33. Draven

I 've never told anyone about Alyson.

I just need to get out of my head, and tell her. "You asked me why I was here once before. What I did to become Grim."

She nods softly. "I did."

"Do you still care to know why?" I'm stalling, even if she doesn't recognize that I am. Do I really care so much about this woman that I'm about to tell her this?

A soft hum comes from her throat, her lips rolling together, before she nods again. "I do."

"Her name is Alyson," I kept my eyes fastened on hers, watching as the middle of her lips pull apart ever so slightly. "She is… was…" I drag out the word, "my younger sister, nine years my junior." Taking a deep breath I lean slightly forward, but keep my back as straight as possible, even if my shoulders slouch.

"I was born not to conform to what everyone would deem a good child. I was committing felonies at the ripe age of ten. It wasn't because I had a bad upbringing, my parents were wealthy, good people. They tried to give me everything they thought I needed but…" I shrug slightly, "some kids are just not meant to be tamed."

It gets a soft laugh out of Max, but I can see she's watching intensely. It's like I can read the hope in her eyes, as deep as the forest we met in, and for that, I continue. I need her to trust me, and that I will give her everything if she will only allow for it.

"My sister was six when we had to move for my parents work. The furthest north of Seattle you could go, which is where I learned French," I brush my elbow against her, "and some Spanish.

"They began working a lot more, and that's when I ‘turned my life around', you could say. Alyson needed me, and it gave me a sense of purpose I was lacking. I would take her to her softball practices, watch all of her games, made sure she was capable of having the life she deserved." I raise my hand toward her, and she glances down before placing hers into it.

I do feel a sense of calm when she touches me, in a way.

"She was fiercely independent. A fire in her I knew she got from me, but she was gentle. Where I'd swing a fist, she would… talk it out. She loved to talk." I lean my head down, a playful smile pulling at the corner of my lips. "Like someone I've recently met…"

Her elbow meets my arm, but she doesn't say anything .

"When she was sixteen," I continue, not wanting to find some excuse to stop. "She went on her first date. I hadn't met the guy, she begged me not to do a background check—" I shift uncomfortably. "I always did one on all her friends." I can tell Max later about my world under the one Alyson saw, because while I am as strong as I am now because of my time here with the Midnight Menagerie, it began well before. "She was strategic, having me meet him the night they were going out. I just wish…"

I close my eyes and shake my head, "Just wish she would have given me the time to do as I had always done: Keep her safe."

"Oh… Draven you don't—" Max laces her fingers between mine but I don't let her finish.

"He raped her that night, but gaslit her to believe she asked for it. He was nineteen, and took advantage of a minor." I sigh and shake my head as my nostrils flare. "She didn't tell me, but I knew something was wrong. Days turned into weeks, and my Alyson was gone. No light in her eyes, dropped out of sports, began getting in trouble at school, all the normal joy she brought with her: gone.

"I confronted her one day, locked her in my car and demanded she tell me what happened. She told me I wouldn't believe her… that no one would believe her. I just didn't understand why she thought that. I had always believed her. Always." My emphasis on the word is sharp, coming through my clenched teeth.

Breathe.

"She said she would be fine and would survive it, like I survived everything." I lick my lips, feeling them drying. "No more than twenty-four hours later, she jumped from the Aurora bridge, right into the strait below."

My free hand that wasn't being gripped by Max, moves to my shoulder and rubs at the tension building. "She survived the jump, but was in a coma. The brain damage was so severe doctors questioned how her heart was still beating.

"My parents put every penny they had to saving her life, but, we know all too well the medical system here. They didn't have unlimited funds. I think everyone thought the same thing, even if she were to come out of it, she wouldn't be the same Alyson."

I haven't cried since that day, and even though I can feel the unfamiliar burn at the back of my eyes, I don't sense tears building. "I didn't care. If I could have any part of her there with me, I'd make it happen. I researched, found a specialist in India that seemed to work miracles, but you can imagine the cost."

I take a deep breath and, for my own selfish reasons, reach out to her cheek and gently stroke it. "So… I came here, to the Midnight Menagerie."

Her eyes slowly widen, "Seven…"

"Seven years ago. Max, do you know what you win if you beat the final maze?"

