Epilogue

Riot

W hat a weird fucking house . And that's saying a lot coming from me.

It had been a minute since I'd rolled up to Wickford Hollow. I should have brought the boys, but I was bored out of my fucking mind back at Tenebrose and I didn't feel like waiting around for Atlas and Valentin to pretty themselves up first.

Just another Halloween where the ghosts come out to taunt me.

This house was simmering with cursed energy. It wasn't just the slabs of raw meat dangling from the ceiling or the fact that it was so dark in here, there was a basket of glowsticks left as an offering. No, it was deeper than that. Something sinister permeated through these walls. And most of the half-naked guests in here were either too drunk or too stupid to pick up on any of it .

I, on the other hand, sensed it from the driveway. It was the faint trace of poison, the putrid stench of corpses still rotting from centuries ago. A stench I know well.

After admiring all the lengths the host went to make this place look like a real house of horrors, I pull the front of my ski mask down and stalk out of the foyer. I'm on a mission—to forget who I am for just one night.

Here in the dark corners of Wickford Mansion, in rooms full of intoxicated strangers, I can pretend to be just like them—masked, hopeful, still lonely yet not alone. Without the town of Raven's Gate tethering me, I feel vulnerable, but not weak. Never weak .

The rush of being out here on my own makes my adrenaline course in ways I haven't felt in a long time. It's so fucking exhilarating; it makes my dick twitch. There will be hell to pay later for leaving, but it's worth it just to feel alive in my own skin for once.

The freshly carved sigil burns against my neck like a warning. I resist the urge to lift my mask and touch it. There will be more scars to come for this latest transgression. Atlas and Valentin won't be able to suffer for me this time. We are all marked but my blood is truly cursed. The Blackwells made sure of that before they drove my family out of Ever Graves. Only the bones of my ancestors remain there, buried deep below the town's blasphemous soil.

As I cross into the living room, I'm jolted by what I see—long brown hair, amber-colored eyes like burnt honey, tight ass and tits all wrapped up in a hot pink bustier, black leather mini skirt, and stiletto heels.

Fuck .

My cock throbs as I stalk behind her, following her into the crowded kitchen. I notice the handcuffs hooked to her belt and almost cum in my pants. I imagine what this pretty little firecracker would look like tied to my bed frame, legs wide open, and screaming my name while I bury my cock inside her swollen pussy .

I keep my distance as I watch her throw her head back and laugh at something one of the morons surrounding her says. They don't deserve her attention. The four of them look at her like she's a toy. This beautiful creature is anything but. I want to kill them for being near her. I don't even know her name, but I want to toss her over my shoulder and shove her in my trunk. Drive all the way back to Raven's Gate while listening to her kick and scream, only to pull over and drag her out so I can fuck her hard against the hood. I want to taste her fear on my tongue. I want to feel her pussy tremble around my cock and her pulse race inside my grip.

I snatch a shot of whiskey off the counter and knock it back. Every cell in my body is on fire for this girl. I lurk in the shadows, watching her as she talks to a pretty blonde girl then goes back to the douchebags.

One whispers in her ear, and she giggles. They exchange a look between themselves. A look I've seen before. A look that I have given. I start forward as they whisk her out of the kitchen, surrounding her like she's a queen they've been tasked to guard.

I follow them down a long dark hallway, seething as two of them each grip one of her hips. They're herding her away from the rest of the party, getting ready to do unspeakable things to her. I can tell by the way her ankles wobble in her heels that she's had too much to drink. Only pathetic assholes would fuck a girl while she's barely coherent.

Not my fucking style. I like my prey to be nice and awake.

She glances nervously over her shoulder, and I dart into an alcove, escaping her view. There's a shaky tremor in her voice now even as she continues to giggle. Something is off. I can feel it as clearly as the poison that lives in my veins.

When I reenter the hallway, they're gone.

Fuck.

As I creep farther down the dimly lit corridor, I hear their voices. I follow the sounds until I reach a door. I start for the handle but stop. What the fuck am I going to do? Bust in and intervene like I'm some sort of fucking saint? The scars on my body remind me I'm far from holy. Why do I give a fuck about some drunk girl I don't even know?

Maybe being away from Raven's Gate is taking more of a toll on me than I thought it would.

I came here to find someone new to fuck. I could have anyone. Why her? I press my ear to the door and listen as they have their fun with my firecracker.

I clench my fists to the sounds of thrusting and grunting and cheers as they take turns filling her up with their worthless cum. I'm not surprised to find the door locked as I quietly twist the knob. I could easily break it open, but then what?

I'm no one's savior.

I suck in a sharp breath and turn away from the door.

Fuck this place .

