Thanks for the help! I had a great time in Paris and sorry for the late update. I just came back from New York last night :)

I appreciate all these reads, votes and comments. Thank you everyone!

This chapter is something that reminded me why I wrote this story and I hope it reveals my writing potential because I am working hard on this part. It scares me how close we are to the end and how far I’ve come, but I can’t wait to start the sequel with my favourite readers (YOU!!)

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My parents promised me dreams come true.

But they forget dreams were nightmares too.

I once wanted to cuddle with a child. My love would envelope them, no matter what size, shape or colour they were. We’d lie next to a strong man who’d love me, no matter what size, shape or colour I was. His arms would protect my small frame as the three of us drifted asleep; under safe haven and warm bed sheets. I wanted that. Oh, so terribly bad. At last it was mine.

But whenever my treasure rested among my hands, it never lasted. Tragedy was never far from happiness, the light kidnapped by selfish darkness.

Stolen by nightmares.

The children. In glass tubes, wires suffocating their ringed throats. Needles prodded into their bruised skin. Chemicals intoxicating their helpless bodies, rotting bones from the inside and shrivelling their skin. Knives slicing and poking into red mud. More colours shooting into the blood stream, legs jerking, arms snapping, infants screaming. Tears escaping rash cheeks, flying across sticky necks. Innocent bodies torn to flesh. Pale Beauty strapped to a table, helpless sobs pouring out. The scientist peering and flicking at the needle. Levi and the Council watching behind. Watching. Just. Watching.

With.

No.

Hesitation.

No.

Emotion.

No.

Guilt.

Time dragged. The scientist hovered over Pale Beauty. The needle was three inches from her neck. Two. She whimpered. One. The deadly silver sunk into her neck. She squirmed, the chains trembling to restrain the twitching child. Yellow foam gurgled out her pink lips and her neck cracked back, a terrified scream leaving her mouth. Her eyes swirled green. Orange. Blue. Yellow. Red.

Black.

“Who’s next, darling?” Levi’s voice echoed towards the child.

Foam dripped off her sudden fangs. Lips red. Plump. Tongue latching out, licking across to taste the foam. Her demon eyes glared at me. “She’s next.”

“No!” I burst awake and found Romane holding my arms to the bed, knees restricted under his.

“Wildcat, it was only a dream,” he said breathlessly.

My head swerved to the Pale Beauty who stared impassively, crystal eyes empty of emotion. Watching. Just. Watching. Levi’s eyes appeared and I screamed, but the Pale Beauty’s hand stopped it from leaving. She placed her other finger to her lips. “Shhhh....” She pointed to the other children soundlessly asleep in the nursing room. I meekly nodded and she removed her hand. “Are you okay?” she asked. Her voice soothed my muscles, body floating back to ease.

“Of course, sweetie,” I whispered, forcing a smile.

“Good.” She moved closer and planted a small kiss on my forehead. Her lips lingered there, staying a moment longer than needed to murmur four words, “I love you, Jess.” Shifting away, she tugged the blanket to her shoulders and drifted asleep.

I watched her chest go up,

and down,

up

and down,

until her breath was

heavy.

I was loved. My heart lingered of heat, it rising to my cheeks and spreading to flourish a real smile.

“I love your smile.”

I stared at Romane, his body over mine. His hands remained against my hands. I didn’t want them to leave. They didn’t.

“I love you,” I said.

I didn’t mean it. But I said it. It was natural. It seemed natural.

The grip tightened on my hands and as my eyes adjusted to the dark. His shirt was torn, the fabric shreds discarded across my stomach. Something dripped from his shirt to my white gown, dirtying the pure colour with a liquid. Another dribble rolled onto the gown.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

“Romane. What is that?”

“It’s nothing.” My hands ripping away to lift his shirt silenced his next words. Claw marks were carved in his skin, blood travelling across his neck, along his torso to his abdomen. My gaze shot to my hands that sparkled in the night. I peered closer and flipped my hand. The white bitten nails were replaced with tiny silver. Blades. Claws.

