THE ALPHA'S SUCCUBUS

003

Laughing at what Kai said, I picked at my food. “I think I want to do something dumb.”

Kaia blinked. “Don’t tell me. You’re ready to lose it?”

“What the hell,” I whisper-yelled. “No.” I leaned over the table, pulling my phone from my pocket, scrolling through a note. “Remember this?” I angled the screen toward Kaia.

Things To Do Before We’re Official Adults™

Her eyes widened as she saw the list we made in first grade. “You still have this?”

“Of course. Who deletes gold?” I smirked. “‘Eat an entire chocolate cake at 3 a.m.’ Check. ‘Learn to skateboard.’ Fail. ‘Crash a wedding.’ Check.”

“Ooh, we did that.” Kaia giggled.

“‘Kiss a stranger in another town.’ You owe me that one, by the way.”

Kaia laughed, leaning in. “What else? I didn’t know you took notes. No wonder your dares are so silly.”

I scrolled. “Ah. Here it is. ‘Swim in the forbidden lake before graduation.’”

Kaia stiffened. “The one near the outskirts?”

“The very same.”

“You know your mom keeps warning us about the outskirts.”

“Which is exactly why we’re going.”

Kaia shook her head, but a crooked smile tugged at her lips. “She said it’s cursed.”

“She says everything outside the main roads is cursed. Remember when she warned us about the gas station past the bridge because of ‘bad spirits near gas stations’?”

Kaia snorted. “Fair. All the more reason to find out,” she said, her voice softer now.

“At least my first act of defiance isn’t losing it,” I said, using air quotes.

“Girl, please.” Kaia cracked up.

“Friday. The lake.” I sealed the deal.

Kaia grinned even harder. “Dumb decisions are better with company.”

I chuckled. “Facts.”

Before Kaia could roll her eyes, the cafeteria noise shifted, like the entire student body took a breath at the same time. We didn’t even have to look. I felt him before I saw him.

Levi Carter.

Quarterback. King of Thursday thirst traps. Probably couldn’t spell ‘boundaries’ if it bit him.

“Hey,” he said, his voice syrupy with that fake-nice tone boys use when they want something. “You’re Lilith, right?”

Kaia’s jaw clenched; she’d dated his best friend, and it hadn’t ended well. What is he doing?

Levi leaned an arm against the table like he’d rehearsed it in the mirror. “Didn’t realize we had a new heartbreaker. Where’ve you been hiding, Princess?”

I blinked slowly. Is he dumb? “…We’re in the same class.”

Levi grinned like he thought he was charming, or my reply was a cue to continue. “I know, it’s crazy how I didn’t notice you before. You’re, like… different now.”

Kaia turned to him with a smile sharper than a dagger. “Aw, Levi. How’d your doctor’s appointment go? I overheard you telling your guys Fay-Fay gave you herpes. Looking to share?”

Levi turned to her, face red, chest heaving. He leaned forward, seething.

Kaia leaned back, unbothered. “What? Are you having a seizure?”

Nearby students snorted. Levi’s smirk faltered.

Kaia tilted her head. “Now shoo, quarterback. Go toss a ball or whatever it is you do when you’re not disappointing women.”

Levi opened his mouth, then thought better of it. He muttered something that sounded like “b***h” and stalked off, ego limping behind him.

I watched him retreat. “That was…”

“Therapeutic?” Kaia offered.

“I was going to say crazy, but yeah, that too.”

Kaia grabbed her bag. “Come on. We’re ditching. You clearly need air, and I need to scream into the woods or something.”

“God, yes.” I grabbed my stuff. We were out the back door before the lunch bell could even think about ringing.

The afternoon sun dipped low, bleeding amber across the streets as we weaved through traffic on my motorcycle. The wind whipped Kaia’s curls back as she held on tight, her helmet slightly too big. I watched her in the mirrors.

My mind drifted to last night.

Would he come again?

Did I want him to come?

I really need to figure out what’s going on. I’ve touched myself before, but that was different.

The engine roared beneath us like a second heartbeat, and the world blurred into the kind of freedom only a stolen afternoon can bring. I pulled up to the curb outside my house at the end of the street, quiet and ivy-draped, like a secret tucked away for just us, my mom and me.

The sun cast golden streaks through the trees, dancing on the porch like something was waiting. Tires crunched the gravel as we swung off in one smooth motion. Kaia tugged off her helmet, shaking out her hair.

“You’re getting better at turns,” she said, bumping my shoulder.

“I was born to ride,” I said with a sly smirk, tossing my keys into my hoodie pocket.

We both paused.

Kaia’s mom’s red car sat in the driveway.

“I think my mom’s here,” Kaia said.

“Think? You guys might as well just move in already.”

Inside, warmth spilled from the kitchen, thick with the scent of lavender, rosemary, and something too earthy to name. My mom glanced up from the stove, her apron dusted with flour, hair twisted messily. Kaia’s mom sat at the table, bracelets chiming softly as she laughed at something Mom had said.

“There you are,” my mom said, eyes narrowing playfully. “I was starting to wonder. Did you eat anything before running off today?”

“Yes, Mom.”

“We figured you’d both ditch eventually,” Kaia’s mom added, voice velvet and mischief.

Kaia grinned. “I love how you get me, Mom.”

“Good,” she winked. “You’re only young once.”

We dropped our bags by the door. As we stepped into the kitchen, I took a deep breath. The warmth hit differently, like the walls themselves had a pulse. Something in the air shifted, subtle and quick, like I felt lighter for a second.

And then I saw it: a look between them. Too fast for anyone else to catch, too precise to be random.

I blinked, and it was gone.

“So,” I said, squinting slightly. “How was your day at work? Were you talking about birthdays again?”

My mom smiled too smoothly, too bright. “Of course. Eighteen’s a big one. I’m thinking road trip.”

I scoffed. “Please don’t. I’m not spending hours cramped in a car.”

“You can ride your bike,” she teased, like she wasn’t baiting me.

“I’m just going to head up. See you in a bit, and don’t leave without telling me.” I kissed her cheek and snagged an apple from the counter.

Kaia trailed behind. We retreated to my room, tension slipping off our shoulders as the door clicked shut. She sprawled on my bed; I curled into my chair. We stayed like that, talking until her mom called her home.

The day slipped past in a blur, too fast, too loud. But when night fell, sleep refused to come. My room, usually a refuge, felt alive with noise. The creak of ancient pipes whispered secrets I couldn’t decipher. The fridge hummed like it was holding its breath. Even the hallway clock ticked with strange urgency. Every scent was sharper, impossible to ignore. Dust clung to the air like a forgotten memory. Lavender mingled with the faintest trace of cinnamon from the tea Mom always brewed before bed. The smells wove together, thick and overwhelming, pressing into my skin.

And speaking of skin, mine felt raw and hypersensitive, like the air itself was coarse sandpaper scraping across my nerves. I knew if I tried to sleep, I’d be pulled back. Back into the nightmare where my own skin felt foreign. Or maybe it was him. That man whose touch left me breathless and aching, tangled in something I wasn’t ready to understand.

I didn’t want either of them.

Not the nightmare, not the memory.