by N J Adel
“He’s not here, Belle.” Kayden sat next to me on a bench in the park; the last place we visited tonight.
“Maybe the cops were right after all,” Alec said. “Let’s go home, get you some sleep. There’s nothing to worry about anymore.”
“Not till we meet the devil on Halloween,” Joshua added.
CHAPTER 34
BELLE
I barely got any sleep. Even Joshua’s cinnamon tea and snuggling between Kayden and Alec in their wolf form, their soft fur covering me, didn’t work. I slipped out of the bed and into the kitchen, desperate for coffee. Joshua was sleeping on the sofa bed, looking…dead.
Vampires had always been hot to me, and when I met one in real life, they got even hotter. But sleep didn’t flatter them so much.
I gulped the cold coffee from yesterday straight from the pot. Disgusting in every way, but I didn’t care. My mind was a hot mess. I needed to give it something to start working and think straight. Right now.
The idea that Declan wasn’t around anymore was impossible to believe. Was I prone to misery or was I too much of a narcissist to believe I was no longer the center of his attention? Whatever the fuck was wrong with me, I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that Declan was gone.
Yet everything logical was telling me so.
I splashed my face with some water, loving the air on the back of neck and shoulders without all the hair. I thought I would need time to get used to it, but I embraced it with no effort.
In my robe, I went down for my mail, looking for any sort of distraction until the boys woke. I opened the mailbox, and a deluge of envelopes and subscription magazines fell onto my chest.
When was the last time any of the boys opened this thing? Seriously, I had three men, and none of them could pick up the fucking mail? I would have done it myself if they hadn’t been on my tail even to the fucking bathroom, forbidding me to step outside my own bedroom without a guard, let alone outside the apartment.
I carried whatever I could and shoved the rest back inside. I sifted through the mail. It was mostly scholastic journals, bills and a couple of fashion magazines. I might have been a teacher, but I loved my vanity fix. A thick envelope caught my attention. I opened it on my way up, and I squealed when I saw there was a book inside. Book mail was the best.
Carefully, I got it out, admiring the beautiful cover. Then I opened it, my heart leaping as I anticipated seeing my name signed by one of my favorite authors ever.
My fingers trembled before I fully opened the book as my mind raced to remember one thing. When did I order a signed paperback of this particular book?
I checked the sender address on the envelope, and everything fell off my hands, thudding on the stairs.
Sharp gasps ached in my chest, and I suspected I was about to have another panic attack as I stared at the address of my old house. Declan’s house.
Shaking, I bent down and grabbed the book. I knew I shouldn’t open it. I shouldn’t even touch it. I should just call Detective Magnolia and let her take care of the rest. But I held the cover with quivering fingertips and dared open the book.
Till death do us part.
That what was written in red ink under the book title. A heart and a smiley face next to it.
Tears streamed down my face, heavy drops smearing the ink. Still shaking, I looked around me. The feeling that he was watching me now was never stronger.
My blurry gaze fell back on the book, and I noticed a little number in the same red ink at the foot of the page. 126.
It wasn’t significant to me or to anything in our fucking relationship, so I figured he must have wanted me to see page 126 in this book. I flipped through the pages until I found the right one. There was a tiny envelope glued to it. I yanked it out and tore it open. A cellphone memory card was inside.
Looking back at the page, I found another number. I almost tore the book as I reached the aimed page. There was another note in red.
The white box.
“What fucking white box?”
I searched the pile around my feet, but I couldn’t find anything. I ran back to the mailbox and unlocked it. Rummaging through it, I found a small rectangular box. A cellphone box?
Carefully, I opened it and narrowed my eyes at the little phone nestled there. Already assembled with the memory card slot open. I placed the chip in and turned on the phone.
A video immediately played, and I flinched. It took me a minute to realize it was a video of the hair salon where I’d had my hair cut. There was some muffled sounds of…sobs, and then there was the reflection of a hand stretched on a console in one of the mirrors. My heart thrashed as the camera showed the whole arm and another hand in a black glove holding it by the wrist.
“Is this the hand you used to cut my wife’s hair?” Declan’s abhorrent voice was calm in the video. But it thundered in my skull.
“No. No no no no no.” I quivered, gasping.
The sobs turned into sniveling pleas as a blade shone in the camera light reflection. Then there was a shrieking cry, blood all over the mirror and the console, and a mauled hand separated from the arm.
My jaws opened as widely as possible to let out the scream crushing my ribs, but my voice refused to come out.
The screen went black, and the video ended just like that. I felt like my heart was going to stop. I kept looking around me like a maniac, my jaw hanging low. Suddenly, the screen lit with a second video.
It started with a song. Look what you made me do on repeat from this song they kept playing on the radio for months. I loved it, and I loved the singer, but my mind was so fucked up now I couldn’t remember the names. The video continued like a presentation. Red text on yellow background slides.
This is what happens to people who take things that are mine.
Better lose the company of three.
Or it will be their dicks you love so much that I will chop next time.
