“You’re late,” she called, her voice mocking as she raised her arms above her head and danced around the bonfire like some kind of mythical creature born of lust and temptation.
We could still only see her silhouette, but I knew for a fact that all four of us were entirely mesmerised by the movements of her flesh before the flames.
“Why do you insist on defying me at every turn?” I demanded, my voice cracking with rage or grief and I wasn’t sure which.
“Why do you insist on being such a fucking sadist asshole?” she yelled back with zero respect. But I’d teach her some fucking respect before the night was out.
I finally got close enough to make out her features in the orange light of the flames and she stopped dancing, about to face off with me, a beautiful, triumphant smile lighting her face. She really thought she’d won something here. But the only thing she’d earned herself was more punishment. Again and again and again until the message sank in. Until she learned the proper way to behave.
“You might wanna get on your fucking knees and start begging right now, Barbie, or-”
Every muscle in my body locked up as my gaze flicked to the fire and I caught sight of something that was enough to stop every single thought in my head from coming to fruition. I couldn’t move, couldn’t blink, couldn’t say a single fucking word as my gaze was hooked on the things which were burning in the flames.
“I hope you don’t mind, Saint, but I needed a bit of kindling for my fire,” she taunted, her words ringing in my ears as I stared at the flames, refusing to admit what I was seeing.
They couldn’t be my records, they couldn’t. I refused to accept it, because if they were-
My gaze fell on a familiar vinyl, the sleeve still almost intact as the fire ate into it and a roar of static noise spilled through my brain.
“What the fuck have you done?!” I bellowed so loud that my voice echoed around the cove.
Tatum screamed in fright as I lunged for her, but I didn’t make it more than a step before a hard body collided with me and I slammed to the sand which lined the beach as my attacker kept me pinned beneath him.
“Get out of here!” Kyan commanded and Tatum’s face paled, that taunting smile slipping from her features as she stumbled away from me. From the monster I was sure she could see glaring back at her as I fought tooth and claw to escape Kyan’s hold.
Monroe snatched her hand and tried to drag her away but she hesitated, glaring down at me as I felt Blake’s weight crushing me to the sand too.
“How do you like it, motherfucker?” she hissed, but I could barely even hear her.
Gone. Gone. Gone.
Chaos reigns.
Carnage follows no man’s rules.
Stupid boy, did you really think you could control everything? Life is chaos and it’s time you learned to accept it or you’ll never grow into the man you were born to be.
Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuuuuuuuuuuuuck!
I threw my elbow back and managed to hit Kyan in the face, making him rear away so that I could scramble out of his hold.
Tatum was long fucking gone and if she was smart she’d keep running and never look back. Because when I saw her again I was going to tear her limb from limb.
I dove towards the flames, my flesh burning as I tried to save my collection. Some of it. Any of it. A single record would have sufficed. My hand met with molten plastic and I roared in grief without feeling any of the agony in my flesh before the other Night Keepers dragged me back again.
I swung my fists, kicked and cursed and even bit as I fought to escape them.
My gaze caught on her for a moment, watching from the edge of the beach, full lips parted, blue eyes wide, like she was shocked to see what she’d done to me. But if she hadn’t figured out what kind of fractured, volatile creature I was yet then she’d been seriously deluding herself.
Freezing water enveloped me suddenly and I choked as I inhaled a mouthful of lake water and my head was forced beneath the surface.
Strong hands gripped me, holding me down as I fought and convulsed until I was sure I’d drown. And the agony of that would have been such bliss compared to the utter fucking torture and torment of my reality.
Before I could die and leave this plain of anarchy for those who could survive it unscathed, unscarred, unbroken, I was yanked back out of the water and dumped on the beach.
Blake slammed his palm against my back and I coughed and heaved and retched and forced water back up out of my lungs. Bile seared the back of my throat and I vomited over the sand as my entire body shook from the shock of almost drowning.
“Have you got it locked down yet?” Kyan demanded, his grip on my arm tight enough to be unpleasant, like he thought I might leap to my feet and
