking handsome?

I mean… I'd always thought he was handsome, but tonight there was something about him that seemed different. Alluring, in a way. His gray eyes flickered in the candlelight, and the warm tones of his olive skin looked hard and yet soft. Wide lips stretched into a barely there smile that only really tilted up on one side. I tried to keep an eye out fo r those yellow eyes I knew were lurking behind his familiar stare, but there were no signs of Damon right now. Just Jason.

"Glad to hear it," he said. He sounded genuine, and it confused me.

Shaking my head, I said, "I don't get you."

He stopped short. "What don't you get?" Cocking his head to the side, it seemed like he'd been expecting this conversation.

Scooting up the bed, I hooked my arms over my bent knees. "Why are you acting so weird? Why do you care if I'm feeling better? You despise me, remember?"

Jason was silent for a moment, just staring at me. I wanted to shift uncomfortably under that steely stare, but I stayed put until he finally made his way around the side of the bed, where he sat on the edge of the mattress. Having him this close with just the two of us in this room had a whole different vibe than a few hours ago. This was private and personal.

"Why'd you do it, October?" Jason deadpanned. I stilled my hands that had been tracing the stitching on the duvet, freezing as I looked up.

"Excuse me?" I was stalling. I knew exactly what he was talking about. I just didn't want to face it. The memories were painful, and sometimes it felt so much easier to pretend they weren't there.

His eyes were hard, and his face was like granite. "Stop bullshitting me and tell me why."

"Stop acting like you care. None of you ever really cared. You made that perfectly clear over and fucking over again for a year. Just because you're acting all chivalrous now doesn't erase the things you've said to me."

He laughed bitterly. "So we're just going to pretend like you didn't drop everyone who ever cared about you when David and Mari died?"

"Don't!" I snapped, glaring daggers. "Don't say their names."

"And why not?" he asked. "Why can't I say their names? They practically raised all of us. When they died, we were all grieving with you; don't you get that? But you didn't let us, did you? No, you just had to be the sad, misunderstood goth girl."

The second it was out of his mouth, I could immediately tell he wanted to take it back, but I just shook my head. I really couldn't be mad at him because everything he just said was exactly what happened, and I'd known it this whole time. It was my fault that we'd stopped speaking; it was me who'd cut contact, and it was my mistake to think they'd just let things go and forget I ever existed.

"Jason…" I breathed a heavy sigh. "There are things about that night that I never told anyone." Okay, so we're doing this tonight. I could do it. I could let someone else in on what had been tormenting me for a year now.

He scooted closer, his eyes growing more grave and even more serious. "You can tell me," he promised. "That's all I ever fucking wanted from you. We were best friends once."

Reaching out, I took a chance and gripped his hand, squeezing it tight. He turned his palm into mine and laced our fingers together, just like old times. "You can't tell anyone."

" I miss her touch. Always mine. " I tried not to let the jumbled thoughts distract me, but trying to piece together what he was thinking was something I'd have to look back on later when my heart was breaking all over again.

"I'm not keeping secrets from the guys," he said with finality. "Not anymore. We've all been keeping too many secrets, and right now, we can't afford to add any more to our plate. Just tell me what happened. And then tell the guys—or I will. I'm not messing around, Tobs."

The nickname rolled off his lips so easily, and it had me sucking in a quick breath. Warmth bloomed inside me, warring with the stark coldness of the memories I was about to dredge up. I looked at Jason without all the rage, hate, anger, and fear. I looked at him right now the way that I used to—like someone I could confide in.

"I don't really remember what was said about the accident. The news just said they lost control, I guess." Jason nodded, his eyes glossing over in memory. "That night, there was someone in the road, right before we crashed."

Jason's eyes widened. "Who?"

I shook my head. "I couldn't see his face, but he was wearing some kind of long jacket and a hat. He just stood there, staring at the car. It all happened so fast, and my dad tried to swerve. He must have overcorrected, because we went flying down the embankment and into that tree." My eyes were glossy, and my nose stung as I fought back tears.

