The executed, p.30
The Executed, page 30
“I’m not sure. Someone was frying something and I felt like I was going to be sick. But I think I wasn’t feeling well before that, so I don’t really know,” I rambled before my eyes began to burn with unshed tears. “Maybe I’m just upset he left me even though I expressed that I wanted him to stay.”
Could it really be as simple as not having him with me? All logic flew out the window. I felt raw. The past few days confounded me. From explosive spontaneous sex that threatened to break our furniture to fights of the same intensity the next minute. Our highs and lows scared me and I began to wonder if it had anything to do with our bodies having gotten used to fight or flight for so long, it didn’t know what to do with itself in a time of peace. When Reed placed his lips on my forehead, scalding tears fell into the sheets and I began to sob.
“It’s alright,” he whispered, holding me tighter, rubbing my back.
“But what if it's not?” I hiccuped, irrational thoughts and emotions swirling inside of me like a tempest.
“Why wouldn’t it be?” he asked as the temperature in the room rose. Or was it just me?
I shook my head, unable to explain what my gut was telling me. The foreboding that weaved its way into my pores like a living thing. Each breath it metaphorically took shook me to the core. What was it trying to tell me?
“I don’t know, Reed. I don’t know. I feel like I’m drowning but there’s no water,” I broke down as my emotional rollercoaster dipped and peaked, dipped and peaked. I shook, despite the sheet covering me, despite Reed surrounding me in everything. I shook and wiped my tears with the back of my hand until Reed grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him, making me sharply inhale in surprise.
The pools of his eyes reminded me of a hot summer day where the dry earth began to lighten under the sun. Talks of the western wastelands flitted through my head as I tried to remember who exactly said—
Reed covered his mouth with mine and I let out a sigh. His kiss pulled away my worries, my fragmented memories, forcing me to concentrate in the moment as he tentatively licked the seam of my lips without forcing his way in. Opening my mouth with each pass in invitation, he purposefully teased the tip of his tongue with mine and then retreated, making me chase him. His own body shivered as he pulled away and groaned against the top of my head.
“You torture me, Fitri,” he gritted out. “Every time you walk by, you take a piece of me with you. Every time I see you with him, envy becomes my demon—the harbinger of my downfall. You cannot comprehend the depths in which you’ve buried yourself into me since the day you knocked me on my ass during training so long ago.” His voice broke as his arms tightened and I felt myself choking with him.
In a perfect world, I wouldn’t have to choose. I wouldn’t have to feel this guilt as my stomach continued to churn angrily into a knot. But this world was anything but perfect. This world was everything that continuously goes wrong.
Reluctance in every movement, Reed pulled himself away from me completely and grabbed one of Eliseo’s boxers in his drawers before heading to the living room without another word passed between us. I despised myself then for doing this to him, for torturing him the way he described. I was undeserving. I shouldn’t pull him along, but I also couldn’t imagine life without him in it.
“Hey, is everything alright? Reed, where’s Fitri? She ran out of there like something was on her tail, man.”
“She’s resting in the bedroom. She needed to cool down quickly,” Reed replied and I could hear the couch springs creaking under his weight. My supplied an image of him raking his hands through his hair the way he always did as he rested his elbows on his knees, deep in thought.
“Why are you half naked?” Gunner asked slowly.
“She needed to wash,” he said with nonchalance and the couch creaked again.
“Okay…” Gunner crossed the threshold of the bedroom and looked at me with seriousness. “Fitri?”
Another sob escaped and he quickly came to my side, pulling me into his arms. Gunner’s scent makes me think of freedom in an open field, where this wicked world never existed. If there was truly a utopia like the rumors say to the west, it would smell like Gunner—peace, calm and serenity in the face of adversity.
“Take a deep breath, mi reina.”
I did as he bid and closed my eyes. Where was Reed? I was falling apart without Eliseo. I needed my found-family around me. “R-Reed?” I sniffed.
Immediately the bed dipped and both men had their arms around me, trying to hold my sanity together as I continued to take in their scent. I didn’t know how much time passed but my mouth went dry at their proximity, listening to the thrum of their heartbeats—this was the same reaction I had when Eliseo’s pheromones invaded my senses, driving me into carnal madness.
I was famished, my abdomen constricting with hunger. But wasn’t I sick a few hours ago? What was going on with me? The void was growing into a chasm as I began to ache fiercely. Groaning in pain, I shoved their arms away as my internal temperature spiked once more. Kicking the sheets, I tangled and fell onto the ground, trying to crawl away from their delectable scent but failing after a couple of feet, spasming in place.
“Fitri!”
“What the hell is happening?” Gunner asked.
“I don’t fucking know!”
My eyelids were heavy, I felt like my face was sticking to the floor as I forced my body to turn to my back so I could take in the breeze. But there was no breeze, just the guys rushing around me, trying to lift me back into the bed. Their hands were scalding and I screamed, another echo coming from Maxwell’s house.
“You all can go to hell!” he roared from his side, followed by a crash. How many things did he have in there to throw daily?
I laughed and cried, then deliriously moaned as vertigo set in.
“Stay with me, little iris,” Reed’s desperate voice cut in.