Beastly.

Then the monster ego leaked its knowledge. Jessie would have never come up with this theory. The monster had. I saw images of my body’s interior. The drug was building elements inside of me. Growing things, substances, resulting into weapons of mass destruction.

Inside.

Of.

Me.

The silver sparked one final time before shrinking back to my normal bitten nails. Terrified, I touched my human fingers, anxiously frightened such weapons could grow from my own flesh and bones.

“You didn’t know what you were doing. You were having a bad dream and they appeared.” Then my eyes raked across the marks along his body. “It wasn’t your fault.”

My heart clung to my throat, stopping the air from entering my lungs. “Did I hurt her?”

He brushed my hair away. “The child is fine,” he said. I imagined him using his body to shield Pale Beauty, taking the scratches and hits as I unconsciously attacked.

Cool air hit my stomach and I saw my gown soaked. My ribs tightened, the bittersweet feeling consuming me. I deserved the pain. Why was he bathing in my consequences when I deserved to drown in my mistakes? I couldn’t bring myself to say sorry. Tiny bee stings pricked my cheeks, to my nose and I sucked a sharp breath, fighting the breakdown.

“Don’t cry,” he hushed, taking the hand of a monster.

My hand.

He lifted my glass frame off the bed, carrying me to the bathroom. He reached for light switch but I breathed, “Don’t. I don’t want to see the damage.”

Removing his hand from the wall, he sat me on the cool marble counter and turned the tap on. The water running, the door now closed, the sounds echoing in the dark, vacant bathroom, I was comforted by other noises and allowed the stings to continue. I felt the burning in my nose.

I heard the sound of a match and watched a small glow ignite beside me. He lit another candle on the opposite side. My tongue brushed across the salty tears rolling down my lips, statue hands resting on the counter.

His hands found the hem of my gown and he stared up, asking for permission. I nodded, bullets of tears shooting down my neck. The air nipped my trembling skin and I yearned to cover my embarrassing undergarments. I thought the first time a man would remove my clothing, I’d seem perfect. Hollywood beauty appearance; tousled hair, blood lace lingerie, eyes heavy with lust. But life never prepared you for its curveballs and so I clutched the counter in my neutral bra and underwear. No lace. No thong. Simple.

I’ve always wanted simple. Ever since the beginning.

His gaze didn’t roam. Eye to eye. Gang leader to monster. He then reached for the towel and ran it under the tap. Squeezing the water out, he dabbed lightly along my neck, down my chest, gingerly across my damp stomach. He didn’t dare go lower, and repeated the pattern.

Relaxed, the tingling feelings dispersed into waves of pleasure from those simple, kind touches. Stopping his hand at my neck, I took the towel and turned my body, running the cloth under the water. Copying his actions, I balled his shirt in my fist and slowly removed it,

inch

by

inch.

My heart cracked each time I revealed a scratch. I was certain when his shirt hit the floor, the tears were haunting my broken soul.

It helped how he didn’t flinch after my dabs and wipes. Once finished, I dipped the towel under the tap, squeezed the remains and laid it across the counter. “Come here,” he spoke.

I went stiff when his skin touched mine, but as soon as his lips crashed, my body melted into his. My mind spun from the engulfing desire that played with my hands as they hunted for more of this strange ecstasy; going downtown, through golden silk and hot surfaces.

Suddenly he retracted those venomous lips, and pressed his forehead against mine. “You said you loved me earlier. Did you mean it?” His gruff voice triggered me to pull for another heated kiss. “I’m...serious...wildcat...”

Drawing away with a lip smack, I took thin breathes before responding, “I-I don’t know what I said. Romane.” Seeking for the true answer in his eyes I came up empty. The fog of desire lifting, my hand jumped off his chest, remembering the cuts. Who I was. Who to trust.

