Penelope didn't understand. Her and Jasper had seen (Y/n) in the crowd just minutes ago and now she was nowhere to be seen. Sure, it had taken some time for Penelope to weave her way through the jungle of people, but not enough for (Y/n) to simply vanish from her sight.

Penelope glanced back towards Jasper, who was currently at the refreshment table, holding two glasses of champagne, one for himself and the other for (Y/n). Poor boy hadn't questioned Penelope's motives for even a second when she had stopped him from running over to (Y/n), telling him that (Y/n) would probably love a drink and that it would be so sweet of him to bring one for her. In the meantime Penelope would just go and get (Y/n) for him, because she was such a good best friend.

Of course Penelope's intention had never been to serve (Y/n) on a platter to Jasper. Not when she too craved a moment alone with her Darling.

But apparently the universe had decided to give her a taste of her own medicine, because just when Penelope had thought she'd finally be able to get some sweet time with her Darling, (Y/n) had disappeared. And Penelope couldn't exactly pinpoint why, but (Y/n)'s sudden disappearance had all the alarms in her head blaring.

She fisted the fabric of her dress and heaved a frustrated sigh. Rationally, there was no way for (Y/n) to have just vanished like that. Maybe Penelope had just lost sight of her amongst the crowd, maybe (Y/n) had gotten lost in the mansion whilst searching for the bathroom, or maybe she had just stepped outside for some fresh air.

There were plenty of explanations. (Y/n) was most likely still there, just out of sight. Penelope would just have to find her and-

"Beautiful mask." A familiar voice whispered dangerously close to her ear, the warmth of Artty's chest against her back sending shivers of disgust up Penelope's spine. "Though I'd expect nothing less from you, kitten."

You have to be kidding me.

Just how much worse could Penelope's evening get? Well, as it would turn out, it could in fact get a lot worse.

"Get off of me, asshole." Penelope seethed between her teeth, pushing Artty off of her with a scowl. Which only earned her an amused chuckle from Artty.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." He said, which was obviously a lie. Aside from pissing her off to no end and being a pebble in her shoe, Artty's favorite thing was scaring Penelope to death. Which wasn't hard at all to accomplish considering the fact that to her, his very appearance was a jumpscare. "Or maybe I did, who knows?"

"Whatever, I don't have time for your shenanigans. Get lost." Penelope grunted, averting her attention from him to instead focus on finding (Y/n). She wouldn't give Artty another minute of her time, not when she could give it to her Darling instead.

Of course Artty wouldn't let her get away that easily though. Not when he had just started toying with her!

"Oh come on, Penny. You know you like it." He said, threading his fingers up the bare skin of her shoulder. "You like it when I make your little heart falter."

Penelope held her breath, rage simmering low at the pit of her stomach. She ached to punch Artty right in the face, to punch him until he coughed up blood and spat out his own teeth. But she had learned that this wasn't a way to deal with him, not only because he was much stronger than her, but also because that sadistic piece of trash would probably love it.

He would love for her to beat his ass.

And Penelope wasn't about to give him what he wanted. More than that, she wasn't about to let him see just how much his words and actions were getting on her nerves. If she did, she could be sure he'd do it again.

"Cat got your tongue?" Artty teased, this time hooking his finger under her chin and forcing her to look up at him. She hated how his eyes twinkled with sick amusement as he looked down at her, happy with the power he had over her and happy with the fact she couldn't fight back.

Penelope swallowed thickly, bile rising up the back of her throat as he leaned in closer, his warm breath fanning over her lips.

"You know, I'm a patient man, Penelope. But even I have my limits." He said, the corners of his lips curving in a despicable smirk. "Dance with me."

"No." Penelope shot back, pushing against his chest only for him to tighten his hold on her chin and snake an arm around her waist. "Let go of me!"

"I wouldn't have to do this if you weren't being so freaking difficult." Artty whispered in her ear, brushing her hair away from her nape to take a whiff of her scent.

Gods, Penelope felt like throwing up.

