Chapter 10

T he room is dark, save for a night light in the corner. Jeremiah and Noah are sound asleep in the same bed, and jealousy is a green little fucker. My hands shake as I watch from the shadows, my nostrils flaring with the anger that's crawling through my body like little spiders over my skin. It feels like they're biting me over and over, injecting me with their venom. There's no way in hell I'm standing in this corner for a moment longer to watch as my boy sleeps with someone else.

Did they fuck?

Did he betray me?

Sam fought me earlier, and I lost control of him for a moment. The slightest blip in his existence, yet long enough to have Jeremiah running for the hills. Will he come back? Does he care for me enough to look past that? Or is he terrified of me forever now? I guess there's only one way to find out. But if he thinks I'm just going to give him up, he's got another thing coming. I'm not going anywhere.

Now here I am, about to string Noah up and kill him, and I'm going to enjoy every fucking second of it. I didn't have anything against the guy until the vigil. I was going to kill him on principle alone, but now it's personal. He messed with me, even if it was unknowingly, and now he's going to pay for it.

I could tell he had something against Sam from the moment he saw me and Jeremiah together. He acted crazy when we started kissing. Maybe it was him being a best friend and worried over Jeremiah, but it still pissed me off. One thing is for sure—tonight, I'm getting him out of the way.

Moving out of my place in the corner, I let my mist carry me over the bed and on top of Noah. I don't quite touch him, just hover over him. He stirs, probably from the change in temperature, and I grin. At least Jeremiah and him are not cuddling, otherwise I'd make this so much worse for him. As it stands, I'm going to make him hurt, anyway. Mostly because I'm angry. Angry enough to kill him in front of my little human, and that's probably going to come back and bite me in the ass. After tonight, I'm sure Jeremiah will want nothing to do with me. Still, I can't dwell on it for too long.

Putting pressure on Noah's chest, he gasps, his eyes fluttering open. He doesn't see me at first, as I don't make myself visible to him, but he feels me. I can tell he knows exactly what's happening by the way I can hear his heart pounding in my ears. I can taste his fear like the sweetest candy, and I chuckle. He stiffens at the sound, beginning to fight me.

This is going to be fucking fun.

His legs thrash on the bed, and I let him be a noisy little fucker as I suffocate him with some of my weight. He claws at empty air, not able to touch me, and I let up enough to let him speak.

"Jer," he chokes out, and I chuckle again. "Jeremiah!" He screams, and my little human bolts up in bed.

Noah is still thrashing on the bed, and Jeremiah turns on the bedside lamp. This time, when he looks around the room, I go back to the corner, letting him see me. Noah sits upright, holding his chest as it heaves, coughing. His face is the brightest shade of purple, and when I look over at Jeremiah, he's frozen.

"Kaelin?" he whispers, and I could go up to him and kiss him. My sweet, smart, innocent boy. But I don't. I stay rooted in place, letting him take me in. "Are you here to kill him?"

I cock my head to the side. "Would it matter if I was? It's not like you?—"

"Please don't do this," Noah begs. "I didn't even want to be in that stupid fucking room. I didn't even?—"

"Quiet," I growl, looking over at him. He's pale, his lips blue, and I narrow my eyes on him. But Jeremiah steals my attention once more.

"Baby," he whispers, and Noah looks at him like he's insane—which only makes me smirk. I guess he must be catching on, because he looks terrified now. Like he's going to be sick. Which he suddenly is, throwing up all over the bed. Jeremiah jumps off it, going to the other side of the room. "Kaelin, please, don't do this."

"Do what, little human?" I ask curiously, wanting to know what he thinks I have in mind.

"Don't kill us," he whispers, and I tense. "I—I told you I love you."

"It was the heat of the moment, Jeremiah," I sigh, taking a step toward him. To his credit, he doesn't even move. Doesn't take a step back. Doesn't even breathe. "I know better."

"It wasn't the heat of the goddamned moment," he growls, and I narrow my eyes at him. Irritation courses through me at full speed, and my fists clench at my sides. "You and I have something—don't fucking deny it."

"And what?" I chuckle. "You're going to manipulate me with it?"

Jeremiah shrugs, smirking. "Nah." He shakes his head. "I'm just going to keep reminding you of it."

"It doesn't matter anymore, Jer," I tell him, lying to his damn face. The truth is, it will never stop mattering to me. But I can't let it stop me either. "What's done is done."

"But it's not done," he growls, his face suddenly an angry shade of red. His hands shake at his sides, but he's not scared. No—he's pissed. "You and I aren't done."

I frown. "But you ran away?—"

"Can you really blame me?" he asks through gritted teeth. "You fucking scared me, Kaelin!"