Salty tears ran into my mouth. Then anger rumbled through my bones. “You try, you motherfucker. They will rip your stinky dick before you get to blink.”
If you think I can’t hurt them, think again.
Yeah, I know what they are.
What? My heart sank to my knees.
Remember the video that got you fired? Your glistening pussy gushing out for your own student?
Oh, that got me so hard right now.
My stomach turned, acid burning my chest
But that’s beside the point. I have shot another video that you would absolutely love even more.
The next clip was shot in my apartment. My own bedroom. I didn’t need to watch to know what was going to be played. Kayden, Alec and Joshua were there. It was the night the police left and Alec shifted in my bedroom and Joshua bore his fangs at him.
That was all I could take before I went down on my knees, my legs no longer able to carry my weight.
“Isabella,” Joshua called out, and he was suddenly standing before me. “What happened?”
I just shook my head at him, tears sticking to my hair and the corners of my mouth.
He wrapped an arm around my shoulder and looked at the screen.
“That piece of shit,” he grumbled.
“I told you he was watching. I told you he was watching. I told you he was watching,” I repeated hysterically.
“Hey, hey. It’s all right. We can track this, and we will find him.”
“What if it’s a burner? You can’t track those,” I sobbed.
“We’ll figure something out, my love. Just calm down.”
The video of the boys finished and another slide appeared.
I hate to be the one that lets the wolf out of the bag.
You will always be mine. So come back to Daddy, Belle.
Alone.
Just call the number on this phone, and I’ll tell you where to find me.
Btw, if you call the cops or I get hurt in a mysterious animal attack, this beautiful video and several more of you being the bitch you’
ve always been will be posted online for everyone to see.
Love, Daddy.
Now, I was having that panic attack.
CHAPTER 35
BELLE
“Maybe we should call the cops,” Alec suggested hunkered next to me under the willow tree.
“And tell them what exactly?” Kayden stood, blocking the sun, his hands on his hips. “The fucker is blackmailing Belle, and oh look, we’re a bunch of shifters and vamps?”
“Do you have anything better?”
“We’ll give the phone to someone else to crack it.”
“The phone is a high burner. The tech guy I knew is one of the best, and he couldn’t get anything out of it,” Joshua said.
The three yammered futile solutions that would never solve anything before they started cursing and kicking stuff.
“I’ll go meet him,” I mumbled, my head bent over my knees.
“What did you just say?” Alec scoffed.
“You heard me.” I lifted my head and glanced at the three of them. “I can’t have him hurt anyone else because of me. It’s the only way to get him off your backs.”
“You will do no such thing. I’d rather get exposed,” Kayden said assertively.
“Me too,” Joshua agreed, and Alec followed.
“Do you have any idea what you’re saying?” I sighed, exhausted. “If anyone knows about what you are, it will turn into a witch hunt. Thousands of painful experiments. Life in a cage. Getting used for doing horrible things. And who knows, maybe they will invent a way to end your lives.”
“You know that from your porn books, too?” Kayden joked.
His humor at this moment was too much to conceive. I saw the woman who cut my hair lose her hand and her whole future right before me. I watched a fucking video that would ruin the lives of the men I loved forever. And he was making a fucking joke? I just rose and stomped away.
“Belle, where the hell are you going?” His shout trailed behind me.
“I need a moment alone. Don’t follow me.”
Footsteps did anyway. I twisted, and it was Joshua at my back. “I said don’t follow me.”
“Fine. Just tell me where you’re going.”
“Not meeting Declan if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“I know. I still have the burner that has the number you have to call if you are.”
“Then, if you don’t mind, and it’s not too much trouble, can I, for fuck’s sake, have a moment to myself?” I snapped and spun away, not waiting for a response.
“Jeez, someone needs the big D.”
“I heard that, Alec!” I shouted as I passed by the grizzly guards.
“I’ll get it ready for you just in case, sweetheart. Don’t take too long.”
I swore under my breath as I stalked into the woods. How could they not understand how much danger they and the entire pack were in?
And it was all because of me.
Because of the psycho I married and wouldn’t let me go. I should just go to him, let him torture me to death and get it all done. It would be best for everyone.
I wished I had been dead the night he tried to kill me. Would I have gone straight to Damien if I had?
My feet stopped short. My glance wandered around the thick trees. Damien…
“If you’re here, show yourself. We need to talk.”
The wind only carried the sounds of nature. No sign of the devil.
“I know you’re here. Just come out. You owe me this much.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and waited. But nothing happened. I was just a crazy woman talking to the trees.
I cried against my will, and I couldn’t believe I was going to say this, but I did. “Please, Damien. I need your help.”
My eyes squeezed shut, and I cringed at my own words, but I had no clue what else to do. I had to do something to save my men. Just like they had once saved me.
“I thought you’d never ask.”
I gasped, opening my eyes to see Damien Pattison, standing in front of me, in a blue Armani suit. The devil had style.
“What’s the matter? You look like you’ve just seen the devil.” He chuckled. “That joke never gets old.” He took a step toward me, and I jumped back.