She slowly shakes her head. "I've heard rumors… A lot of money…"

"You get anything you want. If its money, its money. You want someone to disappear? They will."

Her breath escapes softly, and she murmurs breathlessly, "You are it's only winner."

Gently, I nod. "Yes, Petit Mouton, I am. I won, but barely. Four and five, it nearly killed me but I didn't care. All I could see was Alyson's smile at the end of that final exit, but was I so, so wrong."

"I'm sorry son."

"They pulled her life support at midnight, and as strong as my Sunflower was, she barely lasted a few hours off of it." The sheen over her eyes, threatening to cry for a girl she never met, makes my heart beat faster. "That day, instead of seeing her smile, I saw Death staring back at me in the mirror."

I don't think she blinked, and with a gentle smile, I lean in and place a kiss between her brows. "They took my heart that day, and weeks later, buried it with her, where it belongs."

"I hear your heart, dummy…" She says in a mere whisper.

"It's not the same one my Alyson has, Max." I lean back. "I need you to understand something, because the moment you have beaten that final maze, I will be right there waiting for you."

A flash of something like worry crosses her face, and I can tell it's because of what Troy overheard. "Okay…"

"I'm not going to let you go, and if you still think that, after I've told you about the only person in my life that meant anything to me, you're as crazy as Troy is with that accent."

A laugh bubbles out of her lips and she shakes her head.

"Stop thinking otherwise," my words more commanding this time and she snaps her attention back up to me. "Stop listening to a dead woman's words. If you feel that way, voice it because I'll fuck that thought process right out of you."

My jaw flexes, and it's like I can feel her heart racing inside of me.

"Tell me again. "

"You'll never be free of me, and it is the only thing I'll ever take from you."

"Again," she breathes.

I move over her, my legs straddling her hips on the bed.

"I'll provide you a loaded gun to end my life, because death is the only thing that will separate me from you." Her eyes round, and the quick shake of her head was all the confirmation I need that she understands. "And even then, I'll wait for you to join me in the afterlife where I'll continue to hunt you, ma proie. "

I feel her reclining, so I follow her down to the bed, my chest pressing against hers. Though I'm careful not to put too much weight on her, I'm unafraid to envelop her completely.

The gentle caress of her hands along my chest and shoulders sends shivers down my spine. As her fingers grip my neck, I understand her desire—one that mirrors my own and fills me with… a sense of happiness I haven't felt in what feels like forever.

My lips claim hers while my hands explore the hem of her shirt, lifting it to her shoulders. She raises her arms to slip out of it, then we reconnect, our embrace deepening once more.

Her tongue slips to find mine, and I groan with need. My hips press against hers, and instinctively, her leg wraps around my back, tugging me closer.

Pulling back from her lips, I whisper, " Dime que quieres —" I couldn't help but chuckle. "Sorry, that was bad."

Her lips draw between her teeth as she stares up at me, her cheeks lifting with that stunning smile of hers. "I understood," she runs her fingers up and through my hair, gripping tightly, my need for her intensifying as her gaze deepens. " Je veux que tu me— " fuck… me… " baises dans le cul. "

I think I just came.

"Max—" I growl, putting my hand down under her head and grabbing tightly at her hair. "Say it again."

She does, " Je veux que tu me baises dans le cul. "

I don't think I could have removed her pants any faster. She gasps at my sudden movements as my fingers grip the fabric and shift her so I can toss them aside. I'm relieved she had the foresight to keep her shoes off, but I refuse to keep her socks on. I need her toes free, so I tear them off before moving to eagerly discard her jeans and return all my attention to her.

When her delectable cunt comes into view, I curl her upward and bury my face into it. The loud moan she releases sends a chill of euphoria down my spine. I could still taste us , and I'm pleased she didn't clean up as I commanded before.

After a long, tantalizing lick from her cunt all the way past her clit, I lift my gaze to hers. "Such a good girl." I will swear to whomever I have to, to have these thighs wrapped around my face every morning, day, and night.

Her fingers weave into my hair, gripping tightly.

"We taste perfect together." I can see the bumps rise on her arms as she pulls me back down to focus on her delicious bud.

