Page 52 of Little Wing
“Lotus, the barn is locked—hold on! I’ll get something to break it. Please hang on!”
My nostrils flared at the surge of heat I detected just beyond the barn doors. I recognized the scent immediately. Cedar, spearmint, and the unmistakable aroma of warm flowing blood. Wesley was beyond those doors and each huff and groan that I heard left my vision feeling hazy. I was losing sight of myself, losing myself to the creature that begged for the crimson fluid.
I longed to suck it, slurp it, bathe in it.
“No,” I rasped. “No, Wesley… you must leave!”
“Hang on, Lotus!”
Could he not hear me? I touched my lips and helped myself up to my feet. My body ached to reach the doors, but I could feel my control slipping.
“No, Wesley… please… please you must go,” I pleaded, feeling tears spilling from my eyes. But as much as I begged, it did not stop the doors from flying open, revealing the man from the other side. His amber hair was slicked back, and the sleeves of his riding shirt were rolled up over his forearms. He looked panicked and relieved all at once as his eyes darted to me.
“Oh, Lotus,” he cried out, rushing to pull me into his arms.
I trembled as I held my breath, trying as hard as I could to suppress the intoxicating aroma of his blood. The relief and safety that I used to feel in his arms was replaced with hunger that overpowered everything.
Wesley pulled away to look me over. With the way his eyes grew wide, I knew my makeup was all but gone and my true form was on display for him.
“Who did this to you? I need to get you to a healer. You look ill, my love.”
“M-My… my love,” I whimpered, touching him, feeling his pulse pounding like a beautiful song beneath his skin. It sang to me, called for me. “You are my greatest love, Wesley.”
“Of course, Lotus. Of course. Now, come on. You need medical attention.” As he moved to pull me after him, I did not budge. And when he turned, I pulled him back into me.
My ears buzzed with nothing else but the rhythm of his heart pounding in my head. I could not escape it. With tears in my eyes, I squeezed his wrist tighter.
“I am so sorry, my love.”
Wesley looked down at his wrist long enough to make the fatal mistake of revealing his neck to me. In one swift movement, I yanked his head to the side and plunged my fangs into his neck, piercing the artery that sprayed his delicious life into my mouth. My eyes lit up with a hunger that amplified at the first taste of human blood, of his blood.
There wasimmediate terror as he fought to throw me off him, but I sank my fangs deeper into him, gulping down mouthfuls of him. Despite the tears that smeared the blood on my face, I could not stop.
“I am so sorry," I whimpered against his skin, and he soon felt chilled beneath my touch. When I looked him in the eyes, they were lifeless. The joyful spark I fell in love with—gone.
“I am so sorry.” It was all I could repeat.
I clutched him against me as he could no longer hold himself up. And as gently as I could, I lowered the lifeless body to the ground. Despite how heartbroken I was, I resumed my feast, savoring every drop that he gifted me. His stolen life would not be in vain. With blood-stained lips, I planted my mouth against his, hoping for even a hint of residual warmth. My last bit of the man I loved so completely.
When I finally pulled away, I noticed the black scuffed boots standing beyond my fallen lover. I did not need to incline my gaze to know that Luca stood before me. I could sense his presence. My blood called out to his, like a tether, forever linked. Like a prisoner linked to its master.
“Clean this up,” he demanded, nudging Wesley’s limp arm toward me. “We leave tomorrow.”
Each day since the incident at Little Wing, I watched my phone flood with messages from Silas. Messages that I didn’t have the heart to read. In my mind, I still had the image of a man who looked at me with adoration in his eyes. What if his messages aimed to shatter that memory?
While I teetered between picking up my phone and throwing it out the window of the apartment, Kait helped seal my final decision after she came home from work and told me she saw Silas. Or rather, Silas demanded to speak to her.
Silas wanted to know if I was safe. He wanted to see me. He wanted to meet me at my apartment where he knew I would feel safe. When I finally listened to his voicemails and read his messages, I felt my heart ache at how much I missed him. Hiding always came easily to me. I was expected to do it when I was with my brother and then when I worked to conceal who I was. But knowing that my brother was truly somewhere near Fairhaven, I allowed rage to simmer inside me. Too much of my existence was dictated by Luca and I’d had enough.
After nearly a week at Kait’s, I made the decision to finally leave and face whatever storm was on the horizon. I showered, put on a knee-length floral dress that Reina dropped off for me, and even putmy hair up. It was just a few hours before sundown, but it was overcast enough where the sun would only make me feel fatigued. I was going to meet Silas at his house instead of my apartment. I thought that if I would leave early enough, I could catch him before he left. I knew he wanted to meet me at my apartment, but after disappearing, I thought it would be best to meet him on his turf. An olive branch after the craziness since we last saw each other.
“You sure you don’t want me to drive you?” Kait asked, pouring herself a cup of tea. “You usually don’t head out this early. Plus, Silas did mention he would be heading to yours at sundown, right?”
I threw on a light sweater and grabbed my crossbody bag before walking to her. “I’ll be alright,” I assured her. “I’m just really grateful you let me crash here for so long. I admit it was longer than I anticipated, but… thank you.”
“Any time. You always have a safe space here. Look, if whatever happens doesn’t happen how you want it—” Kait stepped from her kitchen and wrapped her arms around my shoulders, holding me close against her chest. “You come right back here and we’ll board up the windows and doors. We’ll keep you safe.”
I held onto her, feeling the security in the warmth of her touch. The last week was spent in the company of the two women who made me feel joy in being able to trust someone. Reina and Kait listened to me and believed me when I told them my story. Even if others still longed for my death, at least I had my family beside me. Even if I did die, I would feel comfort in knowing there were people who didn’t see me as a monster.
