Hello, dear readers, I hope this book suits your taste. Thank you for reading up to this point, and please let me know, in the comment section, how much I need to improve, your favorite character, and so on.
One of Hunter’s female guards is leaning against the wall and smoking. I’m going to lure her to a secluded spot, knock her out, and steal her uniform. The plan isn’t foolproof, but I have to try. It makes me regret not taking my combat training seriously over the past six years. I put out a shitty behavior back then. If only I knew I wouldn’t have a golden spoon in my mouth forever.Zipping up my jacket, I search for a heavy piece of rock and tuck it underneath, leaving my hands with it. “Hey,” I call as I approach the guard who looks at me without a reply. Standing beside her, I add, “The Whites prepared a treat for all the guards. I was asked to bring you.” The lie is sloppy, I know—judging from how the lady eyes me skeptically with her gaze sweeping from my head to my feet. She puffs out smoke and glances around to find the other guards in their stations then returns a questioning stare to me.I wave dismissively. “Oh, it’s done in batches. All the guards can’t leave their post
My eyes widen. My heart skips a beat, lips sealed by confusion. But his tongue pressing against the latter creates a slit between.His warmth fills my mouth alongside the rich taste of berries and lavender, the most intoxicating effect flooding my senses before a surge of tingling sensations courses through me, mingling with an overwhelming heady feeling of floating.My eyes flutter shut as our lips move in sync. Our tongues meet in a sensual dance while matching the slow rhythm of our breaths.When I place my hand on Hunter’s jaw, he abruptly draws back to cut the kiss. Fuck, no, please. I’m starving. I want him. I’m longing for more. And I’m almost reaching to pull his head down as my eyes shoot open. “What was that for?” I whisper, searching his emotionless gaze. A faint smile tugs at his lips—a goddamn smile that shies away from his eye.I can’t believe I just shared my first kiss with him; I don’t understand the meaning behind his sudden display of affection either.I feel bo
~ HUNTER ~The explosion reduced our once deluxe mansion to a dwelling of ashes and crumbling debris, remnants crunching beneath my boots when I stepped into the wreckage.I pause in the center of the blackened hall and look around, noting how much the fire ravaged the building to the point where it nearly brought it to the ground. Chalk outlines on the floor mark spots where the bodies—now removed—once lay. And everything that once furnished the hall—chairs, tables, and many others—is gone, likely burnt beyond recognition and taken away for speculation. The same fate probably befell every other property in the mansion. I look around for Zavere. He is nowhere. Maybe I have not been searching the right places for a good leash to hold the man down. He’s always onto something silly whenever his alter ego surfaces.Crouching down, I use my index to wipe a spot on the soot-covered floor, that’s when Zavere, ever so casual, crosses the hall threshold, his face twisting in mock annoyance.“
/ X /I know their names and looks. Father does too. Stuff took me a year and more to study, I might even begin to list the names of their fetuses.It’s my first time coming to Braevalle, and I’ve heard things about it. Good things. Like how the fruits are heavenly. And how unearthly their females look. And… I think the White Mansion took up sixty percent of these compliments—it also happens to be the first stop for tourists.Let me tell ya tho, I find the whole thing exaggerated. Braevalle is just as good as every other place but also as quiet as a graveyard, which is bad. Really. Or maybe I just loathe silenc― ouch!Did I just see Hunter’s female guard hitting Heidi’s forehead against a boulder? Yes! And the impact renders the latter unconscious on the woman’s body. I want to laugh. But if I do, I’ll be heard and exposed. I’m currently camouflaged in the environment, so making a loud sound is… I won’t say it’s dangerous because no one knows me. And they can’t catch me if I run any
~ HEIDI ~It seems to take an eternity for Luivanne’s bike to pull up at the police station. The area is a chaotic swarm of camera flashes, police cars, vans, and people shouting over one another, trying to make their way past the first few steps into the station building. But the cops lining the front do their best to hold them back. The scene reminds me of the day I was removed from my position as CEO, how Dad Griffin made me stand before a hall full of people to deliver the humiliating announcement myself. I had to apologize for failing the public, though I still can’t figure out how not passing a family test had let every other person down. Luivanne, despite the chaos, drapes his jacket over my shoulders. That’s the first kindness a man has shown me in a long time. He must have sensed how frozen I’ve become. And though I didn’t try to show it, I believe my distress got to him.Determined, he pushes through the cluster while guiding me to the front steps where a stern-faced offi
/ HEIDI /My eyes flicker open. The sun’s out; I can feel it on my face. If only it can burn out this unsettling emptiness in me.I stare blankly at some unfamiliar brick ceiling, my bowls of emotions empty. It’s good to feel sometimes. And I wish I did right now. But I don’t—no headaches, cramps… nothing. Maybe I’m dead. Hunter probably finished me off, which could be a good thing too―I don’t know…A door pushes open before an elderly woman hurries into the room. She sets a bowl on the small table near the bed I’m just realizing I'm lying on before saying something while smiling. But I don’t hear. Why can’t I hear? Her face blurs out, the jade centerpiece of her necklace gaining my attention.I don’t like how it dangles; swinging from left to right. Or is it because it makes me nauseous, bringing back the scenes I’ve tried to forget? Hunter’s indifference, the gore of the mass slaughter, the explosion. Even the acute fear that consumed me for the very first time; that still eats
