Page 59 of White Hot Kiss
Stepping back, I held my injured hand to my chest and, well, my chest ached for a whole different reason. I stared at the light as it continued to spread throughout the house, basking everything in its warmth.
I couldn’t go into the light. Not now and probably, not ever.
Harsh tears stung my eyes. I turned away then, grabbing my book bag from the now-empty kitchen, and left the house before the Alphas grew tired of my presence and took the choice of leaving from me.
Sitting on the stupid observation deck, I stared down at the screen on my cell phone and let out a juicy curse that would’ve burned the ears right off the Alphas. Dusk had fallen and tiny stars were starting to peek through.
Zayne hadn’t answered the first two times I’d called a half an hour ago.
Glancing down at my hand, I frowned at the bright pink skin on my fingers. Only I’d be dumb enough to try to touch heavenly light.
I reached around my neck and tugged on the chain so that the odd stone dangled just below my fingers. Smoothing my thumb over the jewel, I wasn’t able to stop the shudder of repulsion. I wanted to rip the ring off the chain and toss it into the bushes. I almost did, but when my fingers curled around it, I...I just couldn’t do it. Even if my mother was the Lilith, even if she hadn’t wanted me, I couldn’t throw the only thing I had of hers away.
Pushing my backpack aside, I wiggled through the opening and climbed down the boards nailed into the trunk of the tree.
After calling Stacey and getting no answer, I got a quick text back from her saying she was at the movies. Envious, I kicked a thick root breaking through the ground and I did it again—called Zayne.
The phone continued to ring several times and Zayne still didn’t answer. I cut the call off when his voice mail picked up. My heart rate kicked up, like it did every time he didn’t answer. Maybe it was a bit psycho stalker-ish, but even as mad as he was at me, he had to know that I was basically camped out in the damn tree house until someone remembered to call me.
Five minutes went by and I tried him again, hating myself for it. Because seriously, I was slipping into that desperate land again, the one inhabited by girls who made fools out of themselves over boys—boys who didn’t want them or couldn’t have them. My stomach was flopping all over the place, like it had last night, right before I said all those stupid, stupid things.
After the second ring, the call went straight to his voice mail.
What the...?
My stomach stilled—I stilled.
Everything around me seemed to go quiet as I listened to the automatic voice mail picking up. Numb, I pressed the end-call button and slowly lowered my hand. He’d sent me to voice mail. He’d actually sent my call to voice mail.
Who knows how long I stood there. It probably would’ve been much longer if I hadn’t heard the twig snap behind me.
Whipping around, I felt my heart drop to my sneakers. Petr stood in front of me, his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans. The air had turned chilly, but he wore only a thin shirt. I couldn’t make out the design in the encroaching darkness.
Petr laughed—snickered really. “This is really too easy.”
“What is?” I took a step back, but kept my eyes trained on his.
A razor-sharp smile cut into his lips. “You’re out here? Hanging out in a tree house? How incredibly lame is that?”
Unease quickly flipped to annoyance. “What are you doing here?”
Petr looked around pointedly. “What does it look like? Bearing witness to your pathetic existence one last time.”
A ball of ice formed in my chest. “You were told to leave me alone.”
“Yeah, see, that’s the funny thing. I was told a lot of things.” He walked around me slowly, head down, much like the predator a Warden was. “How does it feel to be left outside like a mangy dog? Unwanted? Even Zayne seems to have grown tired of you.”
His words cut deep, because in a way, they were kind of true, except I was more like an unwanted mule than a mangy dog. But I refused to show any hurt. “How does it feel to be a perverted excuse for a male?”
Petr’s eyes narrowed into thin slits as he made another wide circle. “You know what’s so funny about all of this?”
“No. But I guess you’re going to tell me?”
He smirked. “You don’t even know why the Alphas are here. You don’t even know the real reason why the demons are sniffing after you.”
I curled my hand around the cell, feeling my pulse spike. “And you’re going to tell me?”
He shot forward so fast, I didn’t even see him move. Wrapping a long finger around the chain of my necklace, he tugged on it hard enough for it to bite into my skin. His gaze dropped to where the ring dangled. “You don’t even know what this is.”