“Fitri, come on, mi reina. Open your eyes for me,” Gunner pleaded.
They tried to wrap me in the sheet but I whimpered and Reed cursed under his breath.
“Fucking nuisances!” came Maxwell’s next scream. “The ground needs to open up and swallow you all whole!”
What he didn’t realize was… it felt like I was already there.
22
ELISEO
Electricity ran through me, incapacitating me for the next few minutes as my veins felt like they were being melted from the inside. The gawking eyes of spectators made my skin prickle as they murmured between each other in my haze. I snapped my head up when one of them mentioned my name, pointing in my direction. Grinning, I took in his scent and my mouth watered. With inhuman speed, I slammed into the metal bars of my cell only to be electrified again, sending me spasming on the ground of their stone prison.
Built beneath Silverforge was an intricate dungeon that housed not only myself, but what looked like other bloodsucking prisoners kept for experimentation. It wasn’t Healer Pata down here, but the Chieftain as he spoke in hushed whispers with the rest of the men from the outing… minus Cameron.
I let out a raw laugh as I could still taste his life force on my tongue. I was delirious from the taste, wanting the rest of these fools to step a bit closer so I could have my fill.
“He’s rabid,” one of the men stated with repulsion.
“All the better to keep him for observation. We’ve never been able to witness a newly made—”
“That’s just the thing!” the next man hissed. “He wasn’t bitten!”
“How is that even possible? All evidence points to newly made vampires needing to be given the venom by the selected host,” came the Chieftain’s calm voice.
Oh, if only crazy Otis could see me now. He’d have the time of his life here, especially with their sophisticated tools and shit.
They pulled my blood and I broke the guy’s arm, stabbing him instead and injecting him with it. He foamed at the mouth and smelled rancid as I tackled the next guard who tried to take me down. It took five men to throw me behind these bars and the ache in my muscles gave me life. I was beyond invigorated. This was the high I was searching for. It was as if everything fell into place and a new calm overtook me.
But fuck was I desperate to sink my cock into Sili. I twisted onto my hands and knees, staring at them all, watching their every move as if they were prey. They thought to keep me away from what was mine? I snarled with vehemence, leaping toward the bars but stopping an inch away, making the closest man stumble against the next.
I felt my eyes flick at inhuman speeds, cataloging everything in the room, every tool, every sound, and every rattle of chains from the other cells. Oh, this place had an arsenal of weaponry, all hidden beneath the ground. They portrayed themselves as a happy village for all to see, but the truth was in front of us the entire time.
I wonder how many of the residents knew and how many of them were brainwashed into thinking their lives were nothing but pleasantville. Simply knowing that Healer Pata, a woman who carried a lot of authority above ground wasn’t here… told me everything.
“We can’t trust him. He’s lost all humanity after his first bite. I saw it with my own eyes!” one of the soldiers spat.
I slowly stood and never took my eyes off him. “Yet you dare stand here and say you were unaware you had a bloodsucker among you, leading you,” I argued, before letting out a humorless chuckle. “Pathetic.”
“What is he talking about?” the Chieftain questioned. “Who was the bloodsucker?”
“It’s all lies, sir. It’s not like Cameron is here to answer. If Cameron was a bloodsucker, wouldn’t he have survived the fight with this guy? What he’s saying doesn’t make any sense. He’s just trying to divide us from the inside!”
Dennis, my mind supplied. That was the idiot’s name. Older brother to Daniel, the young guard we met the very first day. Guess it hurt their parents to think too hard over names.
“And what do you propose we do then?” came the Chieftain’s voice as he rested his chin in his fist, staring in my direction. I blew him a kiss and mentally noted how his pulse raised in fear despite his stoic expression. He was an idol here, the one who held the power of persuading the people that this was a utopia under his thumb. It was no wonder the younger generation admired him like a higher being, willing to swallow down anything he fed them.
The politics in this place was so deeply interwoven with all the supplies they produced. I began to understand exactly why none of the clans have invaded Silverforge. If anything was to be learned from the experience we went through with the High Father, there was trade happening somewhere, somehow underneath everyone’s noses in order to keep the false pretense of peace.
“We bring some of the old ways back,” Dennis blurted.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m sure you heard the tales, seen the history drawings of the crucifixes, Chieftain.”
“Those were the days of barbarism, Dennis. We’re much beyond that. There’s no point in going backward when we’re already ahead of everything.” There was so much to unpack between those lines as I listened intently, flitting my eyes between the two conversing.
“There’s a power in making examples, chieftain. It will reiterate what you’ve established here,” he compelled with his choice of words before turning to glare at me over his shoulder. “A life for a life. Eliseo must be marked for execution.”
REED
I watched her fitfully sleep, calling out his fucking name again and again.
I wanted to kill him, if not for her, for myself. Both contrition and apathy warred within me. I followed Eliseo’s leadership for well over half a decade and despite our differences and occasional clashes, this was the first time I was willing to put my loyalties aside. It was his fault. I saw his remorseless face… and I saw hers—the shell of herself after he left.
He was unhealthy for her. I probably was unhealthy for her. But consequences be damned, I wanted her like my last breath.