Without thinking, I grab the old woman’s arm, pull her close, and shut the bathroom door. My eyes zip around as I say breathlessly, “He found me; Hunter. We have to hide or he’ll kill you too!”“Calm down, dearest. Nothing will harm you here.”“No!” My scream bounces off the bathroom walls; my distress has reached me in the bowels. “You’re not listening to me!”The old woman tries to pry her fragile arm from my panicked grip, but I’m stronger and unwilling to let go.“He’s the heart reaper,” I persist, “...and he doesn’t show mercy!”“Stay put, child. It’s just the cats fighting, I assure you.” The old woman looks flustered even though her words are the opposite. I don’t think she’s bothered by what I’m saying; think it’s more about my attitude and the situation she’s found herself in with me.Maybe leaving would be the best. But where would I go, who do I know?I let the woman go, holding my trembling hand with the other while watching her leave before pacing the space.My fear comes
/ X /Here’s where the fun is; leaning against a damp tree in the woods, twirling a strand of hair with one hand—while the other’s sweating in my jacket pocket—and watching an overly frightened girl whose chaotic emotions are serving as my best meal.I’m not the one she’s seeing, I swear. And I don’t know if she really sees Hunter either; the man can hide.I know because he was gone by the time I returned to the road after watching Zavere. And I can’t track him, not until he has a surge of emotions; like the anger he felt when he killed his guard or the bloodlust that swirled about him when he massacred the people at the mansion.Enough rambling for now.“Heidi, dear. Are you quite alright?” Magen’s voice is soft and laced with concern as she approaches Heidi, following the girl’s gaze to the forest.All she sees are the starved trees with their stretched branches shaped as skeletons of emptiness and woe. However, Heidi remains unmoving, still staring, her eyes filled with a dread that
Tumbre Estate is the biggest in the country. Belongs to the Whites but isn’t as sullied as the family is. It’s like a quiet little town even though it’s not far from the city.Has been about two years since I last came here, and nothing seems to have changed. No, nothing. It’s the same old Tumbre with curvy roads flanked by Villas and trimmed little bushes.That Villa there, at our right, is inhabited by the family of a close friend I had. But after I was kicked out of my Villa, I lost contact with her. Didn’t even get the chance to say a fucking goodbye.“Do you want me to come with you?” Zavere asks as I get down from the Uber. I had requested to stop at the side of the road instead of the garage, as I didn’t bring the key to my Villa, and haven’t a clue how the Housekeeper and the Butler would react to seeing me. And no, I don’t want Zavere’s company. If I did, I would have stayed in the Company building where my room now smells like him.“No. Go find your brother,” I reply. My n
“He lives, I feel it,” Zavere says after taking his time. “He’s alive, but there is silence. He doesn’t feel anything… massive.”I don’t get what he’s trying to say, but I guess he does have some connection with his twin? “You feel something when he does?”“Not just something. It has to be big. Like an intense pain or pleasure.” More like the intense pain of his victims, and the intense pleasure of the motherfucker.“Maybe you should have felt his ‘intense hatred’ when he committed that murder?” I ask calmly, looking down at my soup while stirring it with a spoon. However, when I look up, I feel like my food could hang in my throat as I find Zavere staring at me with a blank face, again. That rouses my rage. “Oh, you did, and you said, ‘Oh hey! He’s my brother! He’s having a little fun with some dummy humans, so why not?’” I realize I’ve just caused a commotion. All eyes are now on us. Jeez! What is wrong with me? Why do I keep blaming Zavere? Why do I blame every fucking thing in t
We’ll end up having a late lunch. But the time spent in the overpass is worth it.Honestly, I didn’t want to leave. Maybe we should have stayed longer. Or…“Having a home in a place like Luli Overbridge would be exotic. Become a pet to the doves,” Zavere utters out of nowhere, and I would’ve burst out laughing if I weren’t cautious that we are in one of the most classic restaurants in the world.“Is that what it’s called? Luli Overbridge,” I say instead. That gets me a side-eye from the man.“You have been in Alloy all your life, Heidi.”“And? I’ve not had the opportunity to flex a free one like you’ve done with… your brother. So far, I’m only familiar with Alloy's main city and Braevalle.” I glance around the restaurant, then I stare at my fingers. Then… I look at the hectic city beyond the glass barriers of the building for a while. All to avoid meeting with Zavere’s devouring eyes. And yet he keeps staring, sitting opposite me, relaxed in his chair with his right hand on the table