"But since you insist, I'll save the dance for another time." Artty continued, licking a stripe up her nape, chuckling as Penelope froze in his arms, both out of crippling disgust and fear. She should have been relieved by his words, but Penelope was no fool.

She knew that the reason Artty had given up on his former plan was because he had found something much worse to torture her with.

"I have a little game for you, call it a game of cat and mouse if you will." Artty said with a smirk, idly twirling a lock of Penelope's hair around his finger.

Cold dread licked its way up Penelope's spine at his words. Whatever Artty's game was, she knew it wouldn't be anything fun.

"I don't want to play." Penelope said, voice strangled by the thick ball of apprehension nestled at the back of her throat.

"Oh, but I think you do." Artty flashed her a sickeningly sweet smile. "It's a pretty simple game, really. Whoever finds your sweet little barista first, gets to play with her."

Penelope froze at the mention of (Y/n).

She should have known that Artty would find out about (Y/n), she should have known that he'd see right through her at the coffee shop and decide to use (Y/n) to torture her.

She should have known that lying to Artty was useless.

Now he was pissed, and having the time of his life using this piece of information to toy with her in the worst of ways. But more than this, Penelope dreaded the thought of whatever Artty would do to (Y/n) if he ever decided that simply threatening Penelope wasn't enough anymore.

Which is why she couldn't take the risk of letting him find (Y/n). Penelope would be forced to play into his game, whether she wanted to or not.

Because there was no way in hell she would ever let this sadistic freak get anywhere close to her Darling.

Artty's lips softened in a cruel smile.

"I knew you'd agree to play with me." He said, tilting his head to the side, "And since I'm such a nice guy, I'm willing to give you a ten second head start!"

Ten seconds was nothing. Artty knew that, but he enjoyed the glimpse of hope that flickered through Penelope's eyes as she scrambled to run from him and find her Darling. But what made it all worth it was the idea of the terror he'd see on Penelope's face once he found (Y/n) first.

He didn't know what he'd do once he found her though, probably talk to her and play with her a little. It's not like he could do anything more than that at tonight's event anyways. But it didn't matter, because Artty would have all the time in the world to toy more with (Y/n) another time.

Either way, Penelope would learn that she was his, and that there was no escaping him.













































Tobias was sure he had caught a glimpse of (Y/n) in the crowd. He would have recognised her amongst a thousand others, mask or not, and there was no denying the way his heart had faltered in his chest when he had seen her from across the room.

Him telling Marcus that he would go and fetch him a drink had just been an excuse for him to go and get a closer look at where (Y/n) was, what she was doing, and who she was with. He hadn't planned on interacting with her or letting her see him, he just wanted to make sure she was safe and wouldn't get herself in any kind of trouble.

And Tobias had been pretty confident in how the Community Bonding ball would unfold, peacefully and without problems, he'd just keep guards over (Y/n) from afar and everything would be fine. Right until (Y/n) vanished from his sight, that is.

Where the hell is she?

Tobias could hardly think clear through all the questions and catastrophic scenarios that flooded his mind all at once.

Had (Y/n) left already? Was something wrong? Had something happened to her?

Whatever was the cause of (Y/n)'s disappearance, Tobias had to find her, as soon as possible. Any thought of Marcus or anything else had completely vanished from his mind, all his thoughts invaded by preoccupations over (Y/n)'s safety.

Maybe Tobias should have tried to remain aware of his surroundings though, because he was about to run into one of the very last persons he wanted to see tonight.

Jasper.

"Oh! Hello there!" Jasper called out to Tobias. The two men weren't familiar with one another, but Jasper had still recognised Tobias as who he thought to be one of (Y/n)'s relatives.

Of course, Jasper knew that (Y/n) had moved out a month ago, but she was probably still close with her family and loved them dearly. Meaning that Jasper should at least make an effort to get to know them and be on friendly terms with them. That was the very least he could do for his Darling, right?

Tobias swiftly moved through the crowd, not paying Jasper any mind. Which left Jasper with no other choice but to reach out and grab a hold of his arm with surprising strength. And Tobias was about to shake him off and leave, as he had no time to lose on idle chit chat, right until Jasper spoke up.