“Seriously?” He rolled his eyes. The red tinge in them I’d seen before when he was in my head reappeared. “How can I help you, Professor Ferro?”
My chest rose and fell with every labored breath, and he was staring at my breasts shamelessly. Fuck. “Why did you save me that night?”
“Who said I did?”
“Really? We’ll play that game?”
He smirked. “Maybe not.”
“Then answer me.”
He stepped closer again. This time I let him, and I stared back into his eyes. “I want you to come to me willingly, my queen.”
“What?”
“I told you once you didn’t know how important you were to me.” He circled around me without laying a hand on me, but my skin crawled as if he did. “I’ve always had my eyes on you. You’re the only creature worthy of ruling my kingdom by my side.”
I pressed both my thumbnails at the same time. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Exactly that. Hell. You’re my chosen bride, Rena. I want to make you my queen, not just another soul to reap. And for that to happen, you have to take your throne by choice. I couldn’t let death ruin it for me. For the both of us.” He stopped by my side, his head bent to my ear, his breaths on my neck. “I know you will be mine one day, my queen. You only have a tiny little choice to make, and I’ve been waiting ever so patiently for you to do just that.”
My mind spiraled. “You think I’ll willingly choose to go to hell?”
“Hell is not what you think, my queen. It’s a kingdom where you can have anything and everything you ever wanted. Where you see the people who have wronged you burn and suffer for all eternity. It’s where you have your revenge and end all your fears.”
“But—”
“Say all the buts you need, but you know hell is the right kingdom for you, Isabella. It’s what you really want. You’re just afraid to admit it. But I’m here. I will open your eyes and guide you to your throne. I will never leave you. I will always be by your side. Let me be your king, and I’ll serve under your feet. Every wish of yours, I’ll make it come true. Your deepest desires I will serve exactly as you want them to be served.”
Dizzy, the memory of the orgasm he gave me attacked me. My body betrayed every thought in my head, and my fucking pussy throbbed. If I just met his tempting face, even though I knew it wasn’t fucking real, I would crush my lips into his like the last time.
My desire for him wasn’t his doing. He wasn’t messing with my head, neither this time nor the last. And that part of me scared the shit out of me.
“Oh,” he sighed, amused. “Yes… I love that smell. It assures me you want me as much as I want you.” His hand touched my stomach, and it clenched under his fingers. “I can’t wait to put my babies in your belly.”
You bastard. You’re hitting hard on my every need, luring me into your darkness. Why me, Damien? Why me?
His hand left my body. His breath was no longer on my neck, and his feet stepped back.
Only then I dared look at him. “Tell me. Why me?”
“The answer is obvious but too hard to believe.”
Was he saying what I thought he was?
“Yes,” he answered.
I swallowed, not yet accustomed to acknowledging he was listening to my thoughts. “This can’t be.”
“I told you it was too hard to believe, but it is the truth. I’m not sure why you would believe it from a soulless vampire or a vicious predator and not me, though.”
“Only because you’re the devil,” I mocked.
“The devil that is in love with you.”
“C’mon, Damien. You’re the source of all evil. You have no feelings.”
He looked at me as if I’d hurt those none
xistent feelings. “I am not the source of all evil. I just rule its kingdom. If it were up to me, I would eradicate evil and make everyone good and happy. But I don’t make the rules.”
Suddenly, I was inclined to believe him. And not only that, I wanted to give him a fucking hug. What was wrong with me?
I shook my head and my arms and everything that could be shaken to yank my mind and my body out of his wicked charms. “Can you help me with Declan or not?”
“Depends on how you’d like me to help.”
“I want you to find out where he’s keeping the videos and erase them completely from everywhere.”
“That’s it?”
Was it that simple to him? Hope flickered in me. “Yes. Can you do that?”
“At a price.”
I wasn’t surprised or appalled. In fact, I was prepared and more than ready to pay. “What do you want?”
“You.”
I gulped, staring at him for a second. Then I took off my clothes. “Here.”
He eyed me with monstrous hunger that hardened my nipples in an instant. “Paying upfront, too? Interesting.”
“Let’s get it over with.”
“And you’re doing this selflessly, just for your beasts?”
“Of course.” The sane part in me was. The other part was doing it because it really wanted the devil filling me with his cum.
He came closer and stood behind me. His arms snaked around my waist, and his nose dipped into my neck and breathed me in. My breaths caught at the sensation, at the thought that I was about to be taken by this beautiful devil.
“As tempting as watching this beautiful body may be, how stupid do you think I am, Isabella?” He swirled me to face him. “You know very well if I have you now, the deal is void, and I’ll lose you forever. You really think I’d risk our future for one fuck?”
Fuck, piss and shit. Way to go, Belle, thinking you can tempt the devil with your fat ass. “Well, it’s the only way you’ll have me because I’m never choosing to rule hell with you.”
“Never is an exaggerated word, my queen.”
“Stop calling me that.” I grabbed my clothes off the dirt and put them back on. “I’m ready to do anything to get you to erase those videos, but I won’t choose you on Halloween, Damien.”