Lily
The feathers
on my neck stood when I felt the cool metal pressed against the small of my
back. I’d never been held at gun point. I suppose it wasn’t how I thought it
would be, though I’d never considered it too closely. The man behind me swept
my molten bronze-colored hair aside to look at the hidden bronze- tinted
feathers that had reacted to his presence. He breathed one word.
“Siren”
I’d always
known I wasn’t human. Even my eyelashes hid fine feathers, making them
impossibly thick. They were well blended, but a closer look would reveal their
secrets. My deep brown eyes affected everyone, although some reacted stronger
than others. Their gaze glossed over in my presence, a telltale sign that
something bad was going to happen.
He knew what
I was. It's funny; I was more concerned about that than the weapon I was being
held with. My olive toned skin prickled over with fear. The big brute twisted
my arm behind me and pushed me forward.
“Walk.” he
grunted.
I hated
myself when tears blurred my vision. “Where are you taking me?”
He jerked on
my arm, sending a jolt of pain up my shoulder. “Quiet.”
I can’t help
but laugh, there I was being kidnapped and all I could think was that the
muffins were burning. Perhaps I was going into shock. I’d started that job a
few weeks before. When my boss promoted me to head pastry chef I had been so
excited. Except for the hours, it was exactly what I wanted to do. I was not a
morning person, so waking at four am in order to arrive there and bake before
we opened had been a big adjustment. I preferred to be alone. Hiding in the
back kitchen suited me just fine.
Well, that’s
not entirely true. I liked being around people. It’s just that they didn’t
normally like being around me. Strangers
didn’t bother me, but anyone who knew me whispered too much.
I was attractive. Unrealistically so. I put
movie stars to shame on a good day. The men around here tended to respond…
dramatically to me. Needless to say, the women hated me for it. All men found
me appealing but there were some who became almost hypnotized in my company.
Something inside them felt… wrong. Being attractive had never been a positive
thing.
“Please,” I tried to beg, “Please, don’t do
this.”
I cried out
when the butt of the gun was slammed into my shoulder.
“Shut up!”
There was no
helping the betraying whimper that slipped out. Suddenly I was tossed to the
ground when the man fell on top of me with a grunt and a loud bang. The gun
slid from his hand and I took the opportunity to scurry away with a yelp.
Curling up against the wall I turned to watch what was happening.
Christian
held a baseball bat over his head and brought it down on my attacker. I
screamed, covering my eyes. Why didn’t I grab the gun? My cell phone sat in my
pocket and yet I stayed frozen in the corner, letting him take on the man
single handedly. Christian was also a large man, standing tall at six two with
powerfully broad shoulders. His light blonde hair was cut short above his
chiseled features. He looked older than twenty four.
“Lily?” his
deep voice amplified my name in the empty bake shop. I looked up at him with
tears in my eyes. “Is he the only one?”
I nodded,
pressing my hand to my forehead. He walked over and pulled me to my feet. As
the son of Charles Standford, the richest man in Rhine, few dared to challenge
him on anything, especially when it came to me. He was known for his temper and
violent behavior.
Looking me
over with his crystal blue eyes, they settled on my face. To anyone watching he
probably seemed tender and concerned. I almost wanted him to wrap me in his
arms and tell me it was okay, until his eyes glossed over and his hand clamped
down on my wrists.
“What did he
want? Where was he taking you?” his voice was harsh as he fired off questions.
I tried to
stammer a reply, “I- I don’t know!”
The back of
his hand came across my cheek so swiftly that I was sent flying to the ground
again. The rusty, iron-like taste of blood pooled in my mouth as I looked up at
him weakly. “No one touches you but
me.”
I had no
idea how many times I had heard that over the years. In his mind I belonged to
him. Walking over to the window he pulled out his cell and called the police. I
waited in silence for them to arrive, watching him pace around the room like a
wild animal. He had just saved me from horrors I couldn't even have fathomed at
that point in my life. That man would have dragged me off to a world of
nightmares, but all I could think was… why didn’t I feel any safer?
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