2. HAUNTED

2

HAUNTED

T he force of his knees smacking the marble floor sent a jolt through Aiden's body. The pain from the tight grip on his hair couldn't compare to the pain ricocheting in his chest at the sight of his best friend's Korrena mate restrained against the wall. Pain from the knowledge he couldn't protect her.

The cold barrel of the gun dug into the flesh beneath his jawline while the rogue taunted him, telling him how stupid his decision to save Blaire was. The rogue reeked of cheap alcohol and stale cigarettes; sharp fangs glinted beneath the lights of the chandeliers overhead.

Aiden didn't dare turn to face the man, fearing if he made a sudden move, the gun would go off and splatter his brains across the walls of the ballroom.

"We're takin' the little human, no doubt about that, mate. But you coulda made this so much easier. Coulda saved yourself. Avoided being the hero." The rogue at his side spat the last word, as if being a hero offended him .

Aiden wasn't trying to be a hero. Lukas couldn't get to Blaire. The clan was too busy fighting the other rogues to realize the danger Blaire was in. Seth was too busy trying to protect Riley.

He was the only chance Blaire had of making it.

He had to try.

He jerked against the rogue's hold, but the gun pressed deeper into his skin. From the corner of his eye, he could see the shaky finger poised over the trigger. One wrong move and it would be over.

He was much larger than the rogue. If there wasn't a gun to his jaw, the man wouldn't stand a chance against him. But they both knew whoever had the gun held all the power in this situation.

"Seth," Riley cried. "Let me go. Let me go now!"

Aiden looked up to see his little sister squirming and kicking at Seth. Dominic helped to reinforce the restraint on her petite body. Aiden had no doubt she had tapped into her preternatural strength if both guys had difficulty restraining her.

"My brother needs me!"

Her broken plea tore his heart in half.

"Know what we're gonna do with our little human before the doc starts filleting that pretty flesh?" the man who held Aiden sneered, licking his lips noisily. He didn't seem to like Aiden's attention divided from him. "Gonna show her how real Vasirian men can please her. Not some schoolboys or Korrena lovey dovey crock of shit. I bet she tastes like peaches." He spoke louder, "What do you think, Jude? Peaches? What's her blood taste like, mate?"

Aiden's teeth felt like they would grind to nubs with how hard he clenched his jaw while the rogue babbled on and on with his friend who restrained Blaire with his preternatural abilities. The cold metal pressing against the delicate flesh of Aiden's neck remained an ever-present reminder he couldn't attack the man for his words .

"—before we rid the world of this parasite."

Aiden didn't catch the beginning of the man's statement before he lumbered to his feet, the tight grip on Aiden's hair flexing with the move.

The gun disappeared from his neck, only to be positioned at his temple.

His eyes met Blaire's.

It killed him to know he would never see her again. She wasn't his fated pair, but he felt a connection to her from the moment she joined Blackthorn Academy. She was important to his life. Something more existed between them than the prophecy detailing how she would save their kind.

He loved her.

Not in the way one would cherish a lover. No. He loved her in the way one would cherish a piece of their own soul. Now, he would never know why.

As tears ran down her face, he held her gaze. "I'm so sorry," he said.

Shifting his blurry gaze to his friends Seth and Lukas, he swallowed the lump lodged in his throat and blinked. Tears tracked down his cheeks as he spoke with a rasp. "Take care of Riley."

His gaze moved to his little sister.

Never again would he argue with her about her shopping addiction. Never again would he be able to reassure her and soothe her heart when the world became too much. He had to pass that job on to Seth now. He prayed to whoever would listen that Seth and Riley would work out their mess so she wouldn't be alone.

Smokey blue eyes swam and glittered in the amber light of the ballroom as mascara streaked over pale cheeks. He would miss her face.

"I love you."

The crack against Aiden's head following his declaration made him jolt upright in bed, sweat running in rivulets down his face.

He touched his temple with a trembling hand. The skin felt intact.

He turned on the lamp on his bedside table and peered down at his glistening fingertips. No blood, only sweat.

The events leading up to his death tormented him. The despair in his sister's eyes and the helplessness he felt knowing he couldn't protect her. Couldn't protect Blaire.

They relied on him, and he failed them.

In the end, Blaire had to save him.

His dreams either went the way of the events leading to his death, or the strange middle space afterward that made little sense to him. His mind conjured up memories he wasn't sure had happened.

Knowing he would never go back to sleep, he stumbled out of bed and into the bathroom.

Standing in front of the mirror, he took in the red flush to his cheeks. Sweat ran down his bare chest, and his tendons shifted as he flexed his fingers into fists and out again.

He was alive.

In the here and now, he lived.

He was safe.

Heaving a sigh, he turned on the tap and splashed cold water over his heated skin, scrubbing his face. He grabbed the hand towel from his counter and dried off, rubbing over his arms and chest to rid himself of the sweat. He wasn't in the mood to shower, so this would have to do.

