Siren Awakened - C.R. Jane Page 0,5
trouble. My head wasn’t feeling right, the buzzing refusing to abate, and I didn’t want to deal with him. And as tempted as I was to give in, just for another few bites of sweets, I couldn’t forget his betrayal.
“I just need to be alone, please.”
“Did I do something wrong?” he asked, tilting his head to the side, and I could see his knuckles starting to go white from how hard he gripped the metal bar.
I frowned, my chest bubbling with words I wanted to throw at him, but my head wasn’t feeling right. And I didn’t want to get into an argument with me feeling this way. At the end of the day, I freaking died because I got close to dangerous men who’d hidden secrets from me, and that meant being smarter about how I dealt with them going forward.
“I want some time alone.”
“I’m here for you, baby,” he said.
I blinked at him, unsure how to take that. Was I just a means for him to find out information, or was the look in his eyes sincere? Part of me wanted to slow-clap him for his act, yet part of me didn’t want to get into an argument and listen to more lies.
Setting the empty food tray on the floor near my bed, I got back under the covers and curled in on myself, trying to shut out the humming sound in my ears.
Part of me felt bad for pushing him away. After all, he had broken into the warden’s office and retrieved Seth’s crystal for me, except was that some set up too? A ploy to win me over to find out about the scepter? I didn’t know, but I had to remind myself I refused to be anyone else’s stepping stone anymore. Not to mention, I’d died!
Closing my eyes, I pushed everything aside, attempting to not let it faze me.
“I’ll let you sleep then. I’ll come see you later,” he said, and his footfalls faded.
“Don’t bother,” I whispered back, unsure if he heard me.
I didn’t know how much time had passed when someone calling my name woke me up.
“Selena,” he said again, and only then did it become clear who spoke.
Keon. I froze on my bed, curled up, unsure how to respond.
He’d kept secrets from me from the beginning, secrets about him being a demon, secrets that ended up getting me killed.
“Are you awake, sweetheart?”
When I heard his voice, images of him changing as he fought the hellhound inmate, Laz, swept over my mind. One after another, they kept coming.
Cold black eyes.
Clawed hands.
Horns pushing out from his temples.
And that wasn’t the part that scared me. It was the look in his eyes when he turned on me. There was no sign of Keon inside, only a starved monster who saw me as a meal. Then he attacked me…killed me.
How could I not have known about that side of him?
I curled in tighter on myself and hoped with every fiber of my body that he didn’t come in. He was a guard so he had access, but I hoped he respected me enough to give me space.
“I don’t know if you’re awake,” he began. “But I want to explain everything to you. I feel like fucking shit at how things turned out. That’s not who I am.” He sighed loudly, his voice gravelly and remorseful. “I’d do anything to protect you, and what I did to you is killing me.”
Trembling, I lay in bed, unmoving, feeling powerless, wanting to state that obviously, he had killed me. I couldn’t avoid him for long. Except making sense of the fear, the hurt, the anger left me numb, and I couldn’t face him. Not yet. Not until I sorted myself out. Our encounters together had always been scorching hot and imprinted on my mind. It shocked me how much he affected me, not to mention, somehow, he’d marked me, leaving two stars on my ankle. Who the hell was this guy anyway? Sometimes, I wonder if it was a coincidence that I picked him out of all the guys at the bar to give my virginity to what felt like a lifetime ago.
Thinking back, I’d been too naïve, which ended up with everyone walking all over me. Including Julian and even my own mother. I had no intention of repeating my past mistakes. I’d died and came back, which meant this was my second chance, right?
“I’ll let you be,” Keon murmured, his voice deflated. “We’ll speak later,” he promised me,