Page 36

Chapter Four

Jolie

I’ve been avoiding everyone for days and I know it needs to stop, so I decide to try my acting skills out. What better place to start than with Creed, the only one who can clearly feel my emotions?

Exiting Boston’s car, I make my way up the stairs and press the doorbell.

Creed startles me as he rips the door open, standing before me in just his boxer briefs.

Trailing my eyes down his sculpted body, I take in his pale skin covered in tattoos and note both his nipples are pierced. I nibble on my bottom lip as I let my eyes peruse every inch of him like he’s my next meal.

“If you want to keep staring at me, Tenshi, can we do it inside?” he asks with a smile.

He turns and my mouth falls open.

Creed’s entire back is a stunning, tattooed mural—an angel positioned dead centre with rays of light radiating down from between storm clouds. The angel is seated, looking down towards the ground at a graveyard where a hooded figure stares back up at her.

It’s absolutely beautiful.

I reach out and lightly brush my fingers down his spine, causing him to stop as a shiver works its way through his body at the contact.

“Is that her?” I ask in whispered awe.

“Yes,” he whispers back as he turns to face me.

I know she is me, or I am her—whatever way you want to look at it. But I’m not that white-haired girl anymore. “I am not her, Creed,” I implore, looking up at him.

“I don’t expect you to be.”

Pulling away, feeling too vulnerable right now, I clear my throat and take a step back. “I, um... just wanted to check on Laughn’s snakes. They meant everything to him.”

“They’re fine, but you can go check if you’d like.”

Nodding, I turn and head upstairs to Laughn’s room, twisting the handle and pushing open the door. Overwhelming grief hits me as I take a deep breath and step inside, his brimstone and ash scent hitting me full force. The room is just how it was the last time I was here: dark and only illuminated by the lights in the snake tanks.

“I miss you,” I whisper, looking over at his bed. I would kill to be back here with him, back when we spent the weekend together.

“Would you like some dinner?” Creed asks from behind me. I find myself nodding, and Creed leaves again without saying another word.

Standing here in his room, I feel comforted, like he is here with me, watching me stare at his death noodles. I hope Creed plans to look after them because there is no way I could actually feed them; Rathew is a good reminder of that. The damn rat lives like a king—a way better life than Laughn had planned for him.

After a while, I head back downstairs and find Creed in the kitchen, removing something from the oven. Taking a seat at the bench, I watch as he plates our food and slides mine towards me.

“What is it?” I ask, looking at the beautifully served dish.

“It’s a Japanese meatball and a salad.”

This is awkward, but he doesn’t push for conversation, so we eat in silence.

Mr Z said I should get to know them, work on finding a weakness. Even though I know it’s me, there has to be something more specific I can use as an advantage.

“What are your powers?” I blurt out, causing Creed to bellow with laughter. “What?”

“Tenshi, I’m not a superhero. I have no powers. I’m enhanced, if that’s what you’re asking—resistant to temperature.”

“Isn’t that dangerous?” I find myself curious. In my memories, I can pinpoint Hades and what they could do, but I don’t have a clear understanding of Zeus.

“It could be. I prefer cooler weather, but I can withstand any.”

“So, you could walk into a fire?”

“I could, but I wouldn’t because my skin would still burn. We may be enhanced, but something like that would take time to heal.”

“How would you know how long it takes to heal?” I gasp as realisation washes over me. “He hurt you before.”

Creed nods, a solemn look overcoming his face. “It’s not as bad as it sounds. The worst would have been the fire. I had to be wrapped up for weeks while my skin healed. You came to visit me, you would...”

“I would help change the dressings and put cream on you, I remember.”

Eating the last bit of meatball from my plate, I place my fork down, the clang of it hitting the stoneware echoing in the now silent kitchen. Creed stands from his chair and grabs our empty plates, placing them in the sink.

“Mr Z wants me to start training with you guys. Would you maybe take me in the morning?” I ask nervously, not even sure why I’m feeling this way. It’s not like I’ve never been around Creed before.