I need to get out of here before I start foaming at the fucking mouth. That's the thing about curses, you can only outrun them for so long. One way or another, you have to pay the price. And I always do. Every fucking time.

Their voices spill out into the hallway as they yank open the bathroom door. I freeze, the hairs on my neck raising, my pulse pumping, all my senses alert. I plant my feet, refusing to flinch as they slam the door behind them. They amble toward me, nearly knocking me over in their post-coital euphoria. My shoulders tense, the ache in my chest growing as my need to kill festers.

"Bathroom's all yours, buddy," one of the douchebags mutters as he passes. "There's a tasty little snack in there."

My blood boils. The poison in my veins burns as it surges, inflaming the sigil on my neck. I clench my jaw.

"Yeah, help yourself if you don't mind leftovers," another one chimes in as they stagger off, laughing and high-fiving each other.

These fucking imbeciles . They wouldn't appreciate what good pussy tastes like if it sat on their faces and dripped liquid gold into their traitorous mouths.

The light peeks through the bottom of the bathroom door. It trickles past me like a beacon. I should walk away. But something pulls me back. My greed . Like the festering ache that's taken root in my bones. The unexplainable desperate need to see her face again.

I turn around slowly, my heart beating faster with each step I take. And despite this entire mess of a night, my cock hardens as I move closer toward the beautiful creature behind the door.

No woman has ever made me question myself before. I take what I want. When I want . But this one… she has me walking on eggshells, carefully traipsing down the hall like a little kid sneaking up on Santa Claus on Christmas morning.

Fuck it. Time to rip off the band aid.

I burst into the bathroom and lose all my nerve as soon as I see her. Sweat and cum glistens over her chest and thighs. Her thick brown hair is disheveled, frizzy, and knotted from being pulled in every direction.

My breath catches in my throat as I gaze down to see her cupping her bare breasts. Her skirt is hiked up around her hips. She clenches her legs together, hiding her sweet pussy from my view.

"Get the fuck out," she growls. Her voice sounds like honey. Fuck me. How can I not take this creature with me?

I look farther down at the tattoos on her legs and have never wanted to be ink so badly in my life. It snakes down her calves all the way to her heels. She has one stiletto on now, her other foot bare. Her skin looks so fucking soft. Silky. I want to lick every inch of her.

"What the fuck are you looking at?" She yells.

A flicker of rage sends shivers up my spine. No one talks to me like this back in Raven's Gate. Especially not half-naked sluts who just got railed in a bathroom on Halloween. But this one is different. I like it when she yells at me. It makes me want to bend her over my knee and spank that tight little ass of hers. But I'm not one to be fucked with. Even in Wickford Hollow.

"Maybe lock the door next time," I growl back.

Her lower lip quivers and she almost looks like she's going to cry. Almost . "Right. That will solve everything."

But this creature has seen some shit. Been through some shit. I can see it in her eyes. She's hotter than fire, volatile like the night. Dark, dirty, and a little bit psycho. I want her to be mine.

As she stumbles around, trying to keep herself covered while fumbling with her top, I crumble like a sappy lovesick puppy.

"Let me help you," I rasp.

A warmth spreads in my belly as I touch my fingertips to her back. She flinches and I draw in a sharp breath. "Relax. I'm just going to zip you up, okay?"

She nods, her eyes glassy. I can't tell if it's the copious amounts of alcohol she's ingested or if she's truly about to burst into tears.

"Thank you," she murmurs.

Her praise is like the sweetest lullaby I've ever heard.

As I zip up her bustier, I let my hands linger on her shoulders. I'm not ready to stop touching her.

"Who did this to you?" I already know but I want to hear it from her lips. I want her to tell me that she's been assaulted. That she didn't want this. I needed to hear it.

She spins around with a force that jolts me back. "No one… I did this to myself."

Ahh, self-deprecation. I know that well too. She was a glutton for punishment just like me and the boys. It was like a sick twisted prayer to gods who either don't exist or are up there laughing at how stupidly mundane we are.

Fuck.

It's time to go.

My second sigil, the one on my arm, is starting to burn as hot as the one on my neck. Raven's Gate was calling me home. But for one fucking moment, I just want to be here with her in this abomination of a bathroom. In this creepy house of horrors filled with poison and death and ghosts.

"What's your name?" I ask her, trying hard to mask the desperation in my voice.

"What's yours?" She snaps. She sticks her chest out in what I assume is an effort to be brave but all it does is make me want to rip that fucking pink bustier right back off.

I can't tell her my name. I'm not supposed to be in Wickford Hollow. I'm on borrowed time as it is. So I purse my lips tightly together and drown inside her amber-colored eyes.

She hiccups and stumbles back against the sink. "Just leave me alone, please. I need to find my friend."

