Berserker Boyfriend: Jacobus 2 (special preview)

Jacobus puts on his robe as I sit by the table, cautious of his presence. He moves slowly, as if avoiding the conversation at hand. Opening the window and letting in the light, he lets out a forlorn sigh. 

“I am from one of the tribes of the Headless,” he says quietly. Turning around, I see the fatigue on his face, it weighs down his eyes and makes them droop, it makes his mouth appear thin and gray. “My father was a mortal man, but my mother is from the tribe of Valery through the bloodlines of the Goddess Amorette.”

I tighten my arms around me. “So, a demon?” 

Jack scowls at me. “She is a Valery! Not a demon.” He stands stiff before me. “But because of her blood and my father’s, I have my own certain obstacles.”

“What I saw last night was no obstacle, Jack,” I hiss at him. “That thing, that creature was a mountain that one cannot simply pass.”

“That creature was me, and the reason I kept myself hidden from you at night. He comes out and I have no control over his urges.” He grimaces, his beautiful face contorted into fear and disgust. “He is purely instinct, all fear and rage. Hot blooded and quick. I did not want you to know me in that manner!”

I keep my eyes down on the floor from then on out. I see his feet move, his shadow shift, but I will not look into those eyes. “What were you going to do to me?”

“Nothing, I-” His voice catches in the back of his throat. His sigh trembles as he breathes. “I didn’t want to do anything to you.”

“You licked up my blood like it was the nectar of the gods.” I pull myself into a tighter ball in my seat. My knees press against my chest, and my arms constrict to hold myself together. “You were after something, do not lie.”

“Blood. I remember blood.” He paces back towards the window. “That sweet, heavenly aroma came to me and it was all I wanted. It was your scent, and all I wanted was you.”

“You were going to eat me, weren’t you?”

“No!” He cries out in alarm. “I would never eat you, Salome! I would never...not even-” He stalls again. “How can I explain this to you in a way that you will listen?”

“I don’t know that you can,” I whisper. “I’m so afraid now.”

Jack approaches me, stands directly in front of me. “I have given you the best of myself. I swear that to you.”

I close my eyes. “But you hid from me your worst, which is no better than a lie.”

Jack falls to his knees before me. “I love you, Salome.”

I open my eyes and shove him back. “How dare you say that?” I stand up and move away from him. “You say you love me and then hide yourself from me! You lie to me and say all these things! How can I be so sure anything you say is the truth?”

Jack remains on the floor as I yell. “I promised you I wouldn’t hurt you.”

“You have! You might as well have ripped my heart out last night. It would have been easier than this.” I storm out of the room, but as I go down the hallway, the cut on my foot reopens. It oozes and bleeds, aching horribly. I stop in the hall, bracing myself against a doorway to let myself sob. 

I fell in love with him, and I so desperately wanted it to be true. I was lucky anyone wanted to marry me at all without wanting my family’s assets in return. It was a miracle that someone like Jack had looked at me, let alone wanted to be by my side. I was wretched.

“You’re bleeding, Salome.”