Bad Nymph

by Jackie Sexton

  “Okay,” I said. “Shoot.”

  His face changed, contorting as though he were trying to find the right way to ask me something. “Well…I can’t read the energies pertaining to you and Bad Moon’s singer…”

  “Trent,” I interjected.

  “Trent. It’s just, I get all of these conflicting energies from you two…and you had mentioned a boyfriend before…”

  “I wasn’t talking about him. That was just some jerk I dumped back home,” I said, trying to sound nonchalant. But really, I was worried about what Aamir could see in our relationship. I didn’t even like to think about it—it was embarrassing and humiliating to think that anyone, much less the guy I had a major crush on, could pick up on our confusing vibes.

  “We’re just friends,” I added, even though I knew he could see through the flimsy cover-up.

  “And you were never together?”

  “Not really,” I said. I didn’t like talking about Trent with Aamir—it was uncomfortable, and thinking about Bad Moon made me feel guilty and anxious. The road we were on narrowed, and there wasn’t another car, building, or any other sign of civilization around. Just tall, ghastly trees hovering on either side of the road.

  “But he has chosen you,” he said softly, his words low but dark.

  “What do you mean?” A shiver ran down my spine.

  “It’s not really my place to say,” he said, his brows furrowing. I could tell he wasn’t pleased about something, and if it had to do with me, I was going to find out one way or another.

  “Tell me,” I demanded. “I’m not going to go along with your surprise unless you do.”

  He sighed, pulling the car onto a dirt road, tiny and bumpy, the tree branches hanging low, reaching out like spindly hands towards the car. I felt like it was the perfect place for a serial killer to take his victims.

  “He’s imprinted you, Bailey. He’s chosen you as his mate.”

  Suddenly, I could use Aamir’s calming powers. “No,” I said quickly. “There’s no way. I’d know something like that.”

  “Not if he didn’t intentionally do it,” he said quietly, parking the car in a small clearing.

  “That can happen?”

  “Yes.” He turned off the engine and stepping out of the car. I sat dumbly, running the word ‘imprint’ over and over again in my mind. What did that even mean?

  Aamir opened the passenger door to let me out, but if it weren’t for the surprisingly cool night air I wouldn’t have even noticed.

  “Come on,” he offered me his hand. “I brought you here for a reason.”

  I unbuckled my seatbelt and emerged, his warm hand in mine, the calming buzz overcoming me once again.

  “Look up,” he said, and I followed his pointing finger to the sky.

  I gasped. It was wonderful—an inky blackness covered in twinkling lights. More stars than I had ever seen in my entire life.

  “It’s beautiful,” I said, and he squeezed my hand. I watched the stars, amazed and entranced by their hypnotic twinkling. I laughed, unable to contain my joy.

  But something sharp and painful entered me, pushing away the bliss. It was hot, like fire. I looked to Aamir, but he had already dropped my hand and was facing in the other direction.

  I turned around to see that Gita was staring at me, her blue, piercing gaze cutting through me like daggers. She didn’t look away either. The fire turned cold, like it was burning everything in its wake and then leaving. I suddenly felt vacant and numb, like the air was being sucked out of my body.

  “Bailey!” Aamir yelled. But before I could respond that I was fine, that everything was alright, my knees gave out beneath me, and the last thing I remember seeing was two icy blue lights, threatening to take every last bit away.

  His body was moving fast through the night. It was hard and elegant, and his limbs pulled forward and then back, pounding against dirt and gnarled roots like it was all the same, all one. It was like I was floating above him, his brown coat glistening in the filtered moonlight through the trees so that it was lighter, almost gray, like his eyes.

  His eyes, the color of an impending storm.

  The wind howled, moving around his body and rustling through his fur, tempting and threatening, foreboding as he continued to pummel through the darkness. I could feel the trees crashing against each other in the air, whipping and snapping, making noises like disquieted ghosts. Ahead of him there was a spike of tall grass, and the sheen of the moon and stars against water, reflecting back up into the night sky.