"What the fuck?" Noah asks quietly, "What's happening right now?"

"I said be quiet," I snarl, the temperature in the room decreasing by ten degrees. Jeremiah's teeth chatter violently, and Noah whimpers. "I'm not going to tell you again, Noah Skyes."

He nods, lying down and putting the soiled covers over his head. When I look back at Jeremiah, he has his eyes narrowed on me. Clearly still angry, even though he can't help the way his body trembles from the cold. I let up, warming up the room to a comfortable temperature once more.

Jeremiah's eyes trace up and down my body, but he doesn't look scared, just intrigued. "Kae?—"

A knock at the door startles Jeremiah, making him jump, and I growl. His eyes turn toward me once more, and this time he shakes a little from fear, but I don't want to scare him. So I take a step back away from him and raise my hands in defeat. He seems appeased by this, instantly relaxing. But I can't relax, not when I know Sam is on the other side of that door.

"Who's at the door, Kaelin?" Jeremiah asks as the knocking becomes more desperate, his fists now pounding on the door.

"Sam," I reply softly, looking between Jeremiah and Noah. The latter is shaking on the bed, sobbing violently. "I wouldn't—" I trail off as Jeremiah gets closer to the door, clearly about to open it. His hand wraps around the knob, and I growl again. "If you leave this room," I say through gritted teeth, "You're dead to me, Jeremiah."

"I'm not leaving," Jeremiah sighs, looking at me over his shoulder. "I'm opening the door."

"Don't you fucking dare?—"

"If I don't, he'll wake up the whole damn floor," Jer replies with exasperation. "If he hasn't already."

I nod. "Fine."

Jeremiah opens the door for Sam, letting him in and shutting it quietly behind him—locking it for good measure. Samuel doesn't see me at first, instead turning toward Jeremiah and going on a rant about how he was possessed. Jer watches him impassively, as if he's completely uninterested in what he's saying. Which piques my curiosity. Does he not care about Samuel? Does he care more about me?

"Shut up, Sam," Jeremiah snaps, getting closer to him until he grabs Sam by his shirt, getting in his face. "I know all about it—now shut up and sit down over there."

Sam blanches, bolting toward the door. But Jeremiah doesn't let him, grabbing his arm and hauling him toward the chair. I hold Sam in place once he's seated, not letting him move or speak. His eyes widen as he looks at me, clearly terrified. When I come to his side, he looks like he's about to pass out. The knife in the nightstand drawer is in my hand now, and I press it to Sam's throat, ready to cut him open?—

Jeremiah cries out, shaking his head. I cock my head to the side, looking between Sam and my little human, waiting for him to speak.

"Don't you dare fucking kill him," he whispers, trembling with anger. I can taste it on my tongue, and I raise an eyebrow at him. He doesn't even look scared of me. "He's ours."

"Ours?" I smirk. "What the fuck does that even mean, Jeremiah?"

Jeremiah swallows hard. "Spare them and I'll bind myself to you forever." My eyebrows raise, and he takes a tentative step toward me. "I'll be with you. But we need him. You have to—" He looks toward Sam, who is now fighting my hold, bucking in his chair. "You have to keep him."

"And why's that?"

"Because you're mine," he growls. "And I‘m asking you to keep a human so we can be together."

"And why him?"

Jeremiah shrugs. "I guess I like how he looks."

"Just a bit shallow, don't you think?" I chuckle, though I can't deny it's a tempting offer.

"Hey, you're the one who made me fall in love with him." He shrugs, and now I'm angry.

With his next breath, I'm in front of him. "I made you fall in love with me ."

"Don't act like you don't want to keep me, Kaelin," Jer says through gritted teeth. "Now you can."

"Forever?" I ask, intrigued by his offer. Sam is now trying to shout, and I tighten my hold on him without even moving.

"Until I die."

"I won't let you." I grin. "If you do this, you'll live with me forever."

"Then forever it is."

Getting closer to him, I look down at his body. He's not trembling, not scared. His voice is steady with determination, and when I finally reach him, he looks into my eyes. My hand reaches toward his face, and he stays still for me, letting my knuckles brush over his cheekbone. He closes his eyes and bites his lip, and I want to fucking do it for him. But instead, I lick his face with my forked tongue, tasting him. His eyes open as he gasps, but he doesn't recoil. Instead, his eyes blaze with uncontained lust.

This human is going to be the death of me.

My ruin.

My fucking undoing.

I nod, grinning. "I accept your terms, little human." He nods quickly too, a smile taking over his face. "I'll let them live."

And then, without preamble, I go back into Sam's body.