A friend is definitely what this girl needs and I'm not it. But it takes every ounce of strength not to shove my fingers down her throat just so I can hear her moan for me.

But I think better of it and step aside, giving her ample room to pass. "Whatever you say, firecracker."

Fuck. I didn't mean to call her that out loud.

As the brunette bombshell struts past me, I swear she almost swallows me whole. She takes a deep breath, inhaling my scent, taking it with her like a keepsake.

I almost grab her then. I have to physically fight with myself to resist the urge to steal her from this place.

My hands shake just as she stops in the doorway and glances back, batting her long eyelashes at me. "Thanks again… whoever you are."

The door shuts and I slide to the floor, listening to the sound of her heels clicking away from me. I gasp for air and grip the wall. The beast inside me wants to feast on her swollen nipples and slick pussy. I want to taste her sweet cum in the back of my throat. Want to bury my face in between her breasts while she calls out my name over and over again. I want to do unspeakable things to her. Things that those pathetic douchebags couldn't even fathom.

But we both remain nameless. Two fucked up ships passing in the night without a compass or an anchor.

My phone buzzes like a swarm of bees has taken hold of it. I pause on the front steps of Wickford Mansion to look, knowing full well that it's Atlas and Valentin blowing me up.

I shoot off a quick text: One more message and I'm flogging both of you in front of the entire school when I get back.

No response.

I smile, satisfied that I can still get my point across. Atlas and Valentin are nothing to fuck with, but I enjoy pissing them off as much they like getting a rise out of me. Our bond runs deep. It's thicker than blood, stronger than any curse those treacherous Blackwells could place upon our heads.

But they know the consequences as much as I do. I have to get back to Raven's Gate before my body goes up in fucking flames. I've already pushed it too far.

I cross the lawn to my motorcycle, still tense from the bathroom. My fingertips still tingle from touching her skin. I'm about to swing my leg over and ride off into the dark fucking abyss of night when I hear those douchebags' voices again.

Fuck.

Two cars ahead of me, the four assholes who stuck their cocks in my firecracker are drinking beer out of brown paper bags and fucking bragging about what they did.

I sigh. I can't let it go. I. Just. Can't.

The wind howls in my ears as I stalk toward them. A warning. An omen.

They look up as I approach, their eyes glassy. "Hey, man. Hallway dude. You get a piece of that snack we left you in the bathroom?"

I breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth as I take three quick strides toward him. Before he can utter another blasphemous word, I seize his throat between my fingers and squeeze. I close my eyes and feel my power surge as his pulse quickens and then slows.

It happens so fast, the other three can't act fast enough. His knees buckle and his eyes roll to the back of his head. He's already dead as the second one approaches.

"What the fuck, dude?" A blonde one yells. He takes a swing at me, and I duck. I come back up and dig my fingers in his ribs. He keels over as the poison in my veins rushes to the surface of my skin, leaking out of my pores.

I am death .

I deliver it. I receive it. And these fools are no match for me. They aren't even a challenge. I'm almost bored until I think about what they did to my firecracker.

The second one collapses, lifeless onto the ground just as the other two close in on me. I laugh. I can't help myself. It's just too easy. As much as I'd like to torture them, to drag out their deaths slowly, I'm running out of time. But I will not leave here until I've avenged her.

With a few quick steps and minimal effort, I snap both of their tracheas at the same time. My skin and veins and bones ache. Everything burns and tingles inside of me as I watch their blackened souls depart their pathetic bodies that now lie in a crumpled heap on the ground.

My phone buzzes again and I know they know. Atlas and Valentin can feel it. They know what I've done. I tell myself I did it for her. But I did it for me too.

"It's okay," Atlas texts in the group chat.

"Come home," Valentin adds .

Fuck.

Home. That was a funny word. Is home where you rest your head? Where your friends are? Where you're from? Home has always been ever changing for me. A puzzle I'd yet to solve. But I'm Riot Graves, the bastard son of Ever Graves, the king of Raven's Gate, the reluctant leader of Nocturnus, and the monster of Tenebrose Academy. Home was irrelevant to me. Blood was stronger.

I hop on my bike and my phone buzzes again. I smile as my most trusted companions remind me of what's at stake.

"In absentia lucis, tenebrae vincunt," Valentin writes. In the absence of light, darkness prevails.

"Mors tua, vita mea," Atlas replies . Your death, my life.

The engine roars between my legs as I look upon the mess that I left in the streets of Wickford Hollow tonight. I came here to try to forget who I am, and instead found myself anew. It's time to embrace the monster.

I pull out my phone and send the final text. The last line of the Nocturnus creed. "Mors vincit omnia." Death always wins .

And as I race through the shadows like a bullet, I think of my firecracker. And I decide that I will make a thousand sacrifices and blood oaths to see her again.