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" he asked. "If it wasn't an accident—"

"Because I don't know! I don't know what I saw. When I crawled out of the wreck, I went looking for help by the side of the road, and there were no signs of the man. We were in the middle of nowhere, on our way back from some stupid restaurant I begged them to take me to. I didn't see a man. I didn't see anyone."

"Shhh," Jason cooed at me as I started to cry harder. "Come here." Wrapping his arms around my heaving shoulders, Jason drew me into his embrace and held me there, whispering, "Why did you keep this to yourself, October? At the very least, you could've told me and the guys."

"Because the one person I did tell was a police officer. I told him exactly what I saw. I told him the accident wasn't really an accident and that some man had tried to make us crash, but he didn't believe me. He told me to keep it to myself and not to spread rumors. He told me I was just seeing things and that I let the fact that it was Halloween get to my head."

Jason pulled back, searching my eyes carefully. "We would have believed you."

"Would you, though? I don't even know if I would have believed myself. I don't know anymore. That night's just a blur now," I choked out.

"So why push us away?" he asked. "Why did you change so much? We tried to be there for you, but you just—it was like we lost you, too."

"Because I didn't want anyone else I loved to get hurt... I couldn't lose you, guys. My parents were killed on purpose. I know it. Somehow, I just know that man was there on that exact road at that exact time for that reason. I think I was meant to die with them, and if you guys were around me, you'd all be in danger."

He shook his head, his eyes wide, as my truth finally sank in. I could tell this was the last explanation he'd expected. "So why didn't you do the same to Maddie? What about her life?"

I laughed humorlessly and stared at Jason. "Have you ever tried to get that girl to do anything she didn't want to do?"

His lips curled, and he shrugged. "You've got a point." He sobered again. "All of this—the black clothes, the makeup, the hair—was just to get us to stay away from you?"

Pushing him lightly on the shoulder, I laughed. "Not everything is about you. No, I realized I was pretending to be this peppy cheerleader when it just wasn't who I am. I was pretending for my parents' sake, but I was done pretending. I didn't know you guys would hate it so much, but if it got you away from me, I didn't regret it."

Jason groaned, leaning forward until his forehead hit my shoulder. His shoulders were shaking with laughter. "You're such an idiot..." I was about to pull back and give him a piece of my mind, but he looked back up with a wide smile. "You actually thought a bit of black lipstick and orange hair was the reason we made your life miserable?"

I stared at him blankly. They'd given me shit for an entire year about my new look and my new clothes. They'd called me every name they could think of and let me know every single day exactly how they felt about the change.

"It was never the hair or makeup, October. Don't you get that by now? God, I can't believe you thought we actually meant any of that shit... You're fucking gorgeous, no matter what color your hair is. And those dresses you wear, the stockings and boots and shit... Fuck ." His eyes were glossing over, so I nudged him, and he snapped out of it. "My point is, all the shit we put you through was calculated. We were trying to snap you out of the fog you were in. I knew we were assholes. I know we made your year hell, but it was on purpose. You were so far gone, it was the only way we could reach you."

"What are you talking about?" I asked. My heart was racing with the implications.

"None of the jabs were real. None of the names or insults were genuine. But every time we called you out or embarrassed you, it was like a little bit of the old October showed up, climbing out of the depression you were in, and we figured out that it was the only way we'd be able to see her again. We've been trying to snap you out of this for a year. It was painful to see you walk the halls but not really be there. You were just gone."

I took a moment to let the words sink in, but it was like my brain refused to compute. Was he being serious right now? They were just fucking with me to... snap me out of my own grief? I mean, I guessed I could understand it in some screwed-up way, but holy shit.

"Are you messing with me right now?" I asked, needing to be sure. "Because if you are, this is a new low, even for you."

Jason stood up from the bed, and for a second, I thought he was going to leave or say something snarky like he always did. Instead, he bent slightly, hooked his hands beneath my thighs, and pulled me towards the edge of the bed. I yelped and tried to brace my hands on the mattress, but I made no move to stop him.

He was between my thighs, and I was acutely aware of the fact that I didn't have anything on under this shirt. His hands slid over my exposed skin, and chills sprouted all over. His eyes were molten as his gaze roved my face, settling at last on my lips.

