I watched from the doorway, her chest rise and fall softly, the white sheets curled around her tiny body and the light streaming across her features, her dark hair was sprawled across the white pillows.
She was safe here. She wasn’t surrounded by unknown demons who would abuse her. She was at Scorpios, with my family.
Demons didn’t love, they destroyed.
And my affection, my dark soul, was destroying Lex.
My heart twisted in my chest. A heart that ached for her. A heart that had regrown over the last ten years and warmed in the last few months because of her.
I would never say it out loud though because it would be too painful. To have a heart for a woman I couldn’t be with.
I had called her friend Dolores to let her in on what Lex was going through. She had thanked me and told me she was coming over. Lex would need someone, someone to help her and as much as Molly and Tensley could, I knew her friend Dolores would help her become strong and healthy again as best as she could.
She’d help her forget about me.
I stepped closer and stopped at the side of her bed, my fingers aching to reach out and touch her.
So I did. Because there was a chance this would be the last time.
My inked fingers of sin caressed the edge of her jaw and she sighed the longer I stroked.
I could feel the need to crawl into bed and cradle her, to soothe her pain but I stopped myself, letting my hand fall away.
I had wanted to protect her, but I was now the enemy, the monster hurting her. I had to protect her from myself.
She deserved better. In a haze of drugs and lust, I had ruined her. I had been reckless, careless.
If I could find a way to redeem my vicious soul despite the odds the warlock had placed against me, I could maybe come back. Come back and claim her once again.
I fisted my hands and blinked away the warmth building in my eyes.
I wouldn’t let it be a goodbye. I would return a better man with a soul cleansed of its impurities and let her taste me then.
I vowed.
LEX
My body ached as I twisted in the sheets and my fingers stretched, automatically searching for Beau’s warm body.
But when my fingers only found more sheets, I forced my weak eyes to open. They felt too heavy, like bricks sat on them and each blink was tearing a muscle in my lids.
The room was light—not dark like Beau’s apartment and white sheets were wrapped around me. I frowned, confused. Then with an ache at the back of my head, the memories flooded in. The attack, Molly…the baby.
Beau’s strong body over me, taking me to a place of pure heaven as he bit into my throat and marked me as his.
And then—I had grown hot and dizzy. Everything blacked out after that.
I tried to sit up, but my body was stiff and that was when I noted the IV. I looked at the bend of my arm, the needle taped there.
What had happened?
“Lex,” a soft voice called, and I turned to see Molly, walking toward me. She smiled and sat down on the edge of the bed. “How are you feeling?”
I glanced around the room again. “A little confused.” My mouth felt dry and it ached to speak. “Where’s Beau?”
Molly’s smile faltered. “You passed out in the hallway.”
I frowned again. I’d… I’d passed out? “I feel okay now,” I told her, shifting to the edge so I could stand up. All my limbs felt heavy like steel and the IV pinched my skin, making me cringe. “Is Beau here?” I wanted to go home with him so we could lie down and hold each other for a few hours like we sometimes did. To breathe in his scent and smile into his skin. To be safe and warm and protected. I had never thought I would feel that way. That someone’s arms would be home for me. Beau was my home.
Molly lowered her gaze and reached out, touching my hand. I froze. And so did my heart. “We’ve had a few warlocks look over you. Lex… your health has been declining during the past few months. Your white cell count was low, your body was shutting down.”
I shook my head. “I don’t understand. I’m fine now. And I was feeding before…”
She smiled sadly, wetness building in her violent blue eyes. I didn’t like this. I didn’t like any of this. “The reason why you passed out is the person you were feeding from, Lex. It was Beau,” she said, gently, cautiously.
But it did nothing to prevent the heavy blow.
I knew—I knew his soul was dark, but he wasn’t destroying me.
His soul, the soul that I loved.
“He—”
“Beau’s soul was too intense, too toxic. It was poisoning you from within, Lex,” Molly continued as I began to shake. I couldn’t lose Beau. I couldn’t give him up. I loved him. I loved him.
“Where is he?” I snapped, growing anxious and restless. “I need to see him.” I needed to tell him to ignore what they were saying. That I was fine. That he didn’t cause this. That we were fine.
He would withdraw from me. He would think he did this. He would blame himself. He would crumble back into his own self. Everything we had had for the last few months would disappear. The man I had found beneath the beast would vanish, back into the darkness.
Molly gripped my shoulders, preventing me from standing up. “Beau—Beau left, Lex. To give you the chance to move on. To heal.”
It felt like someone had ripped my heart out and I gripped my t-shirt, unable to breathe.
“No. No, no, no!” I pulled at my t-shirt, feeling suffocated, feeling dizzy and sick.
“Lex, I know you care for him, but he doesn’t want to hurt you. He’s trying to save you,” she whispered, holding my arms.
“If he wanted to save me, he would’ve stayed here with me. He’d…” I shook my head, my eyes pleading with her. “I just want to see him. I won’t ask him to stay, I just want to say goodbye, please,” I begged, choking on my words.
Tears fell down Molly’s cheeks at my desperation. “He’s already left, sweetheart.” She sniffled, combing my hair back.
“But he marked me,” I murmured, my shaky fingers touching the collar tight around my neck. Molly’s eyes clung to my throat and her mouth parted, unsure of what to say. “He said he wanted to protect me.”
Warmth blurred my vision and tears soaked my cheeks, the saltiness dripping into my mouth.
Molly hugged my shaking body and tried to calm me, but nothing could.
My heart was broken.
My heart had been ripped out and taken away with Beau.
People always left me. I should have known that he would too, but I still hoped he would stay. That I could save his soul.
I had been terribly wrong.
After hours, I finally fell asleep with Molly holding me, my body beyond exhaustion after shedding so many tears. Each night after this first one, I woke screaming for him.
With each day, my body got better, healthier, but the ache in my chest never faded.