Chapter 97: You Play with Fire, You Get Burned

Blair had stayed up all night.

She was seated on the bed, her chin resting on her knees as she stared blankly out the shattered window. The cold mountain wind swept into the room, biting at her bare skin, but she didn’t feel it. She just watched the sun slowly rise over the snow-capped pines.

Daemus didn’t return.

He had taken her virginity.

Blair swallowed hard, the reality of what had happened washing over her in the quiet light of dawn. Growing up in the church, she had been taught that she was supposed to save herself for marriage. For the longest time, she honestly thought she was just going to die a virgin anyway. But now...

Blair groaned, pulling the duvet up to hide half of her reddening face.

Was that basically sex? she wondered wildly, her mind spinning. Did we technically have sex?

She slowly lowered the blanket, a small frown tugging at her lips. She really hoped Daemus didn’t think she hated him for what he did. The terror she had felt was real, but she wasn’t a child. She had been well aware of the risks when she agreed to sleep in his room. She had laid in his bed, touched him, and allowed him to touch her. She was playing with fire; she couldn’t blame the fire for burning her.

Then again, a small, stubborn part of her admitted... she didn’t entirely mind being burned.

A soft knock suddenly rapped against the door.

"Blair, my dear?" Clarice’s muffled voice called from the hallway.

Blair’s eyes widened to the size of saucers. She shot straight up in the bed, scrambling to pull the duvet tightly around her bare chest. She chewed nervously on her thumbnail, her heart hammering against her ribs. How does she know I’m in here?! she panicked.

"Can I come in?" Clarice asked.

Blair’s eyes darted frantically across the floor. The only clothes left in one piece were her sweatpants and her bra. Everything else had been shredded.

"One second!" Blair yelled back, her voice cracking into a panicked squeak.

She knew she was in so much trouble. Clarice was going to be furious with her for being alone with Daemus this close to the full moon.

Blair scrambled out of bed, wincing slightly as a dull ache radiated from her lower back and between her thighs, but it was nothing she couldn’t handle. She quickly pulled her sweatpants on and snapped her bra into place.

She spun around, catching her reflection in the full-length mirror.

She gasped. She looked like a disaster. Her dark hair was a wild, tangled bird’s nest, and even more of the iridescent roots had grown out overnight. But worst of all, there was a stark, red bruise blooming on the side of her neck where Daemus had bitten her. On her pale chest and abdomen, there were faint, red scratches from his claws. Her eyes were puffy, surrounded by deep, dark circles from not sleeping a wink.

She had to improvise.

Blair snatched the shredded remains of her shirt from the floor. She quickly folded the torn fabric into a broad headband and tied it tightly around her head, desperately trying to hide her roots.

She dropped to her knees, pulling Daemus’s duffle bag out from under the bed. She unzipped it and began rummaging frantically through the contents, searching for a shirt.

Knock, knock.

"Is everything alright in there?" Clarice asked, her voice laced with a hint of suspicion.

"Almost!" Blair yelled back, her panic peaking.

Almost what?! she screamed internally. She didn’t even know what she was saying anymore. She dug through the bag faster, tossing aside socks and hockey gear. How many sweatpants does one guy need?!

Her hand brushed against something hard plastic. She pulled it out.

It was a small, orange prescription pill bottle. There were only two small white tablets left rattling at the bottom. Blair’s curiosity got the best of her, of course. She turned the bottle over, reading the printed label.

Daemus Krelin.Rut Suppression - Take two daily.

Blair’s brow furrowed. She read the date on the bottle. The medication had been issued just three days ago, and the quantity clearly stated there were originally sixty tablets inside.

Her eyes widened in horror as she did the math.

He was overdosing. He had taken almost an entire month’s supply of these pills in just three days! She spun the bottle around, frantically searching for the side effects, but there were none listed on the label. Still, she knew taking that much of any medication was extremely dangerous.

Blair quickly shoved the bottle deep into the pocket of her sweatpants.

She dug further down into the duffle bag. Right at the very bottom, she found three more pill bottles identical to the first. They were all empty.

"Blair?" Clarice called out again, rattling the doorknob. "Are you okay?"

"Yes!" Blair squeaked, finally spotting a dark t-shirt.

She snatched it up, hastily shoving the empty pill bottles and the rest of his clothes back into the duffle bag before kicking it far back under the bed. She pulled the shirt over her head, smoothing down the fabric as she rushed to the door.

Blair took a deep, steadying breath, plastering a fake, polite smile onto her face, and pulled the door open.

"Good morning," Blair greeted nervously.

Clarice didn’t say a word at first. She gently cupped Blair’s face with both hands. The surprisingly tender action made a shy blush spread across Blair’s cheeks.

"Your face is all puffy," Clarice noted softly, her thumbs brushing against Blair’s cheekbones. "You didn’t sleep last night?"

Blair stiffened, bracing herself for the inevitable reprimand. She expected Clarice to yell at her, to call her foolish. But Clarice’s gaze only briefly flicked down to the bite mark on Blair’s neck before returning to meet her eyes.

"Where did my son go?" Clarice asked quietly.

Blair lowered her gaze to the floor. "I... I don’t know."

Clarice stepped past her, walking slowly into the bedroom. She looked at the shattered window, the glass glittering across the floor, and then her silver eyes landed on the small specks of dried blood staining the bedsheets.

"He hurt you," Clarice stated. It wasn’t a question.

"He didn’t mean to," Blair argued quietly, wrapping her arms around her waist.

Clarice didn’t respond. She walked straight over to the bed, dropping to her knees, and pulled Daemus’s duffle bag out from underneath the frame. She stood up, tossing the bag over her shoulder.

"We need to leave," Clarice told her firmly.

Blair’s eyes widened. "Without him?"

"Yes," Clarice responded, walking toward the door. "You’re standing fine, so I am assuming he didn’t actually mate with you. He somehow managed to stop himself before he could."

Clarice paused in the doorway, looking back at Blair with a chillingly grave expression.

"But it’s not over," Clarice warned her. "He marked you. And the full moon is tonight. He will be back to finish what he started, and this time... he won’t stop."