"I've said a lot of dumbass shit this last year, and every single word was a lie. But I swear to you," he lowered his face to mine slowly, "I'd never joke about something like this. I never stopped loving you, not once. There wasn't a single day I didn't hate myself for the things I said and did to you, but I needed you to come back. I needed you to snap out of it and show some fucking emotion."

I had no words, but my eyes were on his lips now as his face came closer. I wanted nothing more than to kiss the shit out of him. It had been so long since I let myself imagine what it would be like to have him.

"Tell me you feel something right now," he said in a whisper. "Tell me you want me to make you feel something, and I'll do it. I swear to god, October, just tell me you're back with me right here and now and—"

I met him the rest of the way, grasping the sides of his face to pull him in tighter. He groaned into my mouth and pushed me backwards, crawling on top of me with a sinful as hell gleam in his eyes. His hands were braced on the mattress on either side of my head as he devoured my lips. He tasted like spiced cider and chocolate and had my eyes practically rolling backwards. Touching him felt so good, I thought I might explode from the inside, and fire slid through my body as the pleasure consumed me.

I pulled his lips from mine and looked into his eyes as I said, "I never meant to hurt you."

"I know," he whispered, peppering me with a few quick kisses. "And I never meant to hurt you, not really. I just wanted you back so badly. I never told you when I had the chance, but I've loved you since we were eight years old, and I've never stopped loving you since. I don't care if you're with the guys, too. We've all been obsessed with you since we first met but were too afraid to make a move. I don't care as long as you know I never stopped for a fucking second."

"I love you too, you asshole," I giggled, biting my lip. "I've been obsessed with you since I knew what boys were. I wish I'd known sooner. I wish—"

"There's no changing what happened. I wouldn't even if I could. Something tells me we were meant to end up here, and I, for one," tilting his head, he placed a gentle kiss on the side of my neck and said, "I really liking where this is going." Another sensuous kiss lingered on my collarbone.

"Say it again..."

"I'm liking where—"

"Not that," I said through a chuckle. "Say it again... "

A few more light kisses had me squirming as he smiled slowly against my throat. "I love you," he whispered, and the chill those words gave me licked up my spine. I shivered. "I fucking love you," he said again, just for good measure.

Now that the ice had been broken, I decided I'd never get tired of hearing those words. I'd wished for them for so long and fantasized about what it would be like to hear them from his lips.

He scooted us up my mattress with an arm around my waist, and I grasped onto his wide shoulders, fingers digging into his shirt. His mouth met mine again as his hands smoothed up my thighs. "Tell me you want this," he said as his fingers went higher. "If you want me to stop, I will, but you have to tell me it's okay. After what happened tonight..." He grew tense the moment he said it, as if he were reliving the moment they found me out on the street, crawling for my life.

"You know I do," I said. "I—"

"That's all I needed to hear," he growled as the tips of his fingers reached my pussy, lightly sliding around my wet lips.

I must have made some kind of noise as he spread me open, but I didn't know. My head tipped backwards, eyes rolling as his fingers grazed my swollen clit. My body was ready for anything he had in store, and my thighs parted even further. I was suddenly more thankful than ever that I slept without pants on.

My legs were shaking as he stroked me. His movements got faster, little by little, building up just the right amount of pressure to have me grinding against his fingers. I was trying to stay silent, knowing the others were just on the other side of my bedroom walls, not to mention the fact that my aunties were puttering somewhere around the house.

I felt one of his palms press down on my abdomen, holding my hips down as he made his way down my body until he was peppering soft little kisses up my inner thigh. I was breathing in short bursts now as his mouth got higher and closer to where I needed him most. I'd never had a guy go down on me before. Norman had been my first and only, so I was completely out of my league when it came to anything sexual. In the year that followed my parents' deaths, sex hadn't even been on my radar, save for the oddly lonely nights remembering the good days.

But right now, I had a need building inside me that was ready to explode. I ran my fingers through his dark hair, feeling the silky strands sliding between my knuckles as I gripped tight. His plump lips hit my pussy softly at first, and I sucked in a sharp breath. The sensation was unlike anything I'd ever felt before. It was incredibly soft, wet, and warm. It was comforting, yet it set me on edge, and I couldn't help but rock my hips.

