the back of a girl's head as she pushed into the gym. Most people probably wouldn’t have been able to tell who she was, but I knew it was Twelve just from that one glance and I found I couldn't drag my eyes away from her, watching as she passed by the single camera in the gymnasium which only showed a small section just past the entranceway. She disappeared beyond the range of the camera and a flare of annoyance prickled through me followed by a wave of pain running up my arm from the curse mark. The silver rose vine had reached my shoulder now, wrapping around it and binding me even more tightly to her. To my oncoming fucking death.
I'd read the book on moon magic back to back and there had been no more information about how to break this damn curse. At the rate it was spreading, I didn't know how long it would be before I'd succumb to it entirely. My anger at Rosalie over cursing me hadn’t lessened, but unfortunately I understood why she’d done it now. After I’d found out what her father had done to her, I felt like a prime asshole. I'd fucked up on so many levels when I'd put her in the hole. I'd done the unspeakable to her. Something she could never forgive. And now I was paying the price for my selfishness of wanting to keep her out of sight, out of mind. I should’ve known she’d find a way to punish me for it.
"So are you finishing up for the day?" Lyle asked, cutting through my thoughts as the pain needled deeper into my arm.
I grunted, checking my watch. I had ten minutes left. I could call it a day...or I could head down to the gym and see Twelve. Not that I'd talk to her or anything. It's not like I wanted to go fucking perving on her while she worked out either, though I wasn't exactly denying to myself how hot that would get me. Mostly I just wanted to see her. Check on her. And the curse on my arm seemed to agree with that, the pain ebbing away until the magic hummed keenly against my flesh instead. Fuck the moon and its ways.
"Yeah, soon. Night Lyle," I muttered and he waved to me as I headed out the door.
I took the elevator downstairs and arrived on the fifth floor, shooting along it to the gym. It was almost time for lockdown and as I sped inside, I found the place empty. I frowned as I paused by the boxing ring, straining my ears as the sound of a shower running carried from the locker rooms. Maybe she'd realised there wasn’t enough time for a workout and headed back to her block. And maybe I was a fucking moron for caring about where she was anyway. But I was still pissed that I'd missed her.
I turned to leave, but a muffled yell made me swing around. It was barely more than a peep, but I knew it had come from her in the depths of my soul. I tore across the room as fast as I could, shoving the locker room door open and flying through it into the showers at the end. An orange jumpsuit was soaked in the water filling the space before me, the number twelve staring up at me on it, stained red with blood. My gut clenched into a tight ball.
The locker rooms were built in a U shape so I shot down to one end and around the corner, my heart hammering, fear making every muscle in my body coil in anticipation. What if I'm too late? What if someone's hurt her? Killed her?
My eyes fell on the ten inmates surrounding my girl as she fought for her fucking life. They tried to pin her down, blood pouring from a busted lip and a deep gash sliced along her right arm. Two Hundred was naked, his hairy back aimed my way as he barked orders at the others to hold her against the wall while his moving arm told me he was stroking his cock.
I took this all in within three seconds and in that time, I became nothing but a vicious, bloodthirsty animal with no boundaries, no rules holding me back, nothing but the primal need to protect the girl they wanted to hurt.
I didn't see red. I saw the fires of hell blazing everywhere, flaring