It tore me apart to not know where I belonged, whose arms I wanted to be in. Whose arms I could be in without hurting more than I already had. “Romane,” I repeated. My arms were linked around his neck, breath shaky as I whispered, “I’m scared.”

He delivered a sweet butterfly kiss and whispered back, “Tell me what you’re scared about.”

Without hesitation, the hidden feelings tipped off my tongue and tumbled similar to a waterfall , “I’m scared for the children and the ones we couldn’t save. I’m scared of not being human. I’m scared of hurting people I care about. I’m scared of heartbreak and I’m scared to trust anyone. I’m scared of loving you.” I deeply stared at him, terror iced like cake along my frantic eyes. “But what scares me the most is that I have too much power. How I’m powerful enough to obstruct everything and not be able to handle any situation or feel anything. It’s my biggest fear. Being too powerful that in the end, I’m only hurting myself.”

“I’m scared too,” he said. He held my cheeks in his hands, sternly holding my worried gaze. “I’ll be honest with you, wildcat. No lies. No jokes. I can’t promise you everything is going to be okay. I certainly can’t promise you there’s nothing to fear. What I can promise you is that I will put my life on the line for those children and will stop at nothing to keep them safe. I’ll still accept you for whoever you’ll be, human or not. I promise to never break your heart, because it is what I desire. Your trust for me, can be as strong as you want, but I trust you—and will loyally be with you till the end of time. And as cheesy as that sounds, I love you wildcat. They say power is bad—too much is a disaster. I cannot control your powers but if you end up being the queen of disaster, I’ll be your king. Because being by your side through hell and Earth would be a privilege, honor, and completion in my life. Jessie Daniels, I love you and I’m not scared to announce it.”

They say lips were invented since words sometimes fail. My words got a fat F minus, and my lips were sore by the time the candle wax burned to the end. Then I had the best sleep next to the man and child who loved me and accepted the monster.

My heart was overwhelmed with love, warmth and kindness they offered me.

But my heart wouldn’t last long. It was dying. Along with my

S

A

N

I

T

Y

...

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“Fold it here.”

“Like this?” I lifted the origami.

The Pale Beauty gave an enthusiastic nod and waved hers up. “There! Let’s see yours!” Showing her, she clapped her hands and chucked her plane, the paper aircraft soaring along the ceiling. “It looks just like it!” she laughed, watching me throw mine. We watched both models of the Eagle aircraft circle around, the other children in the nursing room chasing them.

A pair of lips landed on my ear. “Is it weird that I find it attractive when you have fun with children?”

I grinned and watched Pale Beauty show the other kids how to make the planes. “Everything about you is weird, Ro-Ro.” I leaned in, laughing and stole a quick kiss.

He kneeled next to me on the tiled floor, threading his fingers through my hair. “You still didn’t tell me how you had the 212.”

I rested my head on his legs, playing with the golden rings on his hand. “It’s nothing big,” I said. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Jessie. You said, secret for secret.”

Rolling my eyes, I simply stated, “Levi paid a visit a while ago and gave it to me. He told me a bunch of bullshit and I was going to kill him—I really was but—”

“Wait.” His fingers stopped teasing my hair. “Levi was here? On the aircraft?”

“Yes—”

He raised his knee, forcing me to sit up. His voice turned cold. “How did he find us?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe there’s an undercover Sniper or—”

“No,” he snapped. Unexpectedly, I witnessed North America’s number one gang leader change his expression into sheer horror that could send a whole country in panic. “The tracker. I forgot to take out your tracker.”

I sat there, absolutely flabbergasted. And then there were times where words never failed. “You’re so stupid! How. How. How could you forget! That’s the stupidest thing you’ve forgot! You’re freaking lucky there are children in this room or I’d be giving you hell! I can’t believe you forgot.”