I felt his breath on me as he huffed a small, amused laugh, but he never stopped what he was doing with that wicked tongue of his. I would have screamed if he had. His tongue licked me in one swoop, flattening over my clit and pressing slightly until I felt a buzzing sensation roll over me. I felt hot and on edge, and I suddenly knew I was going to come hard if he didn't stop. He must have known this because his palm pressed me to the mattress more firmly, and he began licking much faster with small, erratic flicks of his long tongue. He licked in shorter bursts that had me seeing stars.

My back arched off the mattress, and my fingers left his hair in favor of slapping over my own lips to suppress an embarrassingly loud moan. It was getting more and more difficult to keep quiet, and somehow I knew Jason was getting a kick out of it. My legs began to shake as he sucked on my clit, and I looked down in shock at the spike of overwhelming pleasure.

I froze when yellow-slit eyes met mine and a forked tongue lapped at my center in quick bursts. Panic flooded me, but the pleasure that went along with it made my hips undulate against the forked tongue. It was Damon staring back at me, and he smiled wickedly.

"Get the fuck out of here, Damon," I panted, trying to keep my orgasm at bay. "Bring him back!" I begged.

I felt him laugh, his breath wafting over me and making me shiver. "I thought you liked it on the kinky side, luv," he purred. Those yellow eyes were practically glowing in the darkness of my bedroom. "And you taste delectable; can't I stay a while?" he purred.

His words sent something hot and wild through my body, and it only prompted him to lick me faster with the flat of his long as hell tongue. My hands grasped my sheets, balling them up and twisting just to contain the pleasure. "Jason…" I panted again. I didn't have it in me to say much more than that.

Damon clicked his tongue. "You're no fun." He smiled. "Jason's right here, baby girl, and he's quite enjoying himself."

My eyes widened at the thought. Could he be telling the truth? Was Jason conscious of what was going on? Was he letting Damon take control? I looked back down in time to see his eyes flicker back to gray, and Jason smiled. "Are you afraid of my demon?" he asked with a devilish grin.

I was about to say something clever, but all thoughts flew from my brain as he slipped two fingers inside of me, curling them at the knuckles and sucking my clit between his lips. That was it for me. I sailed right over the edge of the horizon, pulling my pillow over my face so that I could scream into it and not wake up the entire house. Stars exploded behind my eyes, and my hips bucked against his mouth repeatedly.

It took a few long minutes for me to come back down from my high. Jason licked me leisurely a few more times, drawing out the last remnants of tingling pleasure. He lingered as if he were savoring the taste of me, and I couldn't even find it in myself to feel embarrassed about it. When he stopped licking, it was only to slide his palms back up the length of my bare thighs.

"Fucking hell, you taste like heaven," he murmured in a rumbling, edgy voice. I could tell he was holding back because his fingers began to shake from restraint.

When he was fully hovering over my body, he peeled my oversized shirt off and threw it on the floor before letting his steely eyes rove my body. I'd been a little bit self-conscious about how pale I'd become this past year. Since I was in middle school, I'd been self-tanning with my friends on the cheer team, and I'd always had a polished and plucked Barbie look about me. Now, I was bare before this hot as fuck guy in all my pale glory, but it looked as though he was loving and savoring every fucking inch of me. I suddenly got hot all over again.

I felt Jason harden even more against my thigh, contained in his sweats, so I bucked my hips a little, letting him feel my pussy drag over his thick cock. I was suddenly salivating. I needed to feel him as completely as he felt me, but it seemed like Jason already had a plan.

I watched as he took his gray sweatpants off, and honestly, I was sad to see them go. Something about a man in a pair of gray sweats really did something for me; it really got those engines revving. He held himself aloft with one arm. His muscles were strained, and as soon as they were off, I forced his shirt over his head with fast fingers until it was lying with mine on the floor.

Holy mother of pumpkins, he was jacked. I never knew how utterly cut Jason's body is. He had abs for days; his olive skin had just a few beauty marks scattered here and there, and the way his pecs and muscles flexed had me moaning. Christ, nobody had the right to look like that. Before I could stop myself, I was running my greedy fingers over those muscles, and he watched as they trailed down and down and down until they stopped at his pelvic bone.