Tossing the towel in the hamper and turning off the light, he went back into the dimly lit bedroom. He glanced at the window. Sunlight filtered through the tiny gap in the closed curtain. Morning already. It hadn't seemed long since he got off the phone with Charlotte.

He entered his closet and got dressed for the day. He couldn't stay in his room. Not with the fresh memories of what happened in Europe haunting his mind.

Leaving his room, he adjusted the black and burgundy plaid tie at his neck. Any other day, he wouldn't mind it, but not even ten minutes into wearing it, he felt choked. Giving up on proper dress, he loosened the knot and let the tie hang loose around his neck.

After grabbing a blood packet and a raisin bagel from the canteen, he headed for his classroom.

Settling at a desk in the far back of the room, he demolished the bagel in a few quick bites and sipped his blood packet while scrolling his phone. With summer break approaching, he didn't have any actual classes now that he finished his exams. The only reason to come to class was for makeup exams, revisions, and preparation for fall. Anyone who lingered in class otherwise came for the social aspect.

For him, the lure of a different environment away from the bed where his nightmares gripped him made it worth putting on the uniform and attending class. He couldn't always attach himself to his friends and expect to use them as a security blanket.

"Hey, Aiden."

He looked up from his phone to the girl who sat sideways in the chair in front of his desk. He couldn't remember her name. Amber? Alicia? Something with an A.

She came around a lot. Had since they were young, but he couldn't remember her name. She didn't make a habit of talking to him for him to get to know her, but he saw her frequently.

She tucked her short, brassy hair behind her ear and smiled when he made eye contact. "You didn't have to do makeup exams?"

He looked at the bagel wrapper on his desk and took another sip from his blood packet before he said, "No. I passed." He thought his desk with no paperwork on it would make that obvious. As much as he tried to be nice to everyone, he wasn't in the greatest mood after his dream, so he hoped his short answer didn't come off as rude.

She giggled. "Of course you did. You're so smart. "

His brow hitched.

"Anyway," she said, crossing her legs and turning in her chair a little. She deliberately hiked her skirt higher on her thigh when she did. The movement wasn't as subtle as she probably hoped for. "I was wanting to try this new Mexican restaurant that opened in Savannah this weekend, and I was hoping you would come with."

A frown etched his forehead. Why wouldn't she go with her friends?

"I mean, if you don't want to do that, we could do something else. We could watch a movie in the plaza." She smiled, sinking her teeth in her lower lip in an enticing way.

Barking up the wrong tree , he thought as realization dawned that she wasn't trying for a friendly conversation .

"Or… in your room?"

"I'm flattered," he said, choosing his words carefully to avoid upsetting her. "But now isn't the best time for me. I'm not really looking for anything."

It was the truth. With the nightmares and everything he'd been through in the last year, he didn't think entertaining someone new to see if he might feel a spark of interest was a good idea. Besides, a certain redhead had taken residence in his mind, and he wasn't sure he wanted her to move out yet.

"Oh, well…" She stood, tugged her plaid skirt down to a normal length, and cleared her throat. "If you, uh, change your mind…" She waved her hand, face flushing.

"Alex!"

They both looked up as a girl with jet black hair in a high ponytail called out.

Alexandra. He remembered now.

"Yeah, I gotta go. "

He watched her turn and approach her friend, disappearing out of the classroom. He hoped he hadn't upset her, but he couldn't give her what she wanted.

His phone buzzed, and he pulled it from the pocket of his slacks.

Riley:

Mama wants us to come over for dinner.

He hadn't been to see his mother since she gave him hell after he got back from Europe in April. When she heard everything that happened to him during the battle in the ballroom when rogues attacked the Blackthorn Clan, she was a hysterical mess. If the others hadn't been there, he wouldn't have put it past her to lock him in his childhood bedroom and never let him leave.

She was probably worried sick. He didn't go over a few weeks without seeing her, and here it was June.

Aiden:

She want us to bring anything?

Riley:

Just the others.

Aiden:

Others?

Riley:

Seth, Blaire, and Lukas. Duh.

He almost asked about the others, but he realized their mother didn't know Dominic well, and unless Riley had introduced her, he didn't think she knew Layla at all .

Aiden:

Gotcha. You tell them?

Riley:

Yep. We're gonna head over now so we can swim a while before dinner. You wanna come?

He wasn't doing anything sitting around. At least a swim with his friends in his parents' pool would take his mind off his disturbed sleep.

Aiden:

Gotta stop and grab my trunks and change out of my uniform, but I'll meet you at the gate in 15.

Riley:

Hurry up.

He refrained from texting back. If he said anything, his little sister would spam him with messages, and he would never get anything done.

A smile crossed his face. He was thankful for her distraction now more than ever.