Page 27 of Hunted By Fear

I feel her, and I know for the moment she’s free. She needs comfort, probably craves it at this point, in the pockets of sanity, times where Rome isn’t trying to push her over the maybe not so metaphorical edge.

But I’m not the person to give it.

It would be so easy to fall prey to her; everyone else already has, but I can’t.

I told myself just that once, one night, to get her out of my system, and while I never expected to end up here, I know that I stand upon a very slippery slope, and one wrong move will have me submitting to her.

I release her, taking a step back away from the bed. It takes a moment for her to register what’s going on through her panic and blinding tears, but the second she does, she releases me, and that almost makes this worse.

“Please, don’t leave me alone…” she manages to croak out.

Aeri is good.

So good that, despite her discomfort and her need to be comforted, she would never force herself on someone. Without a word, she was able to understand that I can’t be that person for her and respected it.

The least I can do is respect what she asked of me.

I poof away, letting myself into Bast’s room, where he sits hunched at his desk, poring over a book. Or I’d thought he was. Instead, as I walk up, I find his face pressed to the pages, passed out.

I don’t bother waking him up; it doesn’t take a genius to know how deeply Bast cares for the mortal woman. I close the small distance between us and let my hand fall to his shoulder, gripping it tight so as not to lose it on the journey over. It wouldn’t be too terribly bad if I did. He is a demon after all, but it could take days to find him, and as it seems to be a common theme lately, time is what we have the least of.

I drop us back into her room, releasing Bast as he falls to the ground, only to spring back up and look around. I watch his brows pull in confusion before his eyes find her, and they instantly soften.

She sits in the middle of her bed, her knees bent up, arms folded on her knees, and her head buried in them. It’s obvious she’s trying to remain quiet, but with our hearing, I can still make out the soft sniffles, not to mention I can see the way her body shakes as she tries to pull in oxygen.

Bast is moving without a word, quickly crawling up the bed and scooping her up into his arms without a second's hesitation. For a moment, she appears as if she’s going to put up a fight, but enough of her mind is still present that she starts crying again in earnest when she sees his face, throwing her arms around his neck and snuggling into his chest.

“Thank you,” Bast says as he pulls her close, pressing his lips to the top of her head, whispering ‌sweet nothings in an attempt to calm her down.

I don’t answer; I have no idea what to say, but I need to leave.

The quick jump from one emotion to the next is giving me whiplash because I should be happy he’s there for her now, but all I can think about is how easily I could have done that myself.

Would it have had the same result?

She’s mine!

The table soars through the air before smashing into the wall, breaking into a bunch of pieces with satisfying cracks, but I ignore it as I reach for a chair and do the same with it.

I knew they had taken her even before I’d come to the house and smelled him.

Talian.

It was bad enough that the filthy demon had already put his hands on what is mine once; now, he’s come to my home and taken her as if he has any right to her.

I’d used every last favor I’d acquired over my very long life to ensure that my control over her mind would be unbreakable. The contract made her mine, but it didn’t make her want me. The whole reason she was with them to begin with was because she’d run from me.

At first, I’d enjoyed the chase, but it quickly became clear that this wasn’t going to work.

I hadn’t waited all these years to have someone, only for them to keep her from me.

No, I’d needed her to want to stay, and it had worked.

She was happy to be mine, and I was willing to do anything to keep her. I’d fucked it up the last time, but I wouldn’t again.

The kitchen is just as destroyed as the rest of the house, just as destroyed as I am with her gone.

But despite the way I ache for her, I know she will be back. I’ve ensured she will come back to me, craving me as I crave her.