Little Red (Twisted Dark, #4)

Chapter Twenty-Five: Killing Instinct

Three weeks later

I grabbed a vial from the case the witch had given me and inhaled deeply, my Instinct struggled against the action, scraping against my bones and cramping my stomach but I ground my teeth together. It was a struggle to not drop the vial, to keep my fingers wrapped around it tightly.

Stop!

Dangerous!

Do not take!

Do not drink!

Stop!

My Instinct screamed it at me again and again but I ignored it as I forced my reluctant body to lift the vial to my lips.

Poison!

It's poison!

Will kill us!

Stop!

Do not drink!

I downed the vial, resisting the urge to throw up as soon as it touched my tongue. It was harshly bitter and I swallowed the potion down. It burned the entire way down and not like the burn of a good bourbon that you savoured in slow bits. It was a burn that felt like if I coughed after I finished swallowing I would taste blood coating my tongue. It was as if it had scoured and tore flesh on the way down.

I pressed the back of my hand to my mouth as I waited. Slowly but surely the screaming in my head and the cutting of my bones and the cramping of my insides stopped as the potion got to work. My head felt muffled and my entire body shook and I felt like my knees were wanting to buckle but I grabbed the table, holding myself upright. The potion made me weak, I wasn't going to deny that fact but I also wasn't going to stop. My Instinct was nearly screaming at me every time the potion stopped. It wanted me to leave Red and I wasn't going to walk away from her. I had chosen her and I would stand with her, no matter how much it hurt to stay there.

I dropped the vial onto the table and exhaled slowly, gripping the table tightly in my hands. My grip felt weak but I ignored it as I closed my eyes. I was making progress with Red, I was. She was still adamant that I leave but she wasn't actually kicking me out. I knew she could do it. She was a tough witch who I had seen put large males through fucking walls. If she truly wanted me gone, I would have been gone.

So I kept fixing and repairing what I could of the bar. It was getting more functional, the plumbing was completed and probably worked better than it when it was new. I just needed to keep my focus on her. She was my end goal and would always be so. She was my breeder and I didn't need to put babes into her to know that. She was the perfect female for me and I didn't need to have children with her, I didn't need babes. I needed her and I wanted to live my life with her.

"Mutt!" Red's voice was agitated as she yelled up the stairs and I opened my eyes. I reached out and closed the case, pulling it off of the table before I headed to the sink and set the case under the sink and towards the back where I had been keeping it. I had paid good gold for the potions, I wasn't about to have Red wreck it for me and I knew she could be contrary enough to do just that.

"I'll be there in a second." I called it out but she was already coming up. I slowly straightened and closed the cabinet door before turning to see her come up into the main space, a scowl on her face. "Just checking on the plumbing."

She threw me a dark look, "You and your damned plumbing." She muttered it out as she crossed her arms over her chest, glowering at me. "You know I should kick you out. The plumbing is done." A sour look crossed her face as she said it and I gave her a wicked grin, winking at her.