Succubus Happens

Chapter Thirteen

Natalie comes up to me at the end of the school day. I’m not really surprised because her locker is right next to mine and we were bound to run into each other sooner or later. I would have preferred later, but that would be just too easy, apparently. I try my best not to pay her any attention, but I can feel her staring at me and it makes me incredibly uncomfortable.

“Yes, Natalie?” I ask, finally turning to look at her.

She raises a brow and tilts her head to the side. “How long do you think it’s going to last?” she asks me.

My eyebrows come together as I try to figure out what exactly she means. “What are you talking about?”

“How long do you think your relationship with Carter is going to last?”

“Why does that matter to you?” I ask her. “It’s none of your business.”

I shut my locker door and start for the parking lot. She follows me outside and I let out a deep breath as I make my way to my car.

“Everything in this town is my business,” Natalie says.

I raise a brow and glance over at her. “I seriously doubt that,” I tell her. “But you can keep trying to fool yourself.”

“In all honesty, you believe that Carter loves you?” Natalie asks.

I unlock my car and toss my things into the passenger seat. I shut the door and turn to face her. I want so badly to rub it in her face, but I don’t owe her anything. She deserves nothing from me. The words don’t belong to her. “I don’t know that,” I tell her. “Who can know that except Carter?”

“I do,” she says. “I’ve been in this town long enough to know that he couldn’t love you. It’s not possible.”

“What does that even mean, possible?”

She ignores my questions and folds her arms across her chest. “You’re a Succubus, Daph. Can you honestly believe that the people who love you, do it out of their own free will?”

Her words shock me and I step back. “But Carter isn’t—”

Natalie looks smug. “Affected by you? Please. Everyone in this town is affected by you. Some of us just do a better job at pretending. Carter is obviously one of them.”

 “But he’s got that bracelet.”

“That bracelet is to shield against a certain type of magic. Your magic is something that can’t be manufactured. How are we to shield against it?”

I feel like I’ve been hit with a ton of bricks. “So what? He’s just with me because of my appeal?” This is the very thing I told him that day we found out what I was. This is why I was trying to avoid this type of relationship with him. He couldn’t love me. No one can love me because of what I am. I’m the epitome of an unlovable being.

“I’ve heard him talking about it to Jake and the others. He’s in it for the high. Apparently being with you is like nothing he’s ever experienced. And he’s not really interested in it going further than that.”

I blink. “I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

“Why else would he choose you? He’s got plenty of women in this town that he knows and that he trusts to be in a committed relationship. He doesn’t have to worry about them sneaking around and feeding off of anyone else. Why would anyone put themselves through that? Why would anyone want to worry about who else their SO is seeing?”

“But I would never cheat on him,” I say.

“That’s what you say now. But this if your first relationship experience with someone as a Succubus. Who’s the say that you won’t feel the need to feed off of someone else somewhere down the line?”

“But I love him,” I say, my voice catching in my throat. “Doesn’t he know that?”

“He doesn’t care.”

“He—” I can’t get the words out now. It feels like there’s a lump the size of a golf ball in my throat and it’s nearly impossible to breathe. None of this makes sense at all. I look down at the bracelet that Carter gave me. It’s just like his…and then it hits me. She’s Doubting me. I almost fell for it. I almost believed that she was telling the truth.

“Why are you doing this?” I ask her. “Why are you trying to turn me against him?”

Natalie looks shocked. She’s surprised that I’ve called her out. “What do you mean?”

I lift my arm. “These work better than you think they do, Nat. I’m not even going to ask how you got your powers to work. I just want to know why you’re trying to Doubt me.”

She narrows her eyes at me. “End it with Carter or he won’t live to see the end of the week.”

I feel like the ground has collapsed beneath me. “What?”

Natalie reaches out and touches my arm. “See you later.”

And then she walks away.

It takes me a few moments before I’m able to move my legs. I climb into my car and lower the windows to get some type of air flow in the car. I stick the keys into the ignition, but I don’t turn them. I can’t move. I’d probably be dangerous on the road, even if there is only the one stoplight.

How could I have been so stupid to believe that we were going to be fine? How could we have so careless to think that Alex had given up? And now if I don’t do what they want me to do they’re going to kill him. I’ve heard the damage that they could cause. I heard the stories about when they go out on their monthly raids. Alex is dangerous. I can’t lose Carter because I’m selfish.

“Daph?”

My back stiffens at my name, but I relax when I realize that it’s Carter. He ducks his head into the open space between the window and the door. He kisses my cheek and I close my eyes, not wanting to look at him. How can I? How can I break up with him when I feel the way that I do? How can anyone do this?

“What are you still doing here?” he asks me, concern lacing his voice.

