Changing Beauty (Book 2) (The Deadly Beauties Live On)

by C. M. Owens

  “They should be more scared of Roslyn, especially after this shit.” Dad’s voice is sudden, and I look up with watery eyes to see his exhausted face as he walks through the door.

  “How’d you know?” I whisper, not acknowledging what he said.

  He comes to sit beside me, and I lean into him as he wraps me up in his arms.

  “I’m in their circle. They sort of had a few choice words to share about the lie I told them. I… might have led them to believe your mother was dead. Because I knew how they’d react if they knew the truth. Or at least I thought I did.”

  “They just had Dicera call me to tell them where we are. How’d you find us?” Liza asks him.

  “Sadie told me what homes she’d be staying in. She’s always kept me updated, Liza.” His tone sounds challenging for reasons unbeknownst to me. And I’m too exhausted to care what’s going on between them. “And Dice is calling you to find Roslyn. Not Sadie. Thad’s apparently not doing so well with everything that went down. He’s trying to find her.”

  My heart squeezes, and another tear slips out. I’d really be a monster if I admitted I still love the bastard who almost killed my mother. But time heals all wounds. Eventually, my heart will have to heal—when it stops being numb.

  “Why did they call her Sadie? Her name is Rose,” I tell him, deciding I don’t feel like falling apart, and talking about Thad will definitely have me falling apart.

  He kisses my forehead, and another tear slips out.

  “She changed her name several times throughout the past couple of decades. She just didn’t want to burden you with the truth of who she was.”

  That gut-twisting feeling has been with me since this all happened. Once the fury bubbled over, it turned into panic. Panic ebbed after the dark angel showed up, and now I’ve been riddled with questions and plagued with unsettling thoughts.

  “Because of what she did to Kimber? Were they telling the truth?”

  When I see the hesitation in his face, I pull away from him. I spent my entire life having a secret relationship with my parents. My mother used magic to make my human caretakers give me blood, making them see it as something else entirely. I lived off their blood mostly.

  They would sneak me out of the houses to teach me how to fight or how to use magic, training me and teaching me control by working together. Yet they didn’t prepare me for this?

  “She was ashamed. You know how Hilly treated her. It’s easy to brainwash a child who is so desperate for her mother’s affection. So she did as she was told, knowing it would just get her killed if she ever tried to stand up to her. Alyssa saw the good in her, and she let her live because of that. I think they’ve been waiting for the shoe to drop all these years. They don’t like not knowing who’s behind the curtains, but it’s not your mother.”

  I wipe my nose when it starts running, and I turn away from him.

  “They want to kill her.”

  “I know.”

  “That’s why you didn’t let me stay with you. That’s the real reason you wouldn’t tell Alyssa about my existence. Not because you were afraid of what she’d do, but because of what they’d do.”

  He sighs hard, and I pull my knees up to my chest before hugging them.

  “I never expected you to land in their laps or their beds, sweetheart.”

  Just hearing sweet makes me sick because it makes me think of Thad. I want to hate him because it’ll make it easier when I see the hate he has for me.

  “I was so drawn to him. I thought it meant something special.”

  Liza gets up, probably feeling uncomfortable, but to my surprise, she stands in front of me.

  “You care about him, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Our world is so fucked up, Roslyn. You can’t try to fit everything in the black and white areas, because it’s all one massive pile of gray.”

  That’s not helpful.

  “I know,” I mumble, wishing I didn’t understand because it’d make me less of a freak.

  The humans have it so much easier. Right and wrong is laid out in law. Words of conduct are construed and punishment is implemented by a government of some sort when said laws are broken. Our world plays by different rules, and it’s survival of the deadliest.

  “If you talked to him, it might keep them from looking for you. Your mother will try to fight them after what they just did, and you can’t blame her for that.”

  So Liza is seriously interested in her well-being.

  “I can’t. If I talk to Thad… I just can’t. They can’t find us. I did good at covering my tracks through the planes on our way here. And there’s a protection spell on the house. I made it stronger.”

