But now it felt clinical. Crowds of Spector employees watched while delivering humans to me on a silver platter. There was nothing romantic or exciting about it. Data was collected and skewed. My body’s responses were noted. Each soul I fed from left me wanting more. My nature led to nonconsent. It was either me or them, and the darker side of my spider made me choose myself. I was helpless to stop her. I was helpless to stop Spector.
I grew to hate the sound of their clapping at the subtle displays of strength my spider exhibited under their watchful eye. I could feel my body slowly grow more toned, more vibrant with life that didn’t belong to me. I felt invincible but destructive.
As a female vampire, I’d always loved sex. When my dark thoughts drifted, I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d been possessed by the black widow demon because of that fact. Did she inhabit me because we both shared a propensity for carnal ecstasy? I didn’t know, but I hated it. I hated that sex couldn’t simply be fun anymore. It was a necessity to survive, and I’d been turned into a sexual cannibal who lured partners in so that I could drain them dry.
“Get up,” my guard demanded as he opened the door to my cell.
I was lazily lying on the concrete floor, fading in and out of control. It was a constant tug of war, the battle of our wills. I knew what she needed, and the taste of her sin was too delicious to resist. It filled me with shame.
“I’ve already fed today,” I argued.
Their demands were getting more brutal. The last several days, I’d been forced to feed from six humans. Their faces were a blur of necessity. I became accustomed to the act of carnal destruction, and it terrified me.
Not one of the humans had survived.
“Get up,” he ordered again, this time with more force.
Webs spilled from my hands in angry tendrils as I stood. It was still a strange sensation, like water dripping from inside my fingertips. They extended in gossamer threads, the strands tugging from my skin and spooling out of me in directions I had total control of. Though they seemed soft and fragile, they were actually strong and easily manipulated. They felt like an extension of me, ready to do whatever I wanted them to.
The guard grabbed my arm, like he did every time he came to collect me, but this time I jerked free, my new strength aiding in my efforts. His eyes widened in a flash of shock before twisting into anger.
“Listen, bitch—” he growled, but I cut him off.
“Unless you want me to feed from you the way I feed from those humans, then don’t touch me,” I threatened.
It was immensely satisfying to see the pulse in his neck jump.
“You’ll be punished if you step out of line,” he replied, his expression stormy. “You don’t get to make threats here.”
I ignored his words. “Keep your fucking hands to yourself before I break them.”
In response, he shoved me hard, making me fall to the floor on my hands and knees. Pain shot through me at the impact.
“That’s where you belong,” he spat, looking down at me with disdain. “You’re just a Spector pet. A dog learning new tricks. You need to be trained how to behave.”
Motherfucker.
My anger snapped. I flashed back to my feet faster than he could track. He blinked in surprise at seeing me standing right in front of him again, but before he could move, I shoved him against the wall and shot webs from my fingers, covering his torso and sticking him into place.
“What the—?”
He tried to jerk away, but my strings were too strong, the sticky threads trapping him against the wall.
My lips spread with a smirk. “Look. I learned a new trick.”
My spider was taunting him, while I was begging from the sidelines for her to behave. I wasn’t sure what Spector was willing to do for obedience, but I didn’t want to find out.
Despite how hard he tried to get away, the webs cemented him to the wall, holding him there. I smiled in amusement until flames erupted from his skin. An elemental? I rolled my eyes. It was almost too easy.
My webs moved to wrap around his neck, squeezing until the veins in his head popped. I could see his fear as I tried to direct his flames to the trap snaring him and cutting off his oxygen supply. He didn’t attack me directly, though, which told me he wasn’t allowed to.
I leaned in closer until my lips were at his ears. “I think you realize who’s stronger now, don’t you?” I asked as his face began to grow purple. “And it’s obvious that the only obedient Spector dog here is you. So keep your hands to yourself.”
He nodded slowly, as if submitting was hurting his male ego. I immediately retracted my webs in a single flourish. They snapped back toward my palms like a rubber band being released. The guard fell on his knees to the floor, coughing and taking in rugged breaths.
“Good boy,” I said with a shit-eating smirk.
I chuckled darkly and turned, making my way down the hallway without waiting. I’d been shoved through this maze of a building so many times that I knew how to get to the rooms they brought me to, I just didn’t know which way led out.
I heard him scramble to his feet and rush forward to catch up to me, but when I stopped at the doors leading to the lab room, he cut me off. When he automatically moved to grab me, he blanched before dropping his hand again. Smart man.
“Not today,” he said with a shake of his head. “You get to interact with the other hybrids. You’re
