• 𝓢𝓮𝓻𝓪𝓹𝓱 •

I was about to strip off all of my clothes and lay on the concrete to get this fucking itch out of my system. I never used to stop myself from finding someone to kill. I never had a reason to. So why the hell did I feel like stopping myself now, of all times?

Mae bringing up the fact that she wanted to kill Zero was enough to make my blood boil. I'd wanted to kill Zero for years. He was insolent, thinking no one in the world could touch him. But his father...

His father was the only person I feared, and if he found out I killed his son? I didn't want to die by his hands. Fuck anyone else, he'd make it last.

No one would ever expect Mae. From what I knew, Zero tormented her for years without any retribution. If one day she lashed out and actually killed him, no one would point the finger at her. And even if they did, Zero's father would never admit a female killed his son.

He was a sexist, misogynistic prick. Only the best for South District.

I balled my hands into fists and stopped walking. I looked up at the dreary ass sky. Noah and Luca had long since walked away, probably back to the castle. The two of them drove me insane.

Noah was weak as hell, never fighting back. When Zero had Mae by the throat, he barely fought to try and get to her. Granted, Tomas would have kicked his ass into next Wednesday if he struggled too much. But for someone so enthralled with the girl, you'd think he'd at least try harder.

And Luca. I'd never met a new vampire so damn cocky. Sure he punched the shit out of Zero, but who in their right mind acted like they were untouchable? No one in this place was untouchable. Not even Titus.

I tilted my head to watch a young couple walk by, their eyes downcast as they tried to get past me without me noticing. The woman was pale, her lips a light tinge of blue, and was leaning heavily against the man.

I closed my eyes. Why was I stopping myself, again?

"Mama," a little voice called and I opened my eyes again, watching as a little girl sprinted towards the woman.

The woman forced a smile and knelt to catch the girl, and I turned away.

I didn't kill parents or children.

Who's to say I didn't have a line I didn't cross?

Plus...she would die in the next month. Why a vampire was still drinking from her was beyond me. She was riddled with cancer and her entire body was shutting down. Good news for her boyfriend - or whatever he was to her - because he was fucking the chick next door to them. He was probably just biding his time before she died and could leave the kid behind - assuming he knew she wasn't his.

Even when people didn't think they were being watched, there were eyes everywhere in this shitty district. Every vampire high enough in ranking knew every detail of every person within the walls.

I blew out a breath. That need to kill wasn't going away. It didn't matter how long I walked, it wasn't going away.

I turned towards the castle and headed towards it, my hands clenched into fists in my pockets.

What the fuck was stopping me? There were so many people in this shit hole, and half of them that were alive pre-takeover would probably fucking pay to die. So why. The. Fuck. Was. I. Stopping. Myself.

I pushed through the doors of the castle and stilled, feeling her and him. Too damn close together for their scents to be mixing.

"Seraph," Zero's voice made me stiffen. It was not the time for him to be messing with me. I already wanted to rip his jugular out.

I angled my body slightly towards him, ignoring the sudden urge to go to Mae and turn her around. It'd be too damn late. They were going to see each other.

Why the fuck did I care?

"Have fun on your jaunt around the district?" Zero grinned, flashing fangs that were likely bigger than the dick he had in his pants.

Fuck, I hated this dude.

"Sure," I said.

"How many?" He leaned in, still grinning. Sadly, his eye had fully healed itself, and he was walking around like he didn't get bested by a little human female only days prior.

How many did I kill, he meant. He saw me on my way out, and unfortunately he knew enough about me to know I was in a shit mood. I never even told him I killed people, he just somehow figured it out. Guess that's what happened when people watched every little move everyone made like there weren't better things to do.

Zero's eyes raised, and his smile became feral.

Grand.

I looked over my shoulder to see Mae and Luca.

At least it was the one that fought back.

Mae stood there, eyes narrowed. I could just feel the anger pouring off of her. The hatred she felt of this piece of shit rivaled my own, and for good reason. If what I heard about the two of them was true, I'd want his head on a platter too.

Well, I'd wanted his head on a platter since the moment I met his fucking dumb ass. He was almost as bad as his dad. Almost.

I wondered if Mae could kill his father too...and if she'd let me watch. Maybe she'd let me watch both.

"The pests still aren't taken care of," Mae spat.

I blinked. Like, both of us? Come on. I thought we had a moment, Mae.

Zero slung his arm over my shoulder and I swear to whatever felt like listening I wanted to burn him alive, and then myself. Fucking slimy fucking bastard.

Why didn't I kill someone again?

Right, I didn't fucking know.

I blew out a breath and looked at the door, wishing I was still out there. Wishing I'd just let off a little bit of steam.

"I was just asking Seraph here how many people he killed on his walk," Zero said, eyes watching her like a hawk for any change of emotion. "You know he's like a vampire Jack the Ripper."

Mae didn't even blink.

"I didn't kill anyone," I said.

Mae's eyes flicked to me, a small smile of - was that relief - flitting across her lips before she looked back at Zero, that emotion completely disappearing. She wanted to kill him. It wasn't just a fleeting emotion, and she hadn't said it as a joke. She actually wanted to kill him.

Something about that idea turned me on.

I glanced at Luca, who stared at me. His eyes flicked down to my dick, then back up, then he tilted his head at Mae.

I didn't react. Didn't nod or shake my head. Because obviously the reason why I was sporting a half mast hard on was because of her and the hatred I could taste in the air.

The smile was gone from Zero's face as he stared at Mae. He didn't get the reaction he wanted. He wanted her to fear me. To be disgusted with me. To hate me. Anything.

"If only he'd kill you," she said wistfully.

God. Fucking. Damn.

Zero snorted. "He'd never."

I would. I would in a heartbeat. But I'd leave that to the little birdy over there.

She'd been confused about the nickname. But that's what she was. An innocent, little fragile thing that I could crush within seconds if I wanted to. But I wouldn't. I didn't feel like it with her.

She rolled her eyes. "I think anyone who knows you wants you dead, dick for brains."

I glanced back at Luca and narrowed my eyes when I saw he was still watching me. The fuck did this dude want?

He looked at the door, then to Zero, then to me.

Ah, a hint.

Zero leaned harder against me and I swear I was going to burn my clothes. Fuck. I liked this shirt.

I sighed and grabbed Zero. "I was coming in to get you. I'm hungry."

Zero turned to face me, his eyes glistening with excitement. "Can't have a hangry Seraph, now can we? Let's go."

He pulled me towards the front doors and I glanced over my shoulder at Luca. 'You owe me.'

He smirked. 'I'll let you suck my dick for free. How's that for owing you?'

I curled my lip in disgust.

Sick bastard.

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