  Cicadas sang out into the night, and there was the miserable croak of frogs and alligators, coming together in a cacophony fit for nightmares. There were small, foreboding plops into the water, echoing through the night and straight down into the heart.

  His heart. I could feel it. Heavy and loud as if it were pressed up against my ear. The sound grew, thrumming through my body, pulsing through my limbs and mind and torso with so much ferocity that I could hardly hear the noises of the night, so that I almost didn’t hear the snarling behind us.

  He turned, growling lowly at the beast behind him, smaller and with a darker coat. Her eyes were green, dark green, like wet moss. He took a step forward, his ears pressing down against his head as he bared his teeth, and she did the same, pulling her tail straight out behind her.

  ‘No,’ I tried to call out, but couldn’t.

  They circled their bodies around each other, their hideous growls competing in the ghastly wind. She lifted her body and he came rushing at her, and like terrible thunder, their bodies collided in a ear-splitting roar.

  ‘Stop!’ I tried to scream. But I had no voice, and all was lost in the vicious fight of the beasts. ‘Please stop!’

  I awoke in Aamir’s arms, orange light illuminating the side of his face. My neck was cold with sweat, and my shirt was sticking to my back.

  “Stop what?” he said, worry creased in his brows.

  “Trent,” I gasped. I sat up and tried to settle my thoughts. I caught sight of a lamp emitting a dull glow, sitting on a nightstand. I was back at the bed and breakfast, but it all felt wrong.

  I needed to see Trent.

  “How long have I been knocked out for?” I felt faint and drained. There was a dull thud in my head. I couldn’t stop imagining the snapping jaws from my nightmare, the saliva glistening with a haunting sheen.

  ‘Was it really just a dream?’ I wondered, dread pooling in the pit of my stomach.

  “A few hours,” Aamir said, handing me a bottle of water. I drank from it greedily, realizing for the first time how parched I was. The water dribbled down the sides of my mouth, but I could hardly be bothered with how insane I looked. Nothing compared with the itching anxiety growing inside of me.

  “I’ve been waiting here watching over you,” he said, stroking my head tenderly. Something inside me wanted to make me snap. I wanted to pull away, to scream. It was irrational, but I couldn’t help it.

  “You’re shaking,” Aamir noted, gingerly picking up my hand.

  I remembered a pair of cool eyes, draining every ounce of energy I had. I snapped my hand away, not wanting to be numbed by his calming powers.

  “What was that, Aamir?” I stood up slowly and he rose with me, offering me his hand, but I backed away. I couldn’t trust him. I was an idiot for ignoring my instincts.

  “What do you mean?” he asked, but I could tell from the way his hands twitched that he knew what I meant. A cool wind whipped through my body, and I shuddered at the memory of that soul-sucking force. It was like she was still inside of me. Haunting me.

  “Gita did this to me,” I said, trying to fight the tears in my eyes. “She made this happen. And don’t try to tell me otherwise because I’ll leave, I don’t care how. I’ll find a way.” I tried to keep the fear out of my voice, but I couldn’t fight the small tremor finding its way into my words, twisting them into a cowardly plea.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, and I wanted to scream.

  “What do
you mean you’re sorry?” I dug my nails into my palms.

  “I mean…dammit Bailey, that wasn’t supposed to happen. And I swear that won’t happen again,” he said, taking in a deep breath and closing his dark eyes for a moment. “Gita…made a mistake.”

  “How the hell did she even get there?” My voice was hoarse and shrill.

  “Please,” Aamir whispered, as if trying to lull me with his words. “I’ve talked to her. She was…she sensed an impure presence in you.” He said, saying the words slowly, as if he were testing them.

  “A what? So is Gita an empath?” I asked, the term feeling strange and sticky on my tongue.

  He hesitated. “No, she’s a nymph.”

  “So what does that mean?”

  “It means…she can do things like steal your energy.”

  I could feel my eyes growing wide in disbelief. But I knew he couldn’t have been lying. I felt it, like a stinging chill in my bone marrow. It was still there.