“Of course. You’re welcome to stay in Laughn’s room tonight. I can take you home after training so you can change for school.”

“I would like that.”

Creed’s phone buzzes and his brows furrow as he types back a response.

“Is something wrong?”

“There is a body coming in shortly.”

My eyes widen. A dead body.

I almost forgot that there is a damn morgue inside this house. “Can I see the morgue?” It might be morbid, but I’ve never seen one, and in reality, the only time I would I’d be dead.

“Sure, let me get some pants on and I’ll take you down.”

Creed walks out of the kitchen, leaving me to wait here for him. He comes back down a couple minutes later dressed in a pair of grey sweats.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. So help me, jumping him isn’t an option. You hate him, remember? I shake away the lust fogging my brain and follow him down a set of stairs to a metal door. He keys in a code and pushes the door open.

My scream pierces the air when I am startled by something moving in the corner of my eye. Creed almost falls over from laughter as he picks it up.

“What the fuck is that?” I screech. I thought Laughn was bad with his snakes, but this house just keeps getting weirder.

“This is a cat.”

“No way is that”—I point to the creepy-looking animal in his hand—“a cat. It looks like a naked mole rat or a ball sack, not a cat.”

“Well, he is a cat, and his name is Daddy Warbucks.”

“Why is this so-called cat in the morgue?”

“He spends most of his time down here, and he must have snuck in earlier when I was working.”

“Oh my god, I can see its balls!” I squeal, covering my eyes. “Kick it out!”

Creed shakes his head but locks the cat out.

I look around the room and it’s not overly big like what I thought morgues would be. There are twelve rectangular metal doors stacked against the wall, and I presume those are the fridges he keeps the bodies in.

“What’s that?” I ask, pointing to another door. It looks daunting, and I have a bad feeling I’m not going to like what it is.

“That’s the cremation chamber.”

“So that’s where...” I trail off, and Creed nods his head yes. I bite my lip to keep my tears at bay.

“One day, when you’re ready, I can show you how to do an autopsy.” Creed tries to change the subject, and thankfully, it works. My ears prick at the idea of watching someone get cut open.

“Can I cut them?”

“They’re already dead, so I don’t see why not. But you should go upstairs. The one that’s coming in will smell horrible; the body has already started to decompose.”

I cringe. “That sounds gross.”

“It is horrid, actually. The smell clings to everything and saturates the air. The longer it takes to get through the autopsy, the worse the smell gets. You don’t want to be inside this room until it’s gone.”

“That’s my cue then. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Creed nods and I let myself out, heading back upstairs. Sitting at the top of the stairs waiting is the damn naked cat.

“Shoo.”

“Meow.”

“Move, psst.”

He refuses to move, so I tiptoe past, but he follows me and meows again. Damnit, maybe the thing is hungry. Pulling out my phone, I google what these creatures eat. Don’t they need a special diet to stay bald or something?

“A low-residue diet. Do you know what the fuck that means?” I ask the hairless thing.

He just meows at me, so I check the fridge, finding on one of the shelves small containers labelled Daddy W.

Bingo.

I smile when I see he has his own cat meals set up like he is the damn king of England.

He weaves in and out of my legs as I walk to his bowl and dump the contents in. “I think I’ll call you Olly—Daddy Warbucks is way too weird.” A pat on his wrinkly head earns me a purr in return.

Washing my hands in the kitchen sink, I then make my way up to Laughn’s room, shutting the door behind me. I rummage through his drawers and find one of his shirts to sleep in, then I crawl into his bed and wrap myself up in his blanket. Laughn’s brimstone and ash smell is still so strong in his room; I swear it’s like he has been here the whole time. Unfortunately, I saw his dead body lying on the ground, so I know it’s just my hopes getting the better of me. It’s still early but I’m so emotionally drained that by the time I watch a few videos on my phone, I start to doze.

