Page 9 of Hazel’s Choice (A Monstrous World: Next Gen)

Chapter Eight

Hazel

M y head buzzes with the same pull of energy that radiates under my skin any time there’s a tasty meal within reach, and it makes it difficult to concentrate.

“So, how’s life with an incubus in the house?

” Greer asks, bouncing on the toes of her flats.

Her long pinkish-blonde hair falls over her face, and she shoves it behind her ear.

“Annex is great. We all love him. He’s super respectful for an incubus.

Not that they all don’t respect consent.

It’s one of the caveats of their species, but you know what I mean. ”

My head tilts.

She’s rambling.

That usually means she’s hiding something.

I’ve known Greer since I was a child. She used to babysit me and my siblings.

Violet and I aged rapidly, and by the time we were thirteen, we looked to be at least eighteen.

Our parents still forced us to follow societal norms set by the humans.

Although they did allow us to start dating at sixteen, they kept a strict eleven p.m. curfew until we turned eighteen.

Hell, they kept Greer around to babysit us until it was almost embarrassing. I didn’t mind nearly as much as Violet, but I like Greer.

Normally.

When she’s not trying to hide something from me.

“Why are you acting guilty?” I ask, planting my hands on my hips and trying to ignore the gnawing hunger.

Someone around here has piqued my monster’s interest, and that’s a bad sign.

I can’t feed in Black Cove. If I let my monster out, Zephyr and his sentinel buddies will be able to track my monster’s soul vibration.

A shadow teases out from my skin, darting toward the newly turned vampire.

Greer is half siren, but her shitty ex bit her, transforming her against her will.

When a human is turned into a vampire, the transition is almost always successful.

It’s much more complicated when transforming a supernatural.

The higher the percentage of supernatural DNA, the greater the chance the individual will die a painful death rather than being successfully transformed.

He was a reckless fool, but Greer lived.

I don’t even need to make contact with her skin to pick up on her guilt. She’s being deceptive about something.

“Me?” She points at her chest as her eyes bulge. “I-I’m not acting suspicious. I just came over to say hello.”

I almost laugh.

She’s always transparent, but I don’t believe she’s hiding anything major. In fact, there’s almost an excited energy simmering just under the deception.

“I just mean, Annex is hot, right?” She gives my shoulder a playful shove. “And easy to be around. Not to mention, you’re the only thing he talks about when we chat. He’s invested in whatever show the two of you are watching.”

My heart rate picks up.

“I like him too,” I admit. “He’s a very considerate roommate.”

“Just a roommate?” Greer asks. “It seems like he likes you a lot more than that.”

A pang of pure panic rips through my chest, and my instincts hum even louder. Something is going down that my monster wants a part of.

“Shit,” I hiss as my monstrous side fights for control.

“What’s wrong?” Greer asks, tilting her head.

“Nothing. I can handle it. Stay here.” I glance around, preparing to siphon. Just as I’m turning to smoke, Greer grabs onto my arm.

I have no choice but to bring her with me, even though I have no idea where we’re headed or where we might end up.

Greer wobbles as we land near the back exit of Chaos.

Lovely.

Directly next to the set of dumpsters.

The smell makes my nose wrinkle, but I have to act swiftly to block Greer?s mouth when she gasps. My hand lands over the bottom half of her face, and I tilt my head to follow her line of sight.

Gods.

A broken, bloody, male body lies on the concrete three feet away from where we landed.

My eyes transform into the void. It completely takes away the sclera, but it allows me to see the aura that surrounds someone’s soul, along with any soul ties they might have.

“Oh fuck, he’s dead,” Greer mumbles against my hand.

She’s not wrong.

There’s no way for me to determine what kind of shifter he is, but I can tell by the golden hue that makes up his soul.

He will resurrect.

Whoever beat the hell out of him didn’t opt for a killing blow.

His essence stands over his body, looking exceptionally confused. He’s not a ghost. The tether that keeps his soul and consciousness attached to the body wasn’t severed.

A woman screams, sobbing something that I can’t make out.

My monster urges me forward, but I get close to Greer’s ear. “Stay here. I’m going to siphon whoever that is back to you. You get them inside safely.”

I release her and frown at my feet.

These heels will make sneaking up on anyone practically impossible, so I turn to shadow. Certain beings can see me in this form, but they have to be highly powerful, and it’s rare.

It’s instinctual to know where I’m needed, and something deep inside me follows the terror. The mass of my energy stops at the edge of the bricks, examining what’s happening.

Okay.

So, three assholes.

That’s not undoable.

Although I will likely need to stop time.

Shit.

When I use that particular gift, it makes me ravenous. I’ll have no choice but to feed and fast.

Sometimes my magic feels like it’s just aching to get me caught.

Forming behind the men, I snap my fingers. It causes a time bubble around us that is actually quite small compared to what I’m capable of. The more energy I have, the larger I can make the pocket. It’s powerful magic that I try to avoid using.

My father, Wraith, also possesses the skill, but he’s had thousands of years to practice and hone the ability.

Whatever.

I don’t have time to second-guess myself.

I siphon to the woman, who is pinned to the wall with all three of the men surrounding her. She’s beautiful; likely a siren if I had to guess.

No one deserves to be treated this way.

My hand wraps around her wrist, and I siphon back to Greer. She’s frozen too, meaning my time stop bubble extended far enough to include her.

With multiple dangerous assailants only twenty feet away, I don’t want to leave them here. So I close my eyes and focus on Novak’s office. Greer’s mate owns the club, and he’s a powerful vampire. He’ll be able to watch out for these two while I’m busy feasting.

We land in front of Novak’s desk, and the vampire zips to Greer’s side.

“What the fuck?” he growls, pulling his mate into his arms.

I ignore him and focus on the traumatized woman. “Don’t worry. The man you were with will live. It wasn’t a final death.”

Her eyes widen, and she struggles against my hold, falling to the floor as she tries to get away from me.

Well, shit.

I forgot that my eyes are currently in demon form.

Spinning to Greer and Novak, I say, “Greer knows where to send security, but I’m starving. Give me five minutes.” I smile. “Please. There’s a shifter near the dumpsters. He’s innocent from what I can tell.”

“Matthew, he’s my mate. I need to see him,” the woman says, finally finding her voice.

“I won’t harm him,” I tell her over my shoulder. “The three who attacked you are another story.”

“Someone tell me what the fuck is happening,” Novak growls.

“I’ll handle it,” Greer says.

That’s all my system needs, and I siphon back, landing in the frozen bubble of time I created. I’m surprised it held while I wasn’t inside it, but it drained the last vestiges of my energy to hold the time pocket.

My monster rises to the surface, preparing to assess which of the men it wants to feast on first.

Only something terrible happens, and the bubble pops.

Fuck me.

I must be out of magic.