Each person holds out something in our direction: some an image of their deceased, others a banner with the words ‘Justice for (...)’ written on it. Different names, different faces, different pain. My vision gets blurry. Voices whisper inaudibly in my head as it aches. A thousand needles prick my skin, hellbent on deactivating autonomic nerves while triggering another—emotions, flocking in like a swarm of disturbed fish. And if Zavere hadn’t interfered, I would have been lost in the maze that’s my own mind.“Hey, come on. Look at me,” he whispers, the hand on my thigh caressing. But then he makes a bigger gesture; facing me, leaning in and grabbing my chin to turn my face toward his. “Trust me, Heidi, you’ll be fine.”I shake my head continuously. “I… I don’t think so…” What Zavere said is an underrated lie. This anxiety’s always going to be there, haunting me, reducing the woman I thought I was with every attack. So, no, Zavere. I will not be fine.“Shh. You’ve just got to breathe
Holy shit! I’ve just now discovered that my cellphone is in the envelope too. How did it get here?“I thought Saturn destroyed this,” I say, checking the device for damage. Thankfully, it looks as good as I last saw it.“Hunter had it taken back,” Zavere responds before the elevator ushers in a middle-aged woman who I suppose is the cleaner.She takes the glass pieces from him, puts them in the bin then goes ahead to clean up the mess the motherfucker made on the floor.Keeping the phone and putting away the rest into the envelope, I clutch my duvet tighter. I want to lie back but then I don’t want to. I also feel like I need to be alone for a long time. BUT… Zavere’s presence manages to tone that one down a bit.I guess him standing there while looking at me gives me peace. And that is something I’ve not had in a very… long time.“I don’t know what to do with…” I pause and sigh as I look at the envelope, wishing I could get far from it. “What am I supposed to do with this?”Zavere shr
~ HEIDI ~This headache will mince my brain to nice little cubes sooner than I’m able to find a painkiller in one of these fucking drawers.There used to be many of them—the painkillers, I mean—usually on the table, under the pillows, in the wardrobe, in the drawers, even on the damn floor. How I cannot find one when everything else in the room remains the same is not a mystery, but unsettling.“Fuck. I can’t be arsed,” I mutter just as my phone dings on the bed.Sitting on the floor and resting my back against the bed, I go through the meager, little thing that won’t stop buzzing―happens Reverse Hunter sent a message; ‘Might not be back for a while. Do not dare miss your meals.’Oh, Zavere…The guy’s so fucking nice that he cannot stop caring about me. Meanwhile, the bastard on whom I’ve wasted so much time, tears, and feelings haven’t once asked how I felt since we met. Instead, he dropped a boulder into a stream of lava. Fucking joker.The phone doesn't render comfort, yet I find it
‘Frosty the Snowman… was a jolly happy soul… with a corncob pipe and a button nose… and two eyes made out of coal…’Clock Chimes.Singing Birds.Loud Giggles.Running Footfalls.And my perfectly clear vision of a busy morning full of snow and Christmas rubbish.How I reached about two hundred kilometers from the company building on foot might be a mystery to living folks, but the dead cannot deny how short a journey can become.It is never a wonder why this part of the country has not awoken to the dawn of complete modernity, forever reserved for all things retro—could be attributed to the fact that Christmas smells and looks better on these streets that have basic terracotta buildings lining each side of the brick road.Parked cars along the right side of the road are my support as I trudge through the snow, stumbling at intervals but halting when tiny quintuplets run into my way. Can’t differentiate the looks of these humans sometimes, especially the little ones, their eyes wide as
The elevator would have been better closed than not.Maybe the system has malfunctioned, or I’m the problem. After all, I will not deny that my head is scrambled, torn between two choices; to go up or... Fuck it!Going up is the best option to end this restlessness once and for all. But so many things would go wrong, especially as my girl is there and this rage in me wants to stab thorns in her flesh.I should not let that happen, should I? I have to protect her, even if it takes me killing myself, which I bloody can’t!Her face, artless and mild with sparkly eyes, flashes before me. She is standing beside the panel, signaling for me to get up. And I do. She then motions me to approach. I still do, but miss the part where she frowns, blood streaming down her eyes as anger swirls in them alongside hate—massive disgust.The scissors in her hand are not far from my neck. They make contact, yet the pain is not even near as intense as what I am feeling from the sight itself. And I’m taken
“He lives, I feel it,” Zavere says after taking his time. “He’s alive, but there is silence. He doesn’t feel anything… massive.”I don’t get what he’s trying to say, but I guess he does have some connection with his twin? “You feel something when he does?”“Not just something. It has to be big. Like an intense pain or pleasure.” More like the intense pain of his victims, and the intense pleasure of the motherfucker.“Maybe you should have felt his ‘intense hatred’ when he committed that murder?” I ask calmly, looking down at my soup while stirring it with a spoon. However, when I look up, I feel like my food could hang in my throat as I find Zavere staring at me with a blank face, again. That rouses my rage. “Oh, you did, and you said, ‘Oh hey! He’s my brother. He’s having a little fun with some dummy humans, so why not?’” I realize I’ve just caused a commotion. All eyes are now on us. Jeez! What is wrong with me? Why do I keep blaming Zavere? Why do I blame every fucking thing in th