I glance at the clock. I’ve been sitting in my car for an hour. Time flies when you’re falling apart. Basketball practice is over, which means my father is on his way home and my mother is probably freaking out about where I am. Now that I think about it, she’ll probably assume that I’m with Carter and well…she wouldn’t be wrong.

“I, uh, lost track of time,” I tell him, clearing my throat. I still keep my eyes away from him. It’s easier this way.

“What’s going on, Daphne?” His voice has taken on a more serious tone now. “What happened?”

I shake my head. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Then can you look at me?” Carter asks. “You sound upset.”

I can’t put this off any longer. I have to do it. “What do you care?”

I can see his head jerk back in surprise out of the corner of my eye. “What do you mean by that? Of course I care.”

That’s when I look at him. I have to be cruel. Otherwise I know he won't leave. “Why? Are you worried that if I’m not 100%, you won’t get your hit?”

He doesn’t say anything for a few moments and then: “Excuse me?” His voice is hard and he sounds like he’s growling at me. I used to like it when he growled at me, but now it’s just a pleasant slap in the face of what I have to do.

“Are you having trouble hearing me?” I ask him.

“Why would you say something like that?” he asks. “How could you even think something like that?”

I shrug. “Because it’s true?”

“Don’t tell me for a second that you believe it’s true, Daphne. You know it’s not true.”

“I don’t think that I do,” I say, shaking my head.

He narrows his eyes at me and gets to his feet. He’s only up there for a few moments before he’s back at eye level and he looks pissed. “What did she say to you?”

I look out of the passenger window and see Natalie standing with Alex across the parking lot. They look like they’re deep in conversation, but they glance over at us every so often. They’re waiting to make sure I follow through. Great…let them be a witness to my suffering.

“It doesn’t matter,” I tell him. “It was true.”

“Oh, I highly doubt that she’s ever spoken a word of truth in her miserable life,” Carter snaps. “Now what did she say to you?”

“It wasn’t a lie,” I say, shaking my head. “It makes sense. It’s always made sense. You were the one that never made any sense.”

“What. Did. She. Say?” Carter asks, his eyes narrowing.

I take a deep breath and let me shoulders fall. That’s when the tears start to make their appearance. “You don’t love me. And you can’t love me. It’s physically impossible for anyone to love me because of what I am.”

I can hear his jaw clench as his nostrils flare out. The muscles in his neck are pulsing. “You don’t believe that.”

“What is there not to believe, Carter? I’m a Succubus. I’m alluring to everyone. I can’t shut it off.”

“Daphne…this conversation sounds eerily familiar,” Carter says. “I’m pretty sure we’ve already discussed this. And I’ve already discounted everything.”

“I never saw why you would do that,” I tell him. “Why you would go to all that trouble to tell me that I’m not appealing to you in that way. Why would you lie to me about that bracelet? My power can’t be shut off. So why would you lie to me about it not working on you when you’re wearing that bracelet.”

His eyes close and he lets out a breath. “I have never once lied to you, Daphne. Natalie is the one who lied to you. You remember what I told you about the Geminis, don’t you? They're two sided hideous creatures that instill doubt in their enemies. They can get you to believe whatever they tell you. They can get you to doubt the people who love you.”

“Don’t!” I tell him. If I hear him tell me that he loves me, it’ll just make me want to tell him the truth. And telling him the truth could end up getting him killed. It could probably get us both killed. “God, I was so stupid! So stupid to believe that this could be something more than it is! You don’t love me. If you loved me, you wouldn’t keep things from me!”

Now my real frustration is breaking through the surface. My emotions have broken down every defense that I’ve had.

“What have I kept from you?” Carter sounds confused.

“You won’t tell me how old you are, Carter! That should be something I should know, right?”

His eyes go wide. “You told me that you didn’t want to know!” he says.

“You don’t love me,” I tell him.

“I’m over seven hundred years old, Daphne,” he says, his voice pleading. He’s desperate now. I can’t see him like this. I don’t know if I can do it. “If it means that much to you, I’ll tell you anything and everything you want to know. I’ll leave town with you. We don’t have to stay in North Grove.”

He reaches out my for hand, but I pull it away before he can touch me. “You can’t love me.” What he doesn’t realize is that loving me in dangerous.

He swallows. “So that’s how this is going to be, then?” he asks. His voice has taken on a completely different sound. He sounds like I feel. Broken. No, Carter. I’m so sorry. “Nothing I say will get you to believe me?”

Tears are streaming down my face and I look away, shaking my head. “No.”

“You…” His voice catches. “You don’t want me.”

I don’t say anything…I can’t say anything. So I just shake my head again.

“All right, then,” he says. “I guess I’ll go.”