“Everything will be okay,” Laughn says, sitting on the edge of the bed, his fingers running through my hair. “I’ll always be watching over you.”

“I need you,” I whisper with a choked cry. “It hurts so much.”

Leaning over, he wipes the tears from my eyes with his thumbs. “I love you,” he whispers, pressing his lips against my temple.

My eyes snap open to find the room shrouded in inky darkness. The lights above the snake tanks have been turned off, making me wonder if Creed came in and that’s what woke me up.

My heart hammers wildly in my chest, thinking about how real that damn dream felt.

I would do anything to feel his touch again.

Rubbing my hands down my face, I find my eyelashes are wet—I must have been crying in my sleep. Wouldn’t be the first time since I lost them. I curl up into a ball and close my eyes again. Tomorrow is a new day, and it has to get easier eventually, right?

Sweat drips down my brow as Creed yells, “Again.”

“No,” I snap, ripping the boxing gloves off my hands and throwing them in his direction.

Every day, my anger grows to the point that I feel like an atomic bomb ready to detonate. I tried to connect with Creed last night, but after my dream, I’m just angry again. It’s a never-ending cycle I can’t seem to break.

I hate looking at them, hearing them, and damnit, I hate smelling them.

Forgiveness just isn’t something I can manage. How could they have so easily killed their brothers? Has their humanity been stripped from them so deeply that they can no longer understand a sense of family? I’m quickly realising this is my “team” now and I just have to deal with it. Deep down, though, I know this is all Mr Z’s doing, and he needs to be stopped.

“Are you ready to spread their ashes yet?” Creed asks.

His question comes out of left field and knocks the air from my lungs. I know we share a bond, one where he can feel my emotions and his presence unnervingly calms me. Yet every time I look at him, all I can see is Laughn staring back at me.

“I can’t,” I whisper.

I’m just not ready. Being here and seeing everyone involved hurts. I can’t escape them at home or at school, and now I have to train with them.

The large double doors to the training facility gym open and Kai walks inside. My brain is a jumbled mess, trying to understand what I’m looking at. He’s wearing a pair of quick-dry shorts, a button-up business shirt, and long white socks with crocs.

“Just no ,” I say, taking him in and shaking my head. “Go before my eyes need to be bleached.”

He looks down at his choice of clothes. “Oh. Do you not like my outfit?” he asks as he strikes a pose.

I chuckle as I flip him off, Creed taking my hand while I’m caught off-guard. “Tenshi o yurushite.”

My body locks up from the unwanted emotions coursing through me at the feel of his skin against mine. “Forgive you...? You killed your brothers.”

The doors open again, causing us all to look over as Trace walks in, and I use the distraction to move away. He also gives Kai a once-over and rolls his eyes. Creed and I turn back at the same time. His beautiful obsidian eyes sparkle with fury and turn deadly at the thought of me not forgiving him. He stalks towards me, and I continue to step backwards; while I want to think he wouldn’t hurt me, look how that turned out for Laughn and the others.

My back hits the gym wall, and Creed locks me in. “You need to get over it. This is our world. We are the predators, and you best remember that. Our brothers may not have had a chance to show you what we do, but you need to learn to trust us, or you’ll die out there.”

I laugh like a fucking hyena, hysterics kicking in. Clearly our moment last night was just that, a moment. “Do you think death scares me, Creep? Newsflash, it doesn’t. Up until a few weeks ago, I didn’t remember any of you. My life was a shit show, then I got my memories back. All the emotions from that were thrown into overdrive and then you ripped out five pieces of my heart. How can I recover from that?” Tears roll down my face as agony rips through me. Trying to keep my armour up is easier said than done.

“I don’t know, Tenshi,” he mutters as his eyes soften. “I just know what it’s like to lose your heart, and I don’t wish that darkness upon you. Don’t let it take your soul.”

“I have to get ready for school...” I look over Creed’s shoulder at Kai. “Can you take me home?” He nods, and Creed steps aside, letting me walk away.