"You're (Y/n)'s brother, right? Or her cousin, maybe?" Jasper said with a polite and hopeful smile, completely disregarding Tobias's dark glare.

Needless to say, these words hit Tobias like a punch to the gut.

But as much as these hurt, Tobias didn't really care about Jasper's words at that moment. No, he was much more interested to know why exactly Jasper was asking him about (Y/n) like he had any business with her. (Y/n) had run into Jasper once, and Tobias had warned her already about him. She had promised to keep her distance from him as a result.

So why was Jasper asking Tobias about (Y/n)?

Whatever the reason was, Tobias knew it couldn't be good. Nothing to do with the mayor's son was ever good news. And in (Y/n)'s case there were two reasons for Jasper having taken a sudden interest in her. Either he knew about her being Uninfected and wanted to ask Tobias about it, or his Infection had been triggered by (Y/n).

Either way, (Y/n) was in deep, deep shit.

Fuck, (Y/n), what did you get yourself into?

And Tobias was going to do everything in his power to keep her safe and away from Jasper.

"I am." Tobias said, straightening his back and taking advantage of his taller frame to look down at Jasper. Their height difference wasn't that important, really, and Tobias knew this was of incredibly poor taste. But he needed Jasper to know that he wasn't joking around.

Jasper heaved an embarrassed chuckle and scratched the back of his neck as he averted his gaze to the side. Not because he was intimidated by Tobias by any means, but simply because he couldn't help but think of how happy his Darling would be if she saw him interacting with Tobias, who he still thought was her brother.

Not that Jasper would have been intimidated anyways. Tobias was strong, that was for sure, but Jasper was a trained hitman. He obviously had the upper hand.

"Nice, it's great finally meeting you-"

"Jasper!" Penelope's voice sliced through his sentence, both men turning towards her. She seized Jasper's arm, barely acknowledging Tobias. She had no time for pleasantries and polite greetings. They needed to find (Y/n), as soon as possible.

"Penny? What's the-"

"Have you seen (Y/n) anywhere?" Penelope asked him, frantic, suddenly earning Tobias's full interest. "Please, tell me you have!"

Jasper blinked at her, confused beyond measure, because from what he remembered, Penelope had seen (Y/n) too and was even supposed to bring her over to him. So what could possibly be the matter?

"Yes, I did, when she first walked in. But weren't you supposed to-"

Penelope heaved a frustrated groan, tightening her hold on his arm. "I know, but she vanished, and we need to find her. It's urgent, okay? She's in danger!"

Tobias, who had kept silent until now to assess the situation and interaction in front of him, was now reaching for Penelope's wrist and forcing her to look at him.

"Where did you last see her? Was she with anyone? What's happening?" He kept on firing questions at her, his grip getting tighter and tighter by the second. "What do you know?!"

Tears gathered at the corners of Penelope's eyes, both from the pain of his grasp and the turmoil of emotions swirling inside of her.

"She was in the crowd, okay?!" She lashed out, voice breaking mid sentence. "I have no idea whether she was with someone or not, all I know is that she's in danger!"

Penelope knew she should have been more precise, that she should have told both men about Artty and the fact he was the danger she was referring to. But if she did, if Jasper learnt about the fact that Artty's love for Penelope was becoming a threat, there would be nothing to stop him from marrying her off to Artty.

It wasn't legal, but Jasper was the mayor's son. And Elijah was so desperate for Jasper to find a Darling that if he needed to force a marriage between Penelope and Artty so the latter wouldn't pose a threat to his son's own relationship, he would.

Penelope couldn't let this happen, both for herself and for (Y/n).

She wouldn't let Jasper or Artty get in the way of her happiness. Or in the way of her relationship with (Y/n).

Fortunately for her, Jasper and Tobias didn't need much more convincing on her part to start searching for (Y/n) right away. And whoever had any intention of hurting their Darling was in deep, deep trouble.