“My monster Jack…” was my follow-up, and I wanted to head-butt the wall for my stupidness right now.
“Yes, and no. I’m actually a hellhound,” he continued smirking down at me.
This was Jack? My Jack?
The Jack who’d clawed my arms open and blocked me from leaving the house a number of times and cost me quite a few jobs?
The Jack whom I’d come to think of like a strange pet or family member?
I was lost for words. I couldn’t think of anything to say, and those dark eyes were just watching me with amusement.
To think that this hottie had been the one who stood in my way so many times.
“I lost my job,” I finally said, unable to think of anything else in the moment.
“Sorry about that. But every time I knew someone was running a tracking spell on you, I needed to keep you in a warded place. To keep you from being found. I’m sorry I had to claw you those few times, but you have a tendency to fight,” he winced as he slid his hands into the pockets of his jeans.
Tracking spells. Why was someone tracking me? What was I anyway?
“Do you know what I am?” I asked, still reeling from the fact that he was one of my monsters. Hellhounds. I really needed to stop calling them my monsters.
But this guy was a hellhound? Did he turn into a big dog? Or was he like the fiery hellhound on ‘Teen Wolf’?
“You’re something unique, Lily, and I’m sure Dezikiel will tell you everything you want to know after breakfast, for now, relax. You’re safe here, no one can get to you, and you won’t go without food or a bed, which I know has been a worry,” Jack smiled reassuringly at me.
“I can’t afford this place, whatever kind of school it is,” I hissed. My mind was a mess right now, and my head was starting to hurt while I tried to sort it all out.
“There’s no charge, it’s free,” Jack stated with that dazzling smile.
“My apartment, I have a lease,” I mumbled.
“Dezikiel will handle it. You won’t get blacklisted for pulling out of your lease either. Besides, don’t you think it’s nicer here?” Jack asked curiously.
“I don’t know who I can trust,” I said slowly.
“Well, you can trust us. We’ve had your back for years, and Dezikiel has cared for us over that time as well. You can trust him.”
“Wait, what do you mean?” I frowned. Dezikiel had cared for them? But they were with me, well, mostly.
“We weren’t meant to protect you as ourselves, only our projected versions. You’re not meant to be able to see them. But for some reason, you can.” Now it was Jack’s turn to frown at me. “We think it’s because of what you are. You’re special, Lily.”
“Right, but you won’t tell me what I am.” I crossed my arms as I stared at him.
“Nope, Dezikiel will explain. You’re taking all this pretty well actually, this whole demonic creatures thing, us hellhounds, this Academy,” he said, his tone clearly impressed.
“Considering I thought I was crazy until today, I’m still in a little state of shock I guess. Besides, Dezikiel took me to some white place and I somehow just knew all this was true. That I’m not crazy, that demonic and angelic creatures exist. You’re real…” I paused, chewing my cheek as I stared into those black pools. Such unique eyes. Maybe it was because he was a hellhound.
“What about the other three? Are they here?” I asked.
“Yes, they’ll be at breakfast. They’re excited to meet you as themselves finally,” Jack chuckled.
“This projection thing, what do you mean by that?” I asked as he started walking again, forcing me to fall in step with him.
“Us hellhounds, we can project our demonic side. So we can watch over you without anyone seeing us. Our bodies, these ones,” he indicated at himself, “can still function here, studying, practicing, doing whatever. But we’re still connected to our projections. And when something is happening where our projection is not enough, we can link ourselves to our projection. Creeper did it when he attacked the gunman to help out. He intended to handle the situation, but you took over. Pretty badass, apparently,” he smirked, looking down at me from the corner of his eyes.
“I just acted, I didn’t even know I could do that,” I murmured.
“It’s because of what you are.”
“Well, I wish someone would hurry up and tell me what I am,” I growled, causing him to just chuckle.
“Patience, Lily,” he murmured.
I groaned as I kept in pace with him. He was strangely comforting to be around. Then again, I’d grown used to my hellhounds over the years.
But now they had actual faces.
I was excited to see just what the other three looked like.
“Hey, do you know why my mom died?” I asked softly. Jack had popped up right after, so maybe he knew what had happened.
I’d always assumed that the doctors were right, it had been a brain aneurysm, and I’d just made up that man to help me deal with it all.
But it wasn’t something from my mind. It was real.
“Yes, but Dezikiel will explain everything to you. I promise, for now, just relax. Trust me, you’ll love breakfast. Much better than crummy cornflakes or that shit coffee you always made,” he snorted.
I smirked at this, and then my face dropped.
“Hold on… you guys have seen me naked on occasion,” I mumbled, the heat rushing to my face. Countless times my demons had seen me waltz into the kitchen in just my underwear. I’d always believed they were a figment of my mind, why would I have cared?
Sure, I’d laughed when they’d all turned away, finding it utterly adorable. Except Creeper. He never seemed to care.
Now it was beyond embarrassing.
Jack choked and cleared his throat as he frowned down the hallway, avoiding my gaze.
But then his mouth curved upwards in amusement.