His blood vessels grew thick and his fists shook. “You know, it’s hard to remember everything when running and controlling the entire freaking criminal rates, gangs and illegal imports and exports of a freaking continent! People make mistakes, okay? I’m only freaking human.”

About to shoot a nasty retort, an ear piercing beep abruptly went off. Red lights blinked and the sirens wailed. The aircraft trembled and the children screamed, clinging to the bed frames. Romane and I climbed to our feet, reaching for the children until in burst a panting man, shouting, “Sir! Sir! We have an engine down! We’re being attacked!”

“They’re here,” I whispered.

The speakers at the corners of the room beeped, someone was making an announcement. “Hello, darling.” I froze to hear the memorable man who spoke of amusement. “That’s a wonderful nightgown you’re wearing,” Levi said. I whirled around the room, searching for him but all I saw were the speakers his voice was booming out of. “Did you miss me?”

“Never,” I hissed.

“Feisty as ever,” he clucked. “How’s life been? How does it feel to socialize with the villain next to you?”

I sharply glared at the speakers. “It feels wonderful,” I sneered.

Levi darkly chuckled. “Do you want to know something else that’s wonderful? Games. Games are wonderful. How about we play a game? Your father liked those, and I know from haja sangue, you loved them too. Besides, you’re really good at those so this should be fun.”

“You’re such a child,” I spat. “Games? Why not show yourself you ignorant bastard.”

“What’s the fun in that?” he cackled.

“Don’t be a coward, Leviathan,” Romane smirked.

My strong gaze faltered. “Leviathan?” I spoke. The arrogance was shattered with confusion.

“We all have our full names,” Levi explained. “Cray isn’t Cray, he’s Cameron. Jess, you’re not Jess. You’re Jessie. We all have our roots and should remember where we came from. Where our real home is. Who we really are. Life in a gang can have you forget your true origin.” His voice held a hint of amusement. “Except for Romane. He’s just Romane. He comes from nowhere. He’s simply a nobody who steals people’s property and cowards from wars and fights.”

“Leviathan,” I whispered hoarsely, blocking Levi’s taunts.

If I knew his real name would still have been my first love? Why didn’t he tell me his real name?

Pleased, Levi continued to speak, “Darling, shall we begin the game of manhunt? You can be the animal Romane trained you to be. And I’ll be the Sniper. Start running wildcat. Hunting season begins.” He sickly laughed. “Bang, bang.”

The definition of Leviathan chanted in my head as the announcement beeped to an end. A sea creature, identified in different passages with the whale, the crocodile and the Devil. An aquatic creature that snuck below the surface, hidden in the depths and underneath you until finally—it shoots above water, hungry and wanting to be seen as its true form. A very large and powerful thing.

He was Leviathan.

A monster.

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My first YouTube Wattpad Book Review is to the right!! Watch me make a total fool of myself and hopefully bring justice to the amazing book I reviewed!!

Click it! It’s to the right :) I’m hoping to YouTube review more undiscovered books to give them the attention they deserve! I hope you subscribe, like and comment!! And sorry if the video sucks. It’s my first youtube video I ever made :P The next one will be shorter and better, I promise! And btw, I had too much fun in the BLOOPERS.

Back to the story:

I’m sure I know what team the majority of you are, but comment it below so I know. And do you think it is right the Eagles should kidnap the children that the Snipers bought to test their experiments on? The Eagles are committing theft...

Do you believe Romane and his confessions? What do you think of Jess’s new nails?

GOAL

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If you like Lana Del Ray songs, or thriller/action/romance/adventure novels, check out my new story called ‘His Heroine’

"Silly boy put an extra e."

Innocence is inevitably drawn to darkness. Dauntay Sebestapool is a classy, young man who did his homework and planned on burying under his bed sheets during prom. Until he saw her cocaine heart. And couldn't help but take a whiff that night.

The difference of one letter can make a man so very blind.

*A Lana Del Ray inspired book*

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