As I walk into the bedroom to get dressed, the first thing I notice is that Jonah is lying on my bed. He is wrinkling the straightened comforter while he flicks through the pages of one of my family’s grimoires, Celeste’s one.
The pages are old and delicate, and he doesn’t have gloves on. I rush to his side and take it from his dirty fingers. Carefully, I set it back in its air-tight box, and Jonah sighs loudly.
“It makes no sense; Celeste created Kaif. Why curse him to your bloodline every twelve generations?” he grumbles. Why is there so much annoyance radiating off him?
I raise an eyebrow and glance at my traitorous best friend. “Because my bloodline was his first vessel, and because he killed his Luna,” I tell him.
To think of it, I wonder why he is, all of a sudden, taking such a keen interest in the Octavian Curse. He rarely asks questions, he has always blindly trusted that I know what I’m talking about.
“But she created him; how could you curse your own creation?” Jonah asks.
“She didn’t. Do you not pay attention?” I ask him and a deep, heavy sigh leaves my lips.
Why am I even asking? It’s Jonah, for fuck’s sake. Of course, the overly happy rainbow fucker doesn’t listen. He never does. I swear, Jonah’s brain cells has more brain cells of their own, hence he’s so overjoyed and stupidly hyperactive.
Since his eyes are still trained on me, I pinch the bridge of my nose and shake my head. “Why the sudden interest in my family’s curse, anyhow?”
“Well, if we are sharing a mate, I want to ensure you don’t kill her, or Kaif does,” Jonah announces.
I shake my head, absolutely dumbfounded. Where is this guy hiding that massive audacity? “We are not sharing a mate; Marabella is mine, and I won’t share, and neither will Kaif.”
“What did Kaif say? Still a definite no?” Jonah grins.
“Yes, fucking no, she is mine,” Kaif growls and answers, shoving forward angrily, and I struggle to force him back.
Jonah’s pores emit the scent of his fear, then, he quickly stifles it, knowing it will fuel Kaif if he gets a good enough whiff of it.
Kaif settles and seems to think for a second, his mind is working overtime as he thinks of the situation and his anger dwindles slightly. He hates the idea of Jonah touching Marabella, yet at the same time, he is worried that Marabella would hate us more if he hurt him.
I trust no one more than I do Jonah. He will keep her safe from us, yet I know it will never work. Kaif couldn’t handle seeing them together; feeling them through the bonds is one thing, but seeing it, he would be uncontrollable.
Marabella’s feelings for Jonah stump him, and he seems in shock at just how strongly they both feel toward each other. His mind goes to Luna and what he did to her.
The agony of her death always taunts him. I can’t risk either of them like that, and for once, we both agree on something. He knows he is a monster, and he tries not to be, but instincts always win with Kaif. He knows it, and I know it.
Kaif sighs, realizing it too; it is what his curse is about after all. This is his punishment. To be forever alone, to know love, only to have it taken away and lose it.
“You’re thinking about something?” Jonah says, and I shrug, pulling on another tank top and tossing him one.
“Put it on, so I don’t have to look at those damn nipples,” I mumble.
“Careful, I may pierce yours while you’re asleep next,” he tells me while pulling the top on.
“Don’t fucking touch me in my sleep,” I growl. He has to understand this isn’t a joke.
“Yeah, yeah. It would be worth it, though.” He rolls his eyes and chuckles.
“Really? You want another broken arm?” I ask him, and he shudders while remembering the last time he startled me in my sleep.
Kaif’s reflexes are always quick, especially when I’m asleep. Kaif broke his arm in three places and accidentally dislocated his shoulder, thinking we were being attacked again.
It’s been twenty years, and that day constantly plays on my mind, how things could have gone differently if dad had not got there in time. He started training me after that day, every morning and every afternoon. Lucas took over when he died and I had the same routine. Morning and night, and I still do it daily, but mainly with Jonah. Lucas fears me, and he should.
He could never match me; no one can. Jonah, only by the bond because it weakens Kaif. Tying our life to Jonah has consequences, but it is for the best, especially without my talisman. I need some way to help restrain him. It was initially meant to be Lucas, but with him aging and his outright fear as I grew older, he would have only angered Kaif and killed us all.
“Should I be worried about the party on the weekend?” Jonah suddenly asks, pulling me from my thoughts.
“Why? Everything is organized. I saw to it.” I raise an eyebrow.
“I mean, with Marabella being there, Kaif… I mean, you won’t do anything, will you?” His eyes dart all over the room, anywhere but at me.
“Just keep away from her,” I warn him. He can’t keep provoking Kaif when it comes to Marabella. This is hard enough.
“You know I won’t do that, Kyan, so why ask?” Jonah shrugs, as if all of a sudden he managed to grow a backbone.
“Just do it for now. Until I figure something out,” I grumble.
“You know you could always tell her, tell her what Kaif is, what you are. Marabella won’t care; she will still want you,” Jonah stresses. I know how much he wants me to tell her everything, but he has to understand why I’m keeping everything from her.
I pinch the bridge of my nose, fighting the frustration that grows within me. “That is exactly why I can’t tell her; it will end badly. It always does for Kaif; he can not be tamed,” I tell him.
“Yes, but this is the first time Kaif has had a guardian. I won’t let him hurt her.” Kaif seems thoughtful for a second.