Page 61 of Shadows Within

“Me.”

One final thrust finishes us both. My vision clouds as he lets go of the belt. His warm liquid slowly runs down my leg.

I’m so weak, I can barely hold myself up. Just before I fall onto the bed, he wraps his arms around my hips and holds me up. There’s something delicate about it.

“I may be a monster, but you tame the beast inside of me.” He kisses the top of my head and pulls us toward the headboard. I wonder if this is the closest thing he’s ever felt to love.

I roll over and rest my hand on his chest, catching my breath as I drape my legs over his.

His face looks like he’s somewhere else in his head and not here, beside me.

“Are you okay?” I ask. He looks down at me and strokes the hair out of my face.

He stares at the ceiling and sighs, like he’s about to tell me something he’s been fighting with.

“I overheard some of the pledges talking about wanting to take advantage of you. I didn’t know you at the time, and it was well calculated, it always is. But then I saw you, and I knew I had to do something.”

What’s he talking about?

“I was by the pool. You were wearing a black bikini top with shorts. Your hair was a bit longer, almost all the way down your back. But it wasn’t your beauty that I was drawn to, it was how you studied everyone around you. I knew that you were better than us, better than this.”

He knows?

Blood drains from my face as I recall that part of the night, four years ago.

“Do you remember any of it?” He asks.

The pain in his eyes matches mine.

“I swear Scarlett, if I knew, I would’ve done more to try and stop it. I should’ve done more.”

“You know?” I’ve tried to block that night out so many times. Nothing about this feels right. I push off him.

“I tried—fuck.” He sits up and runs his hands through his hair, like he does when he’s worried.

His eyes turn a dark shade that I’m not familiar with.

“They were all dealt with. I took my time and made them pay a debt they’ll never be able to fully get rid of.”

“Was this the first time something like this happened? Why did they do it?”

“You need to understand, The Society won’t stop. It’s a business, everything is a transaction. They will do anything that they want without much justification.”

A transaction. His words strike me—they don’t feel soft.

“Do I know them?”

His shoulders tighten. I must.

“You know of them, but you never have to worry about the one mother fucker who chose you.”

I close my eyes and transport to that night once again. The smell of sweat and alcohol floods in. I’m not sure that I want to know more.

“He’s still around, but he doesn’t have his eye on you anymore. He was power hungry and shouldn’t have been there.” Callum’s eyes tell me so much that he can’t.

“I’m sorry,” he says. It’s raw and deep.

Now is not the time to find out more about The Society, even though I need to know. I can tell that this has been eating him alive and I don’t blame him. He’s helped me in more ways than he knows.