Blood Lust
Chapter Seventeen

Selena focused all her energy on R. Every second of the day she was right by his side, whispering in his ear. Even R stopped talking to me in my head. It made me a little jealous.

When I tried to give myself the pep talk, nothing worked. I had already admitted to myself and R, that I had feelings for him. We shared a kiss. My brain went into overdrive with possessiveness. I couldn't even explain where it was coming from.

I spotted the two talking in the hall, when I should've been mopping the floors. They were whispering. They were so close that even I could tell something was about to happen. He was leaning into her while she was propped up against the wall. A golf ball sized lump formed in my throat.

Please don't do it.

I begged and begged. I watched him lean in closer to her, my eyes widened with anger. He was going to kiss her! How dare she! He was mine!

My eyes were glued. My grip tightened around the mop handle. I put so much pressure on the handle that I could feel it begin to bend, almost about to snap. I gritted my teeth as I watched R lean down to press his lips against her exposed chest. He was going to kiss her!

Wait...

My anger fizzled out. Confusion and fear surfaced when I noticed his face. Those sunken dark eyes and pale complexion meant he wasn't after love, but lust. R sunk his fang into Selena's chest, pinning her against the wall. Her blood trickled down her chest and stained her uniform top. They were both out in the open, without a care in the world.

I dropped the mop when I stepped back. I didn't want to believe it.

To spite me, Selena looked at me and winked. She knew I was watching them. She ripped R's shirt open to reveal his bare chest and shoved him against the opposite wall. A primal growl radiated from R's chest like a animal in heat. Selena dug her fangs into his neck, allowing blood to splash the wall behind them. They began to feed off of each other in a frenzied state.

"Hey, what are you gawking at?" The Guard who had been assigned to me had finally noticed that I wasn't moving. "Oh, nasty." He peered around the corner, "You're cleaning that up!" He mocked and threw a towel at them. It was just a joke to him.

I wanted to run. If I ran and the Guard chased me down, would R save me from whatever punishment I would receive? Or, would he let the Guard kill me? Did I necessarily care at that point?

"Alright. Playtime is over. Let's move down a different hall." The Guard picked the mop handle up and shoved it back at me. I didn't need to be told twice to walk away. My feet did all the work while my brain tried to comprehend what I had seen.

"Ayyye. Dominic!" A familiar voice shouted down the hall towards us.

"Martin!" The Guard clapped. He seemed excited to see him. They must've been close friends. "Guess who I just saw in the halls doing the deed. Trying to mark her and everything!" He roared with laughter. The meager smile on his face vanished when he peaked his head around the corner.

"Ahh...haha. Yea that's hilarious..." He faked. He shared a quick look of confusion with me. like he wanted to ask me if I knew.

Of course I know!

"Hey, I'll take over here for you. Why don't you get some dinner?" He offered a decoy. The Guard, Dominic had happily agreed. He gave a quick pat on the back to Martin and left us. We stood there in uncomfortable silence. Neither of us knew how to start the conversation. "...Christi." He tried.

"I don't understand any of this." I was frustrated. I was done. I grabbed the mop and started in a corner, hoping Martin wouldn't see tears dripping down my face.

I didn't understand why I was even upset. Just a few short weeks ago I had zero feelings for this man. I thought it had to do with the mark, but that Guard had said something about R marking Selena. So, did that mean I was no longer marked? If that was how it worked, then why did I feel so bad? It made me want him even more.

"Christi. There was no reason for that. I don't even know why he would even do it." Martin tried to reason with me.

"Don't try and make me feel better. He marked her. Right? That's what the Guard said. So she belongs to him. Its over." I said bitterly.

Martin pulled out his phone and called someone, "Hey, we need to talk. Something is up with R." I imagined he was talking to either Dee or Lee. "Yea, let's meet up." He hung up. "Listen, I'm sure you don't want to hear this, but I think there's something more going on."

"I don't care." I said as I tried focusing on the floor. I focused all my attention on this small stain in between the cracks of the flooring.

"If R was doing what I think. It wasn't him marking her." He tried to reach out and reassure me. It didn't help. The feeling was still burning a hole in my heart.

"Three weeks ago, I could care less about him. Today I'm a blubbering mess. None of these feelings feel like my own. Whatever it is, I don't want it. I don't want the mark!" I yelled. I was beyond furious. Tears openly flowed down my face.

I had the last word. There was nothing more to discuss. I was stupid to believe that any of it was real. He was a monster and I was just a plaything to him.

After I had finished mopping, I had Martin take me to the library. I resumed my old spot. Tucked away between the shelves in the history section, where no one could replace me.

Something compelled me to look up. One last look up at the balcony, my intuition told me. I looked and he wasn't there. Only Dee stood watch, which I thought was odd. Usually, they were inseparable when they worked together.