Page 35

I gasp. “You can ingest poison?”

“Yes. I am immune to it.”

“That explains why you never had a reaction to my blood. Poison runs alongside it in my veins. You have tasted me, and it’s not made you sick once.” So many pieces are fitting into place. The mystery of him… “Wait, what is your real name, then?”

“I told you. Just Bell. It was a delicious twist of fate that your betrothed and I had a similar name. Made it easier for me to keep the mask on. To play the part.”

“You are my betrothed, Bell. Not him. Why didn’t you kill me, actually?” The thought of some other man’s hands on me gives me hives. This man on his knees in front of me is the only one I could ever lie next to.

He grips my chin gently between his thumb and forefinger. “I’m an orphan, Arkana. My mother and her husband dumped me on the steps of Wickford Hollow Orphanage when I was a baby. With nothing but this necklace wrapped around my wrist.” He fingers the vines that have never left his neck since I’ve known him.

“The nuns were startled by the sound of the bells tolling in the tower, seemingly on their own and without cause. When they rushed outside, they found me in a blanket, as quiet as a mouse. They called me Bell from that night forward. But they were cold and distant. I craved warmth and fire. But I could never find it until the moment I looked into your eyes…”

Oh, my beloved. My heart aches as it beats rapidly in my chest. I throw my arms around his neck and cling to him. “You will never be alone again, Bell. You will never be cold. I promise you.”

He drops his head against my shoulder and sobs. “But you still don’t know what I am. You will be repulsed.”

My limbs shake as I hang onto him for dear life. “I don’t care what you are. You’re mine, Bell!”

He jerks back and slithers his forked tongue across his lips. “I am not a normal man, Arkana. You have seen my eyes, and you have felt my kiss. I am unnatural.”

Of course, I’ve known there is something different about him. Something perhaps even otherworldly, but it mattered not. “And my family worships ravens. They carve sigils into their flesh and make blood sacrifices for power. The unnatural is all I’ve ever known.”

“My love… Lucy Bishop knows what I am. And now I finally do too. She has confirmed what I’ve always felt within my bones… That I am the son of Willa Harker and the devil himself.”

I am sick. Not from his admonition but from the fact that anyone could abandon him. “I will never trust the Harkers again. They are no longer welcome here.”

Bell’s eyes widen. “Did you not hear what I said? I am half human, half devil. I kill without empathy. I take without asking. I used to pull the wings off of flies for amusement. I destroy everything I touch. And I would’ve killed your housemaid if you hadn’t stopped me. But that’s not even half of the vile things I’ve done.”

I don’t think I could ever love anyone more than I do him right now. I grab the back of his neck and yank him forward until our foreheads are pressed together. “Listen to me, I don’t care. We all have darkness within us. You just have more. But you can keep it controlled. I will help you. Or else, I’d rather you just kill me than refuse to even try.”

He lets out a deep sigh. “Arkana, your father… He looked into my eyes, and he knew I was the son of the devil. And it killed him. His death is my fault.”

A deep shudder rolls through me. I have relived that day over and over in my head. It has haunted my sleep since. The moment my father turned to Bell, he started to shake before he removed the mask. I remember thinking he was nervous for me. But my Uncle Atreus was standing behind Bell.

I shake my head. “No. My father saw something else. I’m sure of it. None of this is your fault. It’s the Harkers and the Cranes and the Bishops. They can all rot in hell.”

He looks at me dumbfounded. “How can you remain loyal to me when I’ve just told you what I’ve done? Our marriage is a lie.”

It feels as if my heart is about to explode. “This marriage is the only thing that’s true. I could not breathe until you put breath into my lungs. My entire life I have been too much or not enough. Yet you think I’m perfect. And while you are the most infuriating man I’ve ever met, you are also the funniest, most protective, and most handsome. My love for you burns so hot it could scorch this earth.”

“Arkana…” He breathes against my lips.

“Some may see the devil in your eyes, but I know your heart. And it belongs to me. You belong to me, Bell. But if you do not feel the same then kill me now,” I plead.

He wraps his hand around my neck. “Oh, Arkana, my beautiful wildling… I will love you until our bones are dust. And then I shall haunt you for a thousand eternities after…”

I whimper and melt into his arms. “My love. Please fuck me this instant.”

He growls and flips me over onto my back. “I understand now. It was never about the money. Fate met me in the road that day so that I could claim you. Not the manor or the riches. You, my love. I would do it all over again if it means I end up right here in your arms.”

He thrusts his cock all the way inside me, and I nearly break down in tears. This is what I’ve always wanted. My very own monster to love and protect me. That is what my father’s last words meant. He rasped, slay. And that is exactly what Bell and I shall do to anyone who dares to threaten us.

“Don’t fret, my love. The servants will come around. They’ll see that you were in a sour mood and didn’t mean it.” It has been three days since I locked them up and let Bell defile me on every surface of the manor. But I gave them all a goblet of our finest whiskey after letting them out of the crypt. They may be physically bound to this house, but I would like them to not hate us.

Now, freshly bathed and groomed, Bell is back to looking more like his diabolical and handsome self. Although, I do adore this new vulnerable side of him as well. “I need to make things right with Olga. It will take time, but I intend to earn her trust.”

My husband’s impulse control needs work, but I don’t believe for one second that he was going to kill her. Maybe I am naive, but that’s what I choose to see in his heart. “You will, my lord. She will see in time how much you love me.” We have fallen hard and fast for each other, our obsession growing by the day.