Gunner was back in the kitchen, keeping the residents away from what was happening here by pretending it was just another day. He was reluctant to leave her side just as much as I was but logic won during our plan of action, and I wasn’t ashamed to admit I manipulated the solution in my favor.
My fingers trailed across her naked arm, watching as goosebumps rose in reaction. She knew I was here. I was always here, savoring the way she never pushed me away despite knowing how Eliseo feels about me around her. As much as we both fought it, it was futile.
Leaning in, I ran the tip of my nose across her shoulder, taking in her unique scent and judging her temperature by my touch. She was hot again and my mouth watered over the image of her soaked from head to toe.
You’re a bastard. Let the woman sleep in peace, my mind scolded me. I gritted my teeth and slowly pulled back, crossing my arms to prevent me from wrapping them around her again.
Yet, the way she called my name… begged for my return to her side to keep her from falling apart. My cock rose as I ran my hands through my hair, jerking it from my scalp as punishment, letting the pain ground me in rational thinking. My demons locked horns inside of my mind as I locked my jaws in frustration, irritation, and resentment toward her for choosing Eliseo… toward Eliseo for forcing her to choose him.
My eyes burned as I leaned forward on my knees, sitting here in his damn boxers, watching her body rise and fall from her breaths. Did I make her pulse as frantic as she made mine? Some days I swore my eyes sharpened back and forth when my gaze was upon her, noticing little details I never saw before—like the light dusting of soft freckles that gathered on her tanned shoulders.
The way her eyes would dart to my flesh in hunger. Thoughts of her teeth grazing across my skin as the heat of her breath hits my neck, makes me shiver in a blazing desire that robs me of air. Taking a shuddering breath, my knuckles cracked from the tightening of my fists.
Where the fuck was Eliseo and why wasn’t he back yet?
Samuel came by with Remi earlier, making sure our girl was alright. He planned on keeping an ear out around town to see if there was any buzz on the return of the outing crew. It gave him a good excuse to exercise and keep his muscles and recovery going while still getting something done.
I leaned back in the chair and pulled my eyes away from her form, staring at the ceiling then casting my gaze out the open window. In a different world, Fitri wouldn’t have to choose between a bunch of assholes.
Unlike Eliseo, I was willing to compromise to a certain extent if it meant I could have more of her to myself beyond the relationship we had established in regard to us as a whole team.
“Please.”
I leaped from my chair and was at her side the second it left her lips. “What do you need, little iris,” I whispered against her, scooping her into my arms.
She sobbed and wrapped her scorching arms around me, threatening to burn us both with her internal fire. What was going on? This couldn’t possibly be from her distance with Eliseo. This had to be something beyond what we could physically see.
When she moaned and licked along the crook of my neck, the action forced all the blood between my legs as I shifted her into an awkward seated position on the bed with one of my legs hanging off the edge, trying to combat my dizziness.
“Tell me what you need,” I encouraged with a choke, rubbing my hand down the slope of her back, feeling her curves and mentally dying from her nakedness pressed against me.
“You smell so good. I’m so hungry, Reed,” she cried, fighting her natural instincts. I wasn’t a fool who allowed denial to cloud my reality. She was changing, always had been. Was this another part of it? I had seen it in the way Eliseo grew possessive, the way he gravitated around her. She was pulling us all into her orbit and the way my mouth watered in response to her taking blood from me told me all I needed to know.
Grabbing the back of her neck, I shoved her face against me and gave her access to me. She fought against my hold, trying to pull away and I growled, nipping the lobe of her ear to put her in her place.
“If you don’t drink from me, little iris, you’re going to be punished,” I panted, desperately wanting both despite her decision.
She moaned in pleasure, molding against me as if becoming one before her lips moved and fangs sank into my flesh, throwing us both to our sides from my lightheadedness. Every pull of her mouth made my cock weep as my body convulsed against her aggressive ministration. She straddled me to keep me laid out like prey, her the elegant predator in her element. I savored her dominance, willing to submit as long as it made her crave me. My hands roamed across the globes of her ass, forcing her hips down to either give me reprieve, or torture me for my purposeful transgressions. Each prick of pain from her forceful feeding made me want to release right against her inner thigh.
When her tongue swirled around the wound, it throbbed as if wanting to answer the call of its mistress.
“R-Reed? Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” she stuttered, coming back to herself from whatever delirium that influenced her decisions. My chest constricted as she leapt off me, and scooted back as if wounded against the pillows.
“It’s fine,” I assured her. “Don’t worry about it. I didn—”
“What’s wrong with me, Reed? What if I can’t control myself? I didn’t mean to take so much from you. What if I can’t stop myself next time?” she rambled beneath hiccups of tears and an irrational rage began to boil beneath the surface of my skin.
I shot to my feet and began to aggressively pace in the bedroom, pulling at my hair in exasperation.
“I said, don’t worry about it, Fitri! Fuck!” I roared, my vision shrinking, my focus entirely on her as if she hung the fucking moon and stars. “I bet you never say any of this shit to Eliseo when you drink from him. But me? Why me? What’s wrong with me, Firti? Am I not good enough for you?”