  “So why did she?”

  “Because…” he looked away for a moment, as if he were ashamed. “Because she can read my thoughts. And she felt Trent’s imprint on you through my mind.”

  My phone rang loudly, vibrating in my pocket. I was going to ignore it, but it was Sierra’s ringtone, and even if I couldn’t talk to her right then I needed to tell her to call me back. I needed to find a way home. “Hello?”

  “Bailey, it’s me. Hi. We don’t have time to talk but we’re coming to get you, we’re like, ten minutes away from Athens.”

  “What?” I said, sure I misheard something.

  “I tried to call you like forty times but you didn’t answer. I’m sorry, I’ll explain as soon as we get there,” she said, a strong sense of urgency and chaos in her voice.

  “Is everything okay?” I asked, my heart sinking like a stone in a pond.

  “Not really,” she said. I felt a strong invisible hand pull at my lungs, and suddenly I couldn’t breathe.

  “Okay, I’m at the Oconee Bed and Breakfast,” I said. She repeated it and then hung up with a curt, “see you soon.”

  “What’s going on?” Aamir asked, trying to close the gap between us.

  “I’m leaving,” I said, trying to keep the panic out of my voice. I didn’t care about nymphs and empaths anymore. I wanted to know what was wrong with Trent. I had the terrible feeling that my dream wasn’t just a dream.

  The memory of the wolves clashing against each other flooded my mind.

  “Wait, Bailey,”Aamir took my wrist, but I pulled my hand away. “Bailey, I know Trent chose you but it’s not safe. He needs to be with someone of his kind.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I seethed, my hands shaking as I shoved my laptop back into my backpack. I really didn’t know what he was talking about, but I didn’t care. With each passing moment, I felt more and more that something was wrong with Trent.

  “He imprinted you, Bailey. He chose you as his mate and he didn’t even consult you!” I avoided looking in his face. I didn’t want to understand what he was saying. It was ripping my mind in too many directions. “That means he was hiding it from you. He doesn’t have control over himself. He’s an animal.”

  “Please, stop it,” The pain racked my body and I couldn’t control it any longer. I fell down to my knees and wrapped my hands around my shoulders protectively. I was lost in a sea of hurt and murky thoughts, and all I could feel was the thundering echo of a voice, Trent’s voice, calling me. Weak and distant.

  ‘Bailey, please.’

  “I’m coming,” I murmured, bringing my hands to my face. I felt Aamir’s body dropped down next to me. He didn’t touch me, just stayed quiet for a moment as I shook violently.

  I turned my head to see that he was looking at me, his eyes heavy with a deep sympathy.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. His words were honeyed and beautiful, like he meant it. “I shouldn’t have been the one to tell you that.”

  I took a deep breath, trying hard to steady my thoughts. I didn’t know what to say, or who to trust. But at this point, if he wasn’t going to stand in the way of my leaving, I couldn’t fall apart. I needed to pull myself together.

  Trent needed me.

  “It’s fine,” I said, drying my eyes with the back of my hands. “I’m sorry I freaked out on you. But you’re confusing me with things I don’t really understand, and my friends need me right now…”

  “I understand,” he said, bringing a hand to my face and wiping away a tear sliding down my cheek. His thumb was warm, like it was carrying a small sun in it, running it along my cool flesh.

  “May I?” he asked, hovering his hand over my own. I hesitated, and then nodded, not sure what he was asking me. He picked up my hand into his own, and then placed his other hand onto of it, sandwiching mine between his palms. An intense heat grew in the center, radiating outwards and getting hotter, until I yelped.

  “Sorry,” he mumbled, pulling away his hands. I gasped. In the center of my palm there was a gold chain, with a small, jade-colored pendant in the middle, cut into a smooth oval.

  “Just know that I can’t give up on you. I’ll wait. I’m a patient kind of guy,” he said, a sad smile spreading across his countenance and breaking my already pained heart. I let the pendant fall from my hand and dangled it from my fingers, staring at the green rock in awe. It was absolutely stunning, with intricate gold wiring weaved around it, glittering even in the dull, incandescent light.