Hearing the symphony of moans she releases makes me think of suffocating in her. I'd die happily knowing what took me out was her thighs squeezing my head and her juicy cunt drowning me. However, she asked for that ass to be taken, and I intend on doing so.

After a bit of focus on her clit which twitches and flexes under my sucks and nibbles, I take her hips in my hands, flipping her onto her knees. I press down on her back, positioning her upright before spreading her legs. Gripping both cheeks in my hands, I spread her. My throaty grunt as I look from clit to her little tight ass makes my cock fucking ache. I want to be hilt deep inside of her, making her scream out for me—the only name she'll ever scream until the day I'm dead.

Even then, I may haunt her ass anytime she tests how far I'm willing to go. I'd find a way to fuck her as a damn Spirit; that's the depth of my addiction and obsession for her.

Squeezing her thick cheeks, I take her bundle of nerves between my lips and suck, causing her to jump at the sudden pleasure.

"Fuck, yes!" she screams, her legs trembling.

I run my tongue to her core, slipping it in and feeling her tighten around it. I'll never tire of how she tastes. I don't linger, and instead drag my tongue all the way to the place she's been begging me to shred.

"Oh fuck, Draven—wait—"

My arms wrap around her hips, and I pull her into my face, not giving her the means to stop me. My tongue draws circles around her back hole, moving it up and down as though it's her clit. I don't shy away from kissing and sucking, her body vibrating at the sensation.

"Don't stop—that's it, please—"

I draw my fingers to her cunt and without prepping her, I push three fingers knuckle deep into her. Her back curving as I draw out the number eight, before blowing a breeze against her rosebud.

"So wet, Petit Mouton ," I breath against her. Her calls of rapture all but begging me to make her come, and I will— all over herself.

After pumping in and out several strides, I draw her slick arousal out with my fingers and pull my tongue from her ass. A grunt, mingled with her heavy breathing, signals her displeasure at my pause. "You like that, baby?"

Her head turns to the side, cheeks flushed with desire and her eyes glazed over, which is answer enough for me. Yet she vocalizes it, like the good girl she is.

"Yes, I do—so fucking much."

"So… fucking good," I purr, kissing her cheek and running my tongue across her back. Using her own arousal, I coat her tight ass and slip two fingers in suddenly, causing her back to curve and a moan to slip. As I find the front of her sports bra, like a feral animal, I rip the clasps apart, setting her breasts free.

My fingers push further into her, making her call out my name between her moans. I position myself behind her, the head of my cock brushing against her clit, dragging up toward her cunt. She is soaked, and I couldn't be more pleased it's because of me.

I bite onto her ear as I forcefully push into her cunt in one, full thrust, I fill her completely. Her arms outstretch across the bed, grip at the sheets, her cry into the blanket is muffled, but I don't want that. I want to hear her scream, for everyone to hear who is making her body thrive and come like Lilith herself.

My free hand reaches up and grabs her hair, pulling her head back. "Say it again," I pull my hips back and slam back into her, I groan at the sound of her wet pussy and our skin slapping together. Fuck, we sound so good together.

"Tell me where you want it, Petit Mouton. " My fingers in her ass matching my heavy thrusts into her soaked core. Her perfect body curving further, her ass raising as though taunting me.

" Je veux que tu me baises dans le cul! " she practically screams, and I know my cock grows inside of her. I can feel the fight of her walls protesting my size but this is not a battle I will lose. She will take me, whether her body willingly gives in, or I force it to.

There is no hesitation, and I pull my fingers out and grab hold of the hilt of my cock, guiding it toward her rosebud. It pinches as I press against her, and while I won't be gentle when I'm inside of her, I do take my time. Making sure my bars are cleared of her entrance before I release her hair, I grab her hips and devastate her.

"Oh fuck, Max—" My legs tremble, her ass tightening and threatening to make me release without my permission. "That's it baby, you're taking me so damn good." I spank her, her cheek rippling with its intensity. It causes her head to throw back.

"Again!" she demands and I am a willing host. I raise my opposite hand and smack her with just as much drive, all the while my cock is going from piercings to hilt with each thrust into her. "Oh fuck—fuck! Harder! Harder!"

My nails bite into her hips as I lift her slightly, and with far more force than I have ever given her, I give her everything she's asking for.