“It’s not funny. I thought you guys weren’t real,” I hissed.
“Yeah, I know,” he sighed. “We didn’t look.”
“Bullshit. You guys have seen way too much of me. Hell, you know all my secrets. Oh God, some of the things I’ve told you all,” I groaned as I bit my lip.
I’d told them a lot of personal things. I remember telling them embarrassing stories from my childhood, loving how their growls sounded like laughter. I’d told them about my frustrations with periods, even thrown boxes of tampons at them when I was in moods. Hell, I’d even told them about the odd crush here and there from around the place, or pointed out hot men during our TV shows.
Hell, Creeper knew about my issues with virginity, how I was scared of what my first time would be like.
I felt my cheeks flush scarlet at all these memories.
“I won’t lie, watching over you has been an interesting experience,” Jack shrugged. “We’ve learned a lot about you.”
“And I know nothing about you guys,” I sighed, but my mind was onto something else now.
Something I’d forced from my mind for so long.
“You protected me that day on the streets,” I murmured as we came to a wooden door.
Jack paused midway through leaning forward to open it, his hand on the handle.
He just exhaled softly, those dark eyes falling on me. They swirled with anger and sadness, and I clenched my jaw at the emotions in them.
“I couldn’t let them hurt you,” he growled.
“You all helped me. I always wondered what really happened, because I thought you guys weren’t real so something else must have happened to stop it all. I don’t remember how I got to the hospital,” I said softly, my voice pitching. I didn’t want to remember it. But I did. And I hated it more than anything.
It was the reason I’d vowed never to end up back on the streets. That I’d do anything to avoid it.
I stared into those dark eyes, managing a small smile.
“Thank you.”
Jack (Jorkan)
I stared at Lily, at those stunning e
merald eyes that were filled with pain and confusion.
I hated that she’d not known the truth about us for so long, but we were following our orders.
Protect her but don’t engage.
Well, we’d engaged in our own way, since she could see our projected states.
To finally be talking to her in person, to see her soft smiles with my real eyes and smell her uniquely pure yet wild scent, it was more than I could have ever hoped.
But now she’d brought it up.
That horrible day we’d had to break and manifest in order to save her. We’d put men in the hospital that day. We could’ve just as easily have killed them, but Dezikiel would have banished us from the Academy for killing humans, even if they deserved it.
Lily looked so fragile right now, thanking me for protecting her, like I’d even had a choice.
She was everything. Our one drive in life. It was why we were created. To protect her for all of time.
I hated remembering that day. How we’d failed her.
“We failed you,” I growled, hating how she flinched as the demonic voice of my true self flared.
“How? They were going to… they would’ve raped me if you guys hadn’t done what you did,” she whispered, those sweet emerald eyes full of distress.
“You still got stabbed. Even with all four of us there, we couldn’t stop that,” I growled, forcing myself not to snap at her. I could feel the fire burning inside me, the rage and anger. I’d wanted to rip them apart for hurting her.
But the man who’d stabbed her, he was never going to wield a weapon again. I’d made sure of that. He’d be lucky to be able to wipe his ass.
“That wasn’t your fault. You guys did everything you could.”
That was a lie, and I clenched my jaw. If we’d been allowed to show our true forms, to fully manifest, we could’ve stopped them. But our projected states were far weaker than our real selves. And we were under strict orders.
Orders we’d all nearly broken that day to protect her.
Dezikiel had stopped us from fully manifesting, finding us all in the library on the verge of leaping into our projections. He’d held us back, reminding us of the consequences of revealing ourselves to people.
“Did you take me to the hospital?” she asked, causing me to focus on her once more.
“Not quite. Tolrun did, Bug,” I corrected his name. We’d come to love the names she’d given us, and had started using them, even if they were rather silly. Like Bug and Creeper.
“We all went with him. We watched over you in your surgery, and stayed with you in the hospital,” I said, smiling gently at her. My rage was simmering down now thanks to the sweet expression on her face.
“I know. I remember waking to all of you there. All growling and worrying over me. It was when I realized that you guys weren’t terrorizing me, you were good for me. Well, that was when I thought you were just monsters in my head. I wasn’t alone,” she said, touching her pendant. If only she knew the power of that piece of jewelry she always wore.
“You guys saved me, and I’m forever grateful,” she finally smiled at me, her eyes twinkling. I just stared at her, utterly amazed. She was stronger than she knew, both in mind and body. She’d learn that soon enough.
But it was the sincerity of her words that touched me. And the look of pure gratitude in her eyes.
All I ever wanted to do was keep her safe. That was my purpose.
“Those men got badly hurt, I remember hearing about them from others on the street after I healed. I got myself a job as soon as I could. Couldn’t keep wallowing and living like that. You guys helped me pull myself together. I’d run away from my aunt’s place before that, unable to take her narcissistic abuse anymore, and braved the streets. Honestly, maybe I should’ve stayed with her,” she said as she pursed her lips.
