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Sabbath punched the tree and whirled around.

“Because it was the only way to save you!” I gasped.

“I spent so much time with you that I became reckless. I let my guard down to let you in, and they took advantage of it. I was a fool to think I could outrun any of them! The church? My mother? It didn’t take long before they all found me.

It wasn’t until my mother and I saw your family that we realized who your stepfather was.

” Tears filled my eyes as they did his. “I didn’t know!

But when she found out—when she saw him so happily married and moved on in life…

When she saw Ozzy.” My heart ached as he said his name.

“Fuck, something changed in her, Rosie. She—she fell into that darkness and never came back. And when I saw my father with your mom, so happy and smiling, it fucking broke me. Every lie and rumor I’d ever heard about him fell into my heart, and I believed it.

All of it.” He wiped his eyes. “That same day, the church dragged me back and threatened to punish my mother for my behavior. For running away. They declared my father a traitor to the religion and sentenced him to death. My mother and I were also labeled traitors and would’ve died had I not told them it was my fault.

All of it. I took the blame and told them my father left because of me.

Because I was weak. Because I made him question everything and lacked the faith my mother was born with.

You should’ve seen their faces. I was always a disappointment to them, to my mother.

But that day… That day I was branded a mistake.

Especially to my mother. The church wanted to kill me, but my mother wouldn’t allow them.

She said it would be a waste of pure blood and the very thing we worshiped.

” Sabbath scoffed and shook his head. “To think my blood is the reason I’m still breathing.

After that, the church gathered and presented me with a choice.

” He wiped his face. “A choice I didn’t want to make. But I had to.”

“What choice?” I asked. Sabbath stood tall and looked at me with dead eyes. “What choice?” My voice cracked and mixed with tears.

“Save my father and his son from their new, wicked family, force them back into the clutches of the church, and kill the others. Or, cleanse the Batista family name altogether. Burn it down until there was nothing left.” He tightened his jaw.

“As much as I hated him, I couldn’t bring him back there to that evil.

Either of them. I may not have known him, but Ozzy was my brother too, Rosie.

And I couldn’t imagine him living a life like mine.

I couldn’t. And I couldn’t bear the thought of losing you. So, I chose you, Rosie.”

I shook my head and tears flowed down my cheeks.

“Why?” He slowly walked in my direction.

“No. You shouldn’t have. You should’ve saved them!

You should’ve saved our brother! Say what you want about our parents, but Ozzy didn’t deserve that!

” Sabbath stopped directly in front of me. “He was just a kid! He was innocent!”

He grabbed my face. “No one is innocent in this damn world. And if I didn’t do what I did, they would’ve done a whole lot worse.

” He pulled me to my toes as I gasped. “I did them all a favor and ended their lives quickly. They didn’t suffer.

And I burned that house so the church could never touch him.

Any of them. I did what I could to protect you.

All of you.” My hands scratched his arm as he held me.

“And that scar on your back, as painful as it may be for you to face, it’s the only thing keeping them from touching you.

” My eyes widened. “I didn’t just bind our souls that night in the basement, Rosie.

I made you mine, body and soul. That scar is proof of our blood oath.

It’s how I can find you, how I can slip into your dreams and whisper into your mind.

How I keep the church from ever coming for you.

We share the same darkness, Rosie.” His words were scaring me.

“And because of our blood oath, they can never touch you.” He leaned in close and licked my tears. “Only me.”

Sabbath slammed his mouth against mine and he kissed me with such raw force.

I tried to push him off, but I could barely stand.

So, I clenched my teeth and bit him. His blood seeped into my mouth, and he growled before he reluctantly pulled away and dropped me.

I coughed on his bitter blood and crawled backwards.

Sabbath wiped his mouth and smiled, exposing his blood stained teeth. “There’s my spitfire.” He licked the blood from his hand and stared at me. “God, I fucking missed this.”

Not me.

I shot to my feet and began to run away.

Sabbath laughed loudly behind me. “You can’t hide from me, Rosie.

” I sprinted through the trees while branches scratched my face and limbs.

I could hear Sabbath singing in the distance.

His voice overshadowed my rapid breathing and danced through the woods as it surrounded me.

The wind picked up and those same whispered chants returned.

They intertwined with Sabbath's song and wrapped around me like a snake. I tried to shake the strange sensation off, but I couldn’t.

It was as if the words and whispers were piercing my flesh and crawling beneath my skin.

I couldn’t outrun them and felt them all over me.

They were so intense that I had lost track of where I was even running to and found myself lost in the woods.

“Shit.” I had to stop. My heart nearly jumped out of my chest, it beat so fast. I slunk forward and placed my hands on my knees as I tried to catch my breath. “Fuck,” I groaned. “Where am I?” At that moment, I noticed Sabbath had stopped singing.

I did it. I finally outran him.

And immediately, a sudden pain pierced my back.

I cried out in pain and realized where it was coming from.

It was my scar. I groaned loudly. “Not this time, Sabbath.” I started to head in a specific direction, hoping it was the way back to camp.

I wasn’t even afraid at this point. I was just angry. And I just ran.

Sabbath’s laughter quickly shadowed me, and I could tell he was close.

“You can’t hide from me, Rosie!” I didn’t care if I got lost. Now, I just wanted to outrun him.

“Go on and run as fast as you can! You can’t hide from me.

I’m going to find you. And when I do, I’m going to make you fucking scream, spitfire!

” I bolted through the trees as he laughed again.

The chase went on for what felt like hours but was probably only a handful of minutes.

I couldn’t push through much longer. My body was beginning to feel off.

Something weird was creeping in my veins and left me grasping for sanity.

I wondered if the blunt I shared with Sabbath. Maybe it was laced or?—

Sabbath suddenly appeared in front of me, and I ran straight into him at full force.

Our bodies hit the ground and rolled a bit before we hit the base of a tree.

Instinct took over and, despite how I felt, I quickly crawled to my feet.

I ran ahead for a few minutes and noticed a strange light that seemed to be glowing from the depths of what seemed to be a cave.

I aimed for it, hoping someone would be there, but it wasn't long before my legs were pulled from beneath me. I fell forward and was instantly dragged backwards, away from the light. My head looked over my shoulder to see Sabbath dragging me away. He was shirtless, his camp t-shirt tossed over his shoulder, and he was grinning. “I’ve waited years for this moment.” He laughed.

“Oh, I feel so alive!” My hands clawed at the dirt, but it was useless. He was too strong.

I whipped around onto my back and broke a leg free to kick at his chest. Sabbath only swatted my feet away and pinned me to the ground.

His hair swept along my face as he ran his tongue up my neck and along my ear.

“I caught you,” he rasped. “And you know what that means.” He bit my earlobe with a low growl.

Sabbath pulled away and sat up as his knees straddled me.

He let go of my arms and gripped my neck as he shortened my breath.

I tried to peel his hand away, but he remained still with a sinister grin.

His blood was smeared across his mouth and chin from me biting him earlier.

He was shirtless and sweating, which only made his chest glisten in the bleak glimpses of moonlight.

He didn’t look human, he looked like a fucking animal. And I was his prey.

“Let go of me,” I strained. Sabbath ran his free hand up my leg and along my inner thigh.

The sensation I felt was conflicting. I liked what he was doing, but I was also against it.

I didn’t know what to feel. It was as if part of me was reaching out and begging him to keep going, while another screamed to get away from him.

My head ached as the two fought within myself.

Sabbath seemed to enjoy the chaos brewing within me and continued to touch me.

“What is wrong with me?” I shouted through clenched teeth.