Page 113 of Inhuman Nature
The second he made it out of the soundproofed space, a series of almighty crashes sounded from the living room. He hesitated in the hallway at the foot of the main stairs. A feminine scream made his decision for him. Shaun couldn’t leave anyone alone who made a noise so anguished.
He sped back in, reeling at the whirlwind of destruction in the previously pristine room. In the scant seconds he’d been gone, almost every piece of furniture had been upended, and chunks of wood paneling from the walls littered the floor. Droplets of blood splashed every surface, more being layered on as Lawrence and Lynette fought. Their movement was so fast that Shaun struggled to follow it. Before he could step in, the crunch of bones and flesh rang in his ears.
Lynette stopped moving, as if frozen in place. Shaun took a step, but Lynette collapsed in on herself, her body turning to ash right before Shaun’s eyes.
Lawrence held Lynette’s heart in his hand, the organ becoming dust as he gave Shaun a placid smile.
“Well,” Lawrence said, ash billowing around him as he clapped his hands, “seems the territory is no longer hers to give away.”
Shaun backed up towards the door, but Lawrence appeared in front of him again.
Lynette had left her mark on Lawrence; his shirtsleeves were in tatters, bloody scratches visible along his arms, and his nose was red and swollen. It was so unlike his usual immaculate appearance that it sent Shaun even more off-balance as Lawrence reached out. His knuckles were split, a couple of his claws ripped and ragged.
Shaun had never seen Lawrence so dirtied.
Lawrence caressed Shaun’s face, smearing it with ash and blood. “I missed you, pet.”
Shaun didn’t dare move. He blinked once, twice, waiting for the moment when Lawrence would rip his heart from his chest too.
But Lawrence didn’t. He leaned down, tilting Shaun’s face up to meet him. His thumb pressed against Shaun’s lower lip, and Shaun shuddered. Lawrence used his claw to cut into Shaun’s lip before pressing a kiss there, soft and gentle. Shaun tasted his own blood, and let out a terrified whimper as Lawrence’s other arm banded around his back to pull them closer together. Shaun’s neck bent at an uncomfortable angle as Lawrence forced his tongue into his mouth.
Shaun’s eyes burned as tears threatened to fall. He choked when Lawrence’s grip on his jaw moved to his throat, claws digging into his flesh.
“You’re not as tarnished as I thought,” Lawrence mused when he stopped the assault.
Shaun dipped his eyes, lowering his lashes just how Lawrence liked. Instead of getting the reaction he thought it might, however, Lawrence chuckled. Shaun’s gaze shot back up.
“You think you can seduce me, Shaun?”
“I— No. I don’t.” Shaun flailed, trying to free himself from Lawrence’s grasp.
“You’re so obvious,” Lawrence said.
If Shaun had any colour in his face to begin with, he was pretty sure he’d have lost it all at that point. “No, I—”
“Be quiet, pet.” Lawrence shoved him against the wall,holding him there by the grip on his neck. “You know, I could have done worse to that boy who had the audacity to think he could take you from me. I’ve been rather nice to him whilst he’s stayed here. But that stops now.” Lawrence pulled Shaun forward and shoved him back again, Shaun’s head cracking against the wall.
Shaun’s legs went from under him when Lawrence let go, and he slid to the floor. Shaun lifted his head, dizzy and disoriented, to see Lawrence’s mouth twisting into a smirk.
“Lynette underestimated me,” Lawrence said. “I’m not going to make the same mistake with you.” He kicked, and Shaun’s jaw exploded with pain as it took the brunt of the hit. It sent him fully to the ground, and he lay there as Lawrence strolled out of the room.
To DJ. Lawrence had to be going for DJ, if he’d been telling the truth about him being in the house. Shaun dug his claws into the floor, dragging himself towards the living room door.
By the time Shaun managed to get himself out into the hallway, Lawrence was descending the stairs, an unconscious DJ over his shoulder.
“I did tell you he was close,” Lawrence said.
Shaun was so fucking tired. Tired of fighting. Tired of Lawrence’s games. Tired of pretending to be strong. “Please let DJ go,” he said, his jaw spasming in pain.
“No. It’s far too much fun keeping him and holding it over you.”
“I’m here. You’ve killed Lynette. The territory is as good as yours. You don’t need to keep him anymore.”
Lawrence stood at the foot of the stairs, a smile playingon his terrible mouth. “No.” He swung DJ’s limp body around, DJ’s head lolling backwards in a way that made Shaun’s stomach lurch. It exposed his neck—a neck wearing Shaun’s old collar.
The sight of it made him want to give up. But he couldn’t. Not when Lawrence had DJ.
“How did you get your vampires across Brighton so fast?” Shaun asked. He needed to stall for as long as it took Rake and the others to realise that DJ wasn’t out in the city. Playing into Lawrence’s love of talking about his favourite subject—himself—was the easiest option.