  “I can’t take this,” I said, looking up at him. I wanted it, there was no denying that. But I didn’t want to know how it could control my life, making me think about him with guilt and hurt every time I looked at it.

  “Please,” he said. “I’m not asking you to wear it. Just to keep it. Hide it away. But if you’re ever scared, or if you ever need help…”

  I nodded, confused, yet touched by the gesture. For the first time I realized it was possible to fear someone and want to kiss them at the same time.

  My phone rang and he smiled weakly, as if to express he understood I had to go.

  “Hey,” I said.

  “We’re outside,” Sierra said. Her voice was laced with tension. I stood up, my knees sinking into each other as I made my way over to my suitcase.

  “I’m coming.” I hung up the phone and slung my backpack over my shoulders. I paused, looking over at Aamir, confused and sad. I dropped the necklace into the front pocket of my shirt, and closed it with the small button. I could feel its heat press against my breast.

  “Goodbye,” I said hoarsely.

  “This won’t be the last time I see you,” he said, but there was a hint of sorrow in his voice. He stepped forward and closed the gap between us, lowering his head and taking me one last time, in a magnificent, mind-blowing kiss.

  Sierra pet my hair gingerly as I lay in her lap, spread out along the length of the bench seat of the van. Martin’s steady snoring was audible from the front seat. I was exhausted, entirely spent, but I couldn’t stop thinking about Trent.

  He was calling me. I just knew he was.

  “He’s okay, right?” I murmured for the millionth time. But I needed to hear it.

  “Yeah, he’ll be fine,” Brandon said, turning around in his seat. “We just needed to make sure you were safe.”

  There hadn’t been much said in the last hour, and I didn’t have the energy to question anything anymore. I just wanted to see Trent—I was sure the blanks would be filled in soon enough. But the way Brandon looked at me was strange. And when I studied him back, I could feel warmth seep back into my body. Suddenly, I saw a flash of Brandon on the phone. I could hear Trent’s voice on the receiver. I couldn’t make out what he was saying, but I knew it was him.

  Then as soon as it had happened, it left me.

  “Why did you come pick me up?” I said, not caring that Sierra was around to hear. If they hadn’t told her something by now, I would eventually. That was for sure.

  “Because, we told you. We don’t t
rust Aamir since the Arkansas House incident…”

  “That’s not true. Something’s different Brandon. You’re…everything around you is warmer,” I said.

  I wasn’t afraid anymore. I just needed to know.

  “We shouldn’t talk about this here,” he said, and I knew he was talking about Sierra.

  “I don’t care. Trent told you to come get me. I saw you on the phone with him, just now. And…he’s been calling me.” I pushed myself up off of Sierra’s lap and watched Brandon, felt the warmth flowing between us.

  “It’s actually happened,” he whispered, looking away from me for a minute.

  “What happened, Brandon?” I could feel Sierra tensing next to me.

  “You’re one of us,” there was a strange gleam in Brandon’s eyes, like he was happy and sad at the same time.

  “Take a nap or something, guys,” Nick said quietly from the driver’s seat. “We have a long trip ahead of us.”

  I curled up in Sierra’s lap again, but she didn’t touch me this time. Her hands stayed tense on the seat beside her thighs. Brandon’s gaze didn’t waver from my face.

  ‘It’ll be okay. Things are just different now.’

  He had said it in my mind. I should have been terrified, should have felt crazy. But it felt natural, hearing him speak to me like that. I simply nodded and shut my eyes and thought of Trent, wondering if he thought about me. If he knew where I was.

  The warm pendant in my shirt grew hot for a moment, stinging through the fabric and into my chest.

  Thanks for reading part three of the Bad Moon series! If you liked this ebook it would mean the world to me if you would lend it, review it, or recommend it! Sign up for my mailing list to receive updates on the upcoming novel, as well as exclusive access to story outtakes! You can also visit my website and twitter to see what I’m up to!

  Lots of love,

  Jackie