Savage Monster (Boys Without Remorse #2)

Chapter 3

three

Korain

I’d been a mess of emotions since I woke up and found Onyx just sitting in the chair in my bedroom, watching me like a fucking creep. I both loved and hating having him so close after that poor girl’s body was found. And his threat about slaughtering whoever was doing this… I was choosing to ignore how hard that had made me and how badly I’d wanted him in that moment. Because I knew I shouldn’t want a creep who broke into my house and invited himself to just watch me sleep like some crazed fucking stalker.

It didn’t help that he hadn’t stopped being my fucking shadow since we’d left the cabin. Hell, it was a fight just to get him to leave me alone long enough for me to go piss. The only space he’d given me was standing outside of the bathroom door.

I was at my wit’s end. I was a mess of conflicted feelings—wanting him close, wanting to push him away. And I hadn’t had a single moment alone to even begin to process what the fuck was happening—not Onyx, not the body that’d been discovered, not the amount of people who’d been bitching at me all morning about poor security and leaving and demanding refunds for their stays.

I was on the verge of exploding.

“Can you give me two fucking minutes of peace ?” I snapped, stopping suddenly and swinging around to face Onyx.

He calmly arched a perfect, dark brow at me. I wanted to smack off his eyebrow, and I wasn’t a violent person. It just went to show how goddamn overwhelmed I was.

“Seriously,” I seethed. “You’ve been up my ass all day . I want two minutes to myself. Just two. Is that too much to ask, Onyx? I can’t even piss by myself, for fuck’s safe.”

He crossed his arms over his chest, his biceps flexing against his T-shirt with the movement. He shrugged, all casual indifference. “I don’t care what space you want, Korain. Too much space and you could get killed. Not risking it. So, carry on. Just…pretend I’m not here.”

“Pretend you’re not here?” I snapped, stepping toward him so the toes of our shoes touched. Something dark and primal darkened his eyes, like something lurking inside of him was rising to the challenge I presented. I barely forced back a shiver of…what? It sure as fuck wasn’t trepidation or fear. “You’re literally right behind me. How the fuck can I just pretend you’re not existing in my space?”

His hand latched around my throat, and his fingers tightened until he cut off my airflow. He leaned in to me, his lips just barely brushing mine, and my eyelids fluttered, my mind going hazy.

“That’s it,” he murmured, his eyes boring into mine. They were such a pretty shade of blue, it was unreal. “Just focus on me, baby.” Reaching up with his other hand, he laced his fingers in my hair, his nails scraping over my scalp. If I were a cat, I would’ve purred. “There you go.” He loosened his grip on my neck and stroked his thumb right beneath my jaw. “Better?”

Lost for words, I just dumbly nodded. He hummed and dropped his hands, stepping back. I blinked at him, a little disoriented. Was he a warlock or something? How the hell did he just make my mind shut off like that? It wasn’t normal .

“How…”

“You were spiraling,” he said like my reaction to him was anything normal. “I gave your brain something else to focus on—the lack of oxygen. And then, I calmed you. Your mind knows I’m safe, Korain. Stop fighting with yourself.”

I frowned.

“I don’t even know you,” I snapped.

Onyx quirked a brow at me like he found all this amusing . Fuck him . “My last name is Dean. My parents are gay and happily married. I’m gay and the oldest of five siblings. Four of us are quadruplets. I’ve been stalking you for weeks, and my favorite color is black—the color of your hair.”

“Weeks?” I squeaked, stuck on that.

He nodded once. “Weeks. I saw you in the grocery store and just…latched on.” One shoulder lifted. “Just how my brain works.”

“How your brain works?” I asked, feeling stupid for constantly repeating what he said. But he was throwing me for a fucking loop. I’d had a stalker for weeks ? And he’d just latched on to me because that was how his brain worked ? It didn’t make sense. None of this made sense.

“I’m a psychopath,” he told me. He’d said the same thing earlier, but I hadn’t believed him. It just seemed too outlandish and too much of an easy excuse for the stalking and watching me sleep bullshit.

“A psychopath,” I deadpanned.

His lips quirked in amusement.

“Are you just going to repeat everything I say?” he teased.

I scowled at him, and without a word, I spun on the ball of my foot and marched toward the trail. I needed to do clean-up from the park visitors. They never failed to drop their trash and cigarette butts wherever they wanted, rather than holding them until they reached the end of the trail. It was disrespectful of the wildlife and just plain disgusting of them as human beings.

The scent of rotting meat reached my nose about five minutes down the trail, and I stopped, my stomach churning. Lifting my shirt to cover my nose, I stepped off the path, following the stench. It was so strong, I could still smell it through my T-shirt.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Onyx growled at the same moment I saw the half-mutilated deer carcass. Gagging, I rushed to a tree and vomited pure stomach acid and water, considering I hadn’t had a chance to eat anything that day. Onyx gripped the back of my neck, his fingers pressing into the sides, grounding me. I closed my eyes, my stomach still roiling, but I didn’t think I would vomit again.

“I need to call this in,” I rasped, standing up and wiping my mouth with the bottom of my T-shirt. I didn’t dare turn to face Onyx, terrified I would just see that damn carcass again. My stomach couldn’t handle it.

“Do what you need,” Onyx said, his voice low and growly. He didn’t release my neck, and I was thankful. As much as I hated to admit it, I needed him.

What the absolute fuck was going on around here?