  She frowns while looking over at my dad, who is paying more attention to her chest. Fucking werewolf dick.

  “Thad won’t kill her,” my father says while clearing his throat. “Gage made it clear that Thad has claimed you and named you under his protection. Which means anyone who messes with you incurs the wrath of all of them.”

  Liza snorts derisively, and I look up at her.

  “They just want to kill her mother.”

  Okay, salt on the wound.

  Since Dice is an incubus, according to Thad, that makes her a succubus. I don’t really see the family resemblance though.

  “Not so much anymore,” Dad tells me. “Seems they realize now they made a mistake. They couldn’t understand her motives for helping, considering they haven’t seen her in quite a while. Now they do understand them. They thought Sadie was getting close to them to probe for—what the fucking hell is he doing here?”

  Dad’s abrupt change and louder tone startles me, and I look up just as the dark angel walks out. The guy cocks an eyebrow, as if he’s daring Dad to say or do something.

  “Healing your ex. What are you doing here?”

  Dad stands, making himself look as tall as possible—an alpha thing.

  “My daughter is here,” Dad snaps, then he turns his attention to Liza. “You invited Dray? His best friend is Kimber’s father. You don’t see the problem there?”

  My blood chills to my bones, and I dive off the couch and into the bedroom, scrambling onto the bed to check on my mother. She sighs when I touch her throat, checking for a pulse, and a small smile spreads over her face as she stays asleep and peaceful.

  My entire body relaxes, and I look back into the living room to see a bored dark angel, a furious alpha werewolf, and an annoyed succubus.

  “I’m sort of a rare breed, in case you don’t remember,” Dray points out. “And I owe Liza a few favors. Plus she blackmailed me.”

  “Believe me when I say he’ll want to keep some secrets… under the covers, so to speak. Right, Dray?” she asks.

  He rolls his eyes before walking back into the bedroom, mumbling something about an annoying succubus being the death of him.

  Liza smirks, and crosses her arms under her chest as though she’s proud. Now I see the resemblance between her and Dice.

  “Besides,” Dray says while putting a cloth on my mother’s head, “Drackus didn’t like them coming after her. Alyssa swore Sadie was good. He believes her. He doesn’t like Sadie, but his hate rests more on Hilly. Sadie was just the unfortunate survivor left behind to incur everyone else’s wrath. We all have a past.”

  This is all just too close and too messy. Everything seems to be weaving in together, and I don’t like all the unpredictable variables.

  “Thad doesn’t protect someone unless he loves them,” Dray says randomly, and my stomach twists as a figurative knife jabs into my heart.

  “He’s not protecting me,” I whisper. “I don’t need his protection. I’m stronger now.”

  Dray smirks before putting another cloth over my mother’s neck, though I’m not sure what the wet cloths are for.

  “You don’t seem to understand how strong Thad is. Something tells me everyone is going to be finding out soon, because he won’t hold back if he’s in love with you.”

  Tears start to sli
p out, but I don’t bother explaining Thad can’t love someone he doesn’t know. I also don’t tell him Thad will want me dead when he finds out my sins are far worse than my mother’s.

  We both jump at the sound of a window shattering, and my heart thumps in my ears when I hear a familiar voice.

  “Outside, Roslyn. Now,” Thad says softly, even though it sounds like a threat.

  My eyes go wide, and I look at Dray who cocks a confused eyebrow, letting me know he isn’t the one who sold us out. How did he find me?

  “I’m guessing someone made a call?” the dark angel asks.

  “Liza,” I mumble numbly, curling in on myself. “Didn’t you hear her?”

  “My senses are a lot weaker when I’m healing wounds as substantial as your mother’s. How long was the call?

  “Not long. She didn’t tell Dice where we were or even hint at it.”

  “Word to the wise,” Dray tells me in a whisper as he wipes his hands off, “dark users can track any form of technology if they link to it. And Gage is one seriously powerful dark user.”

