Figment of Dreams
Chapter Fourteen: The twin trap

The cold night air was doing my heated skin some good. I had spent the rest of the evening by Maddox's side, shaking hands and meeting people. He had made a toast to me and all the guests had cheered and hollered in delight.

I was their new favorite attraction. The poor little human who never could go home again.

I was still flustered from trying to act like I cared when in fact I just wanted to go home.

To my old bed. My old life.

But that was gone forever. A lone tear crept its way down and I angrily slapped it away. I hugged myself, also because I was cold, and stared at the pool in front of me for a while longer. It was huge, and easily covered the diameter of two Olympic pools. The Rainers did every bigger, which wasn’t reserved for Texans only.

‘Need some company?’ the deep voice from earlier came from my left. I glanced up. Oak had his blue jacket on his forearm, revealing his light blue shirt that looked like it was ready to bulge out of his confinement. This man was ripped.

‘According to Jax I should avoid all Rainer men at all cost… so, please. Take a seat.’

This made him laugh out loud. ’Good thing Jax Skylar doesn’t scare me. It almost looks like he had claimed you already.’

He sat down. Draped the jacket over my shoulder without bothering to ask. I welcomed the warmth and the smell of his cologne on it. It smelled a little bit like a crisp winter night.

As I was still puzzling over claimed. He added, because of seeing the confusion on my face. ‘Marked, mated, you know. All that jazz.’ He raised his eyebrow at me. ‘You still have no clue? Don’t you humans have protocols?’

I puzzled this over. ‘I think you mean marriage…’

’No not marriage. Like the replaceing of your… mate. Lover. You know. The person you lay with. Fuck with.’

I nearly spit out my drink at his blunt language. ’Is that how this goes here? You replace a mate?’

‘Well, yeah. We can have several but that’s the summary of it.’

’Oh several… that’s a nice little arrangement you Rainers have over here.’

He smiled at me and I nearly melted into a puddle. He was that good-looking.

’It’s usually the female that has the several. Since we are a male-dominated species. For every female there are on average five males in our population. ’ He added casually sipping from his red wine softly.

I raised my eyebrow at that. ‘Interesting…’

He was staring amused at my expression and I quickly added. ’Not that I’m like.. you know. That’s for Rainers. Not for me.’

’Well it is most of all for you I would assume. Since you…-’

I felt two hands rip off the jacket that lay on my shoulders and somebody roughly gathered me in their arms. I was hosted in the air and yelped in surprise.

This was the second time tonight and I was about done with this shit.

‘What the fuck. Let me go!’ it was Kai.

Oak was moving in the corner of my eye. His bored voice reached my ears when he spoke. ‘Welkin, let her go. The girl obviously doesn’t like it.’

Kai gave him the middle finger and kept on going. I saw Oak getting halted in his tracks by his white-haired brother, so there went my savior.

‘Kai stop it!’ I protested, still he kept on barging forward towards my room. He kicked it open. I protested at that too. I didn’t want him to break my door. He slammed it shut and locked it.

Threw me on the bed with not much ado. He put the key in his pants. At the front of his pants, the bastard.

He crossed his arms and frowned down at me. ‘Three weeks!’ he growled at me. I had never seen him so angry.

‘You ignore me for three weeks!’ he screamed that last word as if his life depended on it. His face was so red he was about to pop a vein.

I scowled at him. ‘Well, you lied to me!’

‘I saved your goddamn life baby!’

‘Jax would have gotten me, Kai!’

’Jax would have- fuck! Fuck! Fuck!’ he slammed his fist into the wall so hard a painting fell down. He was breathing heavily while still holding his fist up and his face against the wall.

I grabbed at his back and was motioning him to sit down on the bench at my windowsill. I was still angry but couldn’t let him hurt himself.

I took a cloth from my vanity to stop the bleeding from his knuckles.

He hissed as I put it on roughly. Not bothering with small talk.

’A sister Kai… you have a sister! You are a goddamn Prince, Paramore, whatever- of Terra! Who the fuck are you?’ my voice was starting to crack. This was the last thing of the night to finally put me over the edge. I continued. ’You have been with me every single day for the last year Kai! Every single day we shared and cried and spend together! Every day I trusted you! Confided in you, things I had never told anyone, not even Jax! You know everything there is to know about me! You fucking bastard! You should have told me! I fucking loved you! You were my best friend!’

I had not realized how loudly I was shouting. I was also standing, which I had no idea I had just done.

He sat there with his bleeding knuckles, his cute dimples, and his big blue eyes watering up. Staring at me dumbfounded. I was breathing hard. My chest rose and fell, wheezing with the effort it took not to start bawling. Fists clenching. I wanted to hit him so badly.

‘You loved me baby?’ he said, smirking in that goofball way of his. ’That’s funny 'cause… guess what? I love you too….from the very first day I laid eyes on that cute face I have loved you. And you my bestie too!’ he winked. ‘Pinky swear.’

That fucking did it. I fell to the floor sobbing. Crying my eyes out for all that I had lost. For the anger I finally could unleash on Kai. For him taking me away when I should have died on earth with the rest of them. For all of it.

I felt him engulf me in his embrace on the floor. Whispering sweet nothings in my ear. And I sobbed and sobbed on his shirt. In his neck. All the way to my bed.

Where he spend the night holding me while I cried. Kissing the top of my head. Rubbing my back up and down. I didn’t think I would sleep at all. Anticipating the Dark Stalker replaceing me already.

I woke up, eyes were swollen from all the crying. I didn’t want to fully wake yet so I pretended to still be asleep. I was on Kai’s chest still. He was playing with my hair. Obviously having been up for a long time. Kissing my head once in a while.

‘You are just the cutest little snorer…’ he whispered. This got me awake in a heartbeat. I turned my head back and blinked up at him.

‘I don’t snore.’

He laughed, and kissed my nose and my lips softly. ‘Babe… you make these little noises. It’s just the cutest.’ He lovingly took care of a stray hair that was blocking my vision of him. God, he was handsome when he just woke up.

‘Careful Kai… I’m still not over all the lies. You staying here doesn’t solve all of it.’

I slammed my head back down on his chest and let my hands wander over his torso. Contradicting my own statement immediately.

I felt him smile. I needed some sleep still.

’Babe…I hate to say this but we need to get up… I want to stay here all day with you. Oh, do I want to….. But we need to get to the college.’ I protested by letting my legs climb on his and grabbing him tighter. ‘No… please…. No…’

‘Baby….you don’t want to climb on me right now.’ I could instantly tell why. He had a massive erection.

I laughed at that.

‘Yeah, that’s a conundrum. I’m going to take a shower. I suggest you do too.’

He raised his eyebrows expectantly.

‘After I’m done of course.’ I kissed his lips and jumped out of bed.

For the first time in weeks, feeling slightly better.