Oh, Lord, have mercy. His cock was thick and beautiful, like silk-covered steel, and I immediately gripped it, prompting him to close his eyes tight and groan. I gave him a soft stroke, just one time, my fingers squeezing just right. His eyes popped open, and he bucked in my grip. "If you ever questioned whether or not I was attracted to your new look," he glanced down at his cock with his brow raised, "you have your fucking answer."

I smiled wickedly and gave him another squeeze. "Prove it."

Jason groaned but then bent over, capturing my lips with his. I was already wet and ready for him, so when I felt the tip of that glorious dick at my entrance, my thighs fell open even wider. He ran his length down my wetness and dropped his face into my shoulder, moaning against my bare skin. I felt him bite down lightly on my shoulder, but not enough to hurt. He was trying to contain a feral growl, it seemed, and it only made me want to see what other noises I could get this man to make.

I pushed against his chest, forcing him to sit up, but before he could complain, I followed him up, immediately straddling his waist. His arms wrapped around my torso, clamping down tight. I felt his dick at my entrance and slowly guided him in. My whole body shuddered as I seated myself to the hilt. His breathy moan was like music to my ears. Something about a man's moan really set me off, and soon I was bouncing up and down, letting him slide in and out slowly, and I enjoyed every fucking inch.

We moved together as if we were made for each other. He had one arm wrapped around me, and the other hand was squeezing my hip, guiding me up and down. The wet slaps of our skin filled my bedroom, and at this point, I didn't even really care if anyone else heard. I needed him with a feral intensity that I hadn't felt since the greenhouse with Norman. I felt a connection between us that was finally snapping into place.

We were covered in sweat now, and our breaths were hot and mingled. He started to move faster, fucking me harder as I held on for dear life. Jason maneuvered to where he could grip under my thighs, and then he slammed me to the mattress. When he pulled back to look at me, my breath caught as I was once again staring into a pair of bright yellow slit eyes.

"Damon…" I breathed. He pounded into me even faster than before, hitting me in spots I hadn't known existed. "Oh, fuck!" I clawed at his back.

Now that I knew Jason was still fully aware of what was going on and actually encouraged it, I was fully on board with this whole demon-familiar thing. Damon's His forked tongue licked up the side of my neck as he ground his pelvic bone into my clit. His cock thickened, swelling with the power of two men at once. I screamed into his shoulder, biting down into his skin just as he'd done to me.

This only spurred him on. Damon's strokes were shorter and more rapid. He gripped my thighs and pushed them upward, opening me wider. My eyes were rolling back into my head, but when I met his gaze again, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. In rapid succession, his eyes flickered back and forth between yellow and gray. The two of them were one in the same for this brief moment in time, both of them feasting on my body like it was the last meal either of them would ever have.

"Come for us, luv," Damon groaned. "Come around our cock!" He thrust harder, and black began to creep into the sides of my vision.

"I'm gonna…" I started to moan incoherently. "Oh, shit, I'm—"

"Now, October, come for us right now!" Jason suddenly wrapped his fingers around my throat and applied a tiny bit of pressure.

That did it. I exploded, my muscles twitching as my pussy clamped down on his cock. I came so hard, I could barely see straight, and it was like fire ripping through my veins. Once again, I had to grab a pillow and shove it over my face so that I could scream. I felt him thicken inside of me as my muscles continued to pulse around him.

Throwing the pillow to the side, I watched both Damon and Jason come, their eyes still flickering rapidly back and forth as they fought for control. He moaned, and it was like I could hear two voices overlapping for a second. I felt him pulsing inside me, filling me up, and he continued to thrust. He slowed down, leisurely fucking me, drawing out the sensation for as long as he could.

I watched him fall into a state of utter bliss, and I marveled at how fucking handsome this man was. How had I ever gotten so lucky to have not one, but four men fall head over heels for me? And one of them with a sexy ass demon inside him. Shit, maybe I wasn't so prone to bad luck after all.