  Chapter 33

  THAD

  I stand in front of the porch, clenching and unclenching my fists, ready for a fight. Roslyn will either try to kick my ass, or Reese will, considering I know that’s his car by the cabin.

  And Liza’s here—not that I’m scared of a succubus. I learned to shake off their seduction tactics a long time ago. But I can admit I’m not expecting the person who walks out of the door.

  “The hell are you doing here?” I ask Dray.

  He leans against the doorjamb while holding up the rock I threw through the window.

  “Resorted to desperate measures, I see,” he says, tossing the rock down. I can’t get close to the porch, and he knows it.

  I can feel the protection spell from here.

  When I don’t let him shift the conversation, he holds my gaze and answers me.

  “I was cleaning up the mess from the unsanctioned and unprovoked attack you and yours did. Come to do more damage or damage control?” he asks while crossing his arms over his chest.

  Bastard.

  “Last I checked, we were friends, Dray,” I drawl, trying not to sound as confrontational as I feel.

  “We are.” He steps off the porch, as though he’s making some grand fucking gesture to leave the safety of the protection spell. “But I’m also friends with Liza and Reese. More Liza than Reese. And Alyssa didn’t okay this attack, so you should be thanking me for helping out.”

  Alyssa’s the last thing on my mind right now.

  “I want to speak to Roslyn. Not you.”

  I try to look around him, but he steps into my path.

  “She’s going to come out. Reese is barely holding himself back. Try not to accidentally kill the girl’s father,” he says dryly.

  “I can fucking take him,” Reese snarls from inside, to which both Dray and I roll our eyes.

  “Roslyn,” Dray calls, acting like he fucking knows her when he doesn’t.

  He moves out of the way just as Roslyn walks out with her head down and her arms crossed over her chest. Instinctively, I move to walk toward her, but stop short of the porch when I realize I can’t go any farther without getting knocked back.

  Dray stands at my side like a fucking chaperone, and I turn to glare at him.

  After clearing his throat, he says, “Right. So, I’ll just go back in.”

  My eyes move back to Roslyn, and my chest tightens when I see her tear-streaked face. She won’t even look at me.

  “Can we talk?” I ask her, uncertain how to apologize for almost killing her mother.

  They don’t make handbooks for shit like this.

  “Talk,” she whispers, her voice scratchy and raw and slicing me to the core.

  “Will you come farther out here so we can have some privacy?”

  “You mean so you can try to do to me what you did to her?” she asks bitterly, still not looking at me.

  Yeah, that fucking hurts.

  “Roslyn, I would never—”

  “You would, Thad. I know that now. I guess I was still trying to forget the truth, but now I see it. I understand why Slade wants me dead so badly.”

  Her broken whisper is killing me, and I take another step closer, pushing my limits. I know I’ll be hit with power if I even move an inch forward now. Even though only three feet separates us, she feels miles away from me right now.

  “Roslyn, I fucked up. I didn’t know Sadie’s motives, and in my defense, all signs pointed to her being involved or running this new threat we have. I—”

  “My mother never had a choice, Thad. She did what she was told,” she interrupts. “Her life was twisted, considering her bitch mother, but she sacrificed everything to keep me safe. And she sacrificed even more to free everyone else from the hell I lived in for two years.”

  I’d freaking love to have Alyssa here to help me out with the right words right now. Or Frankie.

  “I repeat: I fucked up. I didn’t want to risk you—”

  When she glares at me, I shut the hell up before saying something as stupid as “I tortured and was about to kill your mother for you.”

  The fury in her eyes ebbs, and pain fills them again as she looks away. Slowly, she takes a step off the porch, and I take a step back as she puts one foot in front of the other until she’s right in front of me.

  “I was worse,” she whispers, confusing the hell out of me.

  Fire shoots through my veins when she takes my hand, and I almost pull her to me, until she puts my hand on her throat, forcing me to squeeze it a little.