“No. She was only using you for the money she gained being your guardian. We hoped to bring you to the Academy sooner, but Dezikiel said you couldn’t until you reached the right age. We wanted to help you so badly, and trying to mask you on the streets, that was exhausting. It drained us of our power, so when you found a rental, we were ecstatic. Warding a house is much easier than warding you on the streets. We all had to be there, twenty-four seven in order to ward you, and we weren’t sure if our magic was strong enough. Dezikiel even helped us maintain the protection when needed,” I explained.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know that,” she frowned, obviously frustrated with herself.
“How could you? We weren’t allowed to speak to you or reveal our true selves. At least everything can finally be explained now,” I said warmly.
Finally. Lily would learn the truth about everything. We could finally be with her and protect her the way we were designed to.
And tonight, when midnight hit, everything would change.
Seven
Jack had stiffened when I brought up that horrible day on the streets. He’d growled about failing me, and the sound, the way his voice had distorted, wasn’t the only thing that made me flinch.
It was the fire that ignited in his eyes, burning in his irises with utter rage.
I didn’t want him to be upset.
I remembered that day all too well, even though I’d tried to forget it.
I remembered huddling under the bridge to sleep for the night, wishing desperately I’d found more food and a better blanket than the one I’d stolen from the back of an open car.
My hellhounds were all standing guard over me.
I’d felt safe with them, they’d helped me sleep so many cold nights alone before.
But tonight, when the group of men, other homeless guys I’d seen in passing, found me huddled under the bridge, fear had hit me.
“Look at this one, she’s pretty,” the lead man said as the group came to a standstill not too far from me.
I was pretending to be asleep, my heart hammering in my chest as I huddled under the flimsy blanket. At least I had my gloves and beanie on, but the cold night air was just a little too much tonight, and I’d already accepted I was unlikely to get much sleep.
Now, now I wished I’d not chosen this bridge. I should’ve stuck to the park with the other few homeless people I’d come to know, like the aged Dorothy.
Why’d I have to go out on my own?
“I’ve seen her around, she’s young,” another laughed softly. “Always like ‘em young.”
My monsters were growling now, and their distress for me was obvious.
“No one can see us here,” another one murmured.
And then they closed in on me.
I snapped up, my eyes wide open as I tried to get up and run.
But one caught me, cursing at me as he dragged me to the ground.
I tried to scream, but he covered my mouth as one of the others tried to help him undress me.
It was dark, and I couldn’t see their faces easily. But I felt their hands. Their disgusting, harsh hands digging into my skin and yanking my jeans down.
I whimpered, hoping desperately that someone would rescue me, that someone on the bridge above would sense something was off.
The growling and snarling intensified, and I cried out as I was rolled onto my stomach, my jeans and panties around my ankles.
“She’s rather clean for a street kid. Bet she’s a virgin too,” one of them snickered, and the others chuckled.
I felt those horrid hands sliding between my legs, forcing them apart.
I closed my eyes as that zipper slid down, and I wondered if they’d kill me when they were done.
I’d always hoped my first time would be with the man I’d spend the rest of my life with.
But I guess life was cruel, and the streets were mean.
The snarls increased, and I dug my nails into the dirt, biting my lip and holding my breath as tears slid down my cheeks.
Shouts and shrieks rose up, and I heard bodies thudding on the ground further away. But I dare not move or open my eyes.
My monsters were making so much noise now.
Then I was yanked up onto my knees and held against someone.
“What the hell are you?!” the man shrieked into my ear, spit splattering on my cheek.
Then it came.
The cool blade pierced my stomach with ease, and I just gasped, unable to scream as the fiery yet icy pain flooded through me, and I felt my warm blood trickling down my stomach.
The man screamed as he was yanked away from behind me, and the knife slid out.
The pain was something I’d never forget. So sharp and piercing, I dare not move as I just stared up at the bridge overhead, at the graffiti painted on the underside.
Would I die here?
I felt colder now than before, but it didn’t matter. My blood was warm, the blood running down my stomach and staining my jeans.
That would be a pain to get out.
My thoughts were foggy now, and I knew I was losing too much blood.
Yet I couldn’t make myself look down at my wound.
I needed to put pressure on it. That’s what the movies always said.
But I couldn’t move. I was numb, and tired.
Maybe this was how my story ended.
Shadows stood over me, and I blinked as I stared up at my monsters.
I wanted to smile at them, tell them that even though I was crazy, I was glad I’d had them.
And then the darkness began to claim my vision, just as I felt someone lift me up.
I forced the memory from my mind as tears stung my eyes. I wouldn’t cry. Not now.
And Jack looked so distressed that he’d failed me.
He hadn’t.
They’d saved me.
And I told him that.
He’d calmed down after that, and now, he was pushing the door open to the dining area, and I followed after him.
I froze at the sight of the long table, one that I’d seen depicted in royal mansions on TV. It was long, and about a quarter of it was seated with young people.
“Lily, Jorkan, you’ve finally joined us. Come, let me introduce you to everyone,” Dezikiel said, standing behind the seat at the head of the table.
Wicked Souls: A Limited Edition Reverse Harem Romance Collection Page 84