He doesn’t hesitate and I hear something hit the ground. I turn and I can see that he’s taken off running. He’s dropped his stuff next to my car and I look up again, trying to spot him. He’s a fast runner even in his human form. I feel a fresh wave of sobs rising up in my chest when I hear clapping.

I turn again and cower against the door when I see Alex leaning in through the passenger side. “God, I thought he’d never leave,” he says.

My fear has stopped the tears…for the time being. “What do you want?”

“I wanted him out of the picture,” Alex says. “His presence was getting…well…annoying.”

“So he’s gone. Now I’d like for you to be gone, too.”

Alex grins at me. It’s a sickening sight. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

“Yes, I would,” I say.

“Too bad,” Alex says. “Nat, can you please let Daph know our plans and then meet me in the car?”

“Sure thing, babe.” Natalie comes up behind Alex and then takes his place as he starts for Natalie’s small sedan across the lot. “First things first. Where’s your phone?”

My mind is going a million miles a minute, I can’t think straight. I don’t know what they’re planning. “In my bag, why?”

Natalie doesn’t answer me, but instead reaches into my bag and pulls out my phone. She waves my phone around. “You’ve already got a missed call from Jake. Should we call him back?”

Her voice is teasing, so I know that it’s not a real question. I shake my head and she grins, stepping back and chucking my phone against the wall of the building. It shatters into and I swallow. “What next, Natalie?”

She smiles at me, wide and sinister. “We’re driving to the edge of town and you’re going to get into the car with Alex and me and then we’re leaving.”

“Why?” I ask, panic filling my voice. “Why are you taking me?”

She shrugs. “Alex calls the shots. I don’t ask questions. Just don’t try any funny business. We’re following you and leaving your car just inside of town. See you in a jiff.”

☽

Natalie and Alex follow me by closer margins than I think they should have. If I hit my breaks even the slightest bit too fast, they would ram into the back of my car. And god knows I don’t have the money to make any repairs to my car. So there’s no escaping even if I wanted to. And I want to. I don’t know what they have planned for me. And I don’t know if there is any way of talking them out of it. There are just so many unknowns right now and I can’t even think about them because I’m focusing on making it to the edge of town.

Once there, I park my car and get out of the car. I leave my belongings inside because I know that I’m not going to be able to take anything with me.

“What are you planning?” I ask, once Alex gets out of the car. I’m surprised I can be any type of brave when it comes to Alex. He’s the only thing I’m afraid of. Well…that and losing Carter. I have to be brave for Carter. There’s no other way. Even if I broke his heart.

I quickly quiet the sob in my throat and force my eyes to meet Alex’s. He’s smirking at me and I have to fight my urge to cower away from him.

“Don’t you worry your pretty little mind about that,” he says. “Everything is going to be just fine.” Lies. All lies.

“So do you want me to get in the car?” I ask. I’m trying to be amenable right now, because I don’t know how else to act in this type of situation.

“You could say that,” Alex grins. And then the truck pops open and he’s grabbing me. I don’t even have any time to scream before he’s putting a gag in my mouth.

He binds my arms behind me before carrying me to the trunk. He presses his nose to my neck and inhales. And then he brushes his lips against my skin. “God, you’re so beautiful,” he says before shoving me into the trunk and slamming the door.

Alex must have soundproofed the trunk or something, because I can’t hear anything that he and Natalie are saying. What are they planning for me?

“Daphne.”

The noise comes like a whisper, and it surprises me. After hearing nothing for so long, the noise is like a caress. I turn my head and I jump back when I see Kate lying next to me. I let out a muffled scream and she places her hands in front of my face.

“It’s okay,” she tells me.

I groan against the gag in my mouth but she shakes her head.

“I can’t,” she says, guilt filling her eyes. “I’m not really here. I can’t touch you.”

I close my eyes and take in a deep breath before looking back at her.

“We’re coming for you,” she says. “Don’t worry about a thing.”

Don’t worry? Really? How am I not supposed to worry. I want to scream at her. You don’t know where I am! She looks to her side and shakes her head. Who is there with her? Who are you talking to?

“You’re going to be okay,” Kate tells me, her voice firm. “I’m a psychic, remember?”

If you’re a psychic why didn’t you see me getting kidnapped?

She narrows her eyes at me like she heard my accusation. “I don’t spy on you, Daphne,” she says. “Though I probably should, the amount of trouble you get into.”

A surprised sound leaves my throat. I’m slightly offended. It’s not like I go looking for this type of stuff to happen to me.

“I’m kidding,” she tells me. “Just try to breathe. We’re coming for you. You’re going to be fine.”

She’s gone. And there’s nothing but darkness.