  “So punish me,” she adds, her watery, guilt-ridden eyes meeting mine. “If you want to kill a monster, then here I am.”

  I jerk my hand away, looking at her like she’s lost her fucking mind. I sure as hell wasn’t expecting her to do that.

  With both hands, she shoves my chest, and tears start falling harder from her eyes when she yells at me.

  “Do it! You want blood?” She shoves me again, and I let her move me, too confused to speak. “You want someone to pay? Punish me, Thad!”

  Power laces her hands on the last shove, and it knocks me backward when her silver orbs slam into my chest. They hurt like crazy, but they don’t break the skin this time.

  “Roslyn, I’m not going to—”

  “Punish me!” she yells again, dropping to her knees as she sobs and shakes, falling apart in front of me.

  Her hands hit the ground, and her head hangs as she continues to cry. My fucking heart breaks just watching her, and I carefully approach, trying not to spook her or set her off.

  “Roslyn, love, I don’t want to hurt you,” I whisper softly, kneeling down beside her and running my hand down her back.

  She tenses against my touch, but I don’t let her go.

  “You should. They’ll want me back, Thad. They’re not done with me. They need me now more than ever. You should kill me now, or leave me alone.”

  The coldness in her tone almost leaves me with frostbite. I ruined her. I did this.

  “Kill me now or leave,” she says a little louder.

  “Roslyn, I’m not fucking killing you,” I growl. “I lov—”

  “Don’t,” she sobs, jerking away from me like it burns to touch me, and staggering up to her feet. “Don’t say it.”

  I run a frustrated hand through my hair. “You’re going to have to help me out, Roslyn. Why the fuck would I hurt you?”

  That coldness moves from her tone to her eyes, making her suddenly look so dead and broken inside.

  “Because I’m the reason no one escaped for the last six months I was there. I’m the wolf who can track someone if I’ve had their blood. I’m the reason so many people were brought back into that hell, because I wanted the pain to stop. I stole their hope at freedom because I was so weak. Because I was so desperate to be out of that cell. Because I believed they’d kill me. But they never wanted me dead. I see that now. I’m a rare creature, and they�
�ll want me back. They want me back so they can collect the important ones—the other rare ones they need.”

  Holy fucking shit.

  My eyes widen, and she nods slowly, as if she’s letting me digest it all. Then she blurs to me, putting my hand back on her neck.

  “So kill me,” she whispers as tears run harder from her eyes. “Make it stop before they take me back. I’m too weak to do it myself. You wanted to kill Momma. She’s better than I am. Kill. Me.”

  Narrowing my eyes, I squeeze her throat enough to pull her to me, and I crush my lips to hers, holding her to me when she tries to pull away. When she whimpers against my lips and denies me access, I withdraw, wishing I knew how to redo that damn memory spell myself just so she wouldn’t have that in her head.

  My hand stays on her throat, and her tears continue to fall as my breaths come out heavily.

  “It wasn’t your fa—”

  “Stop!” she yells, turning away. “Don’t make it alright for me if you wanted to condemn her for the same. I deserve to die.” The last sentence ends on a whisper, and she turns to face me again. “So, for the last time, either kill me or leave.”

  She’s trying to rip my fucking heart out.

  “I’m not going anywhere! You’re upset, and I get that. It’s my fault you’re upset. But I’m not killing you, and I’m not leaving. Meet me in the middle, Ros. Please.”

  That same sadness clouds her eyes again. The tears have left her lips swollen and her cheeks red. She looks like a broken angel right now, and it’s destroying me.

  “You know how I really escaped?” she asks me suddenly, but she doesn’t wait for me to respond. “I didn’t escape the cell. No. They sent me after a blood starved night stalker—to kill it. It was too strong and escaped after slaughtering ten of their best men. They kept me under some sort of spelled collar, Thad. It forced me into wolf form, and I was their dog on a leash. All they had to do was snap their fingers, and I was forced to come back to them. I could taste freedom all around me when they sent me on a hunt, but I was still in a cage because of that collar.”