Forbidden Wishes

Prologue:

“Come on Sadie! Catch up, what's taking you so long!” His voice chanted from up ahead. A child's voice, soft but still loud and strong, filled with excitement. Sadie looked up with wide green eyes; big, vibrant jade green eyes that shinned with a child's joy. She laughed as her tiny hands hit the bell on her little pink tricycle,”Nikki, don't go so fast!” She squealed as her legs worked harder, her feet spinning the peddles faster. “You're a big girl Sadie Lynn!” Sadie laughed her excitement as she caught up with her big brother, the two of them chasing each other down the sidewalk of their small suburban neighborhood.

A soft ticking noise snapped her attention upward, away from her dull reflection to the crooked clock hanging above the worn vanity mirror. The slender black arms told her that it was now twenty after two, in the morning. She blinked, eyes still focused on the bold black letters that made up the clocks face. It had been a long, hard night and she was ready to retire, but as her gaze shifted back down to the girl staring back at her from the mirror, she couldn't help but feel dirty. She was well past feeling worn and faded, now the only thing she seemed to feel was dirty, unclean. Remembering the way their hands touched her, their lips as they brushed across her pale skin. A chill sent a shiver down her spine as she forced her thoughts elsewhere. Gripping the edges of the vanity, she pushed herself back and stood up. With quick, jerky movements, she gathered her jet back waves back and tied them into a pony tail. Aggravated she slipped into a pair of jeans and a tank top, yanking a hoodie on before pulling her bag up onto her shoulder. It was time to get moving.

Balancing herself against the rickety door to her apartment, Sin fidgeted with her keyring until she found the right one, pushing the door open only to slam it shut behind her. Throwing her bag across the room to land in a heap somewhere, she went straight for the bathroom where she immediately turned the shower on, cranking the hot water up as much as she could stand before stripping down and stepping under the hot spray. Reaching for her shampoo, she couldn't fight the onslaught of thoughts that danced through her mind. Each night was becoming harder to face, the idea that another person would touch her body, or that she would touch them becoming too much to bare. She hated what she did, who she had become but had long ago lost hope of getting out. She was a high school drop out who's parents were dead, or so she thought, with an older brother who had been M.I.A. For the past four years. She had nothing, was nothing and any one with half a brain could see that.

Sin let out a string of curses as she forced her thoughts elsewhere. As she finished in the shower and hit the tap, she cursed again, only this time it was directed toward herself. Wrapping an old towel around her body, Sin couldn't seem to pull herself out of her head. There was nothing pretty about what she did to make money, and most days she questioned how she ended up there, but she knew the answer. She had been young and desperate, naive. She hadn't taken the time to consider what she was agreeing to, she was too worried about where she was going to sleep or if she would be able to eat; but most of all, she was worried about how she would get her next fix. Sixteen years old, living life on the streets, yeah, she'd been there, she'd done it. All of it, including the drugs.

“Fuck,” She kicked an open box as she rounded the corner to her bedroom. It was early morning and she was exhausted, it was definitely time for whatever sleep would come. Tossing her towel across the room, Sin pulled on a pair of worn sweat pants and a black tank top. After knotting her wet curls on top of her head, she proceeded to cover the distance from the door to her bed. Groaning, Sin dropped onto her bed and rolled around a moment, trying to find a comfortable position before allowing sleep to claim her.

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He had been watching from the shadows of the over crowded bar, fascinated, transfixed by the way she sauntered across the rough cement floor in her heels, albeit curious as to why she was here in the first place. She had walked with her head held high and yet somehow still looked as if she carried the weight of the world on her shoulders and that intrigued him. It had been ages since something, especially a woman, a human woman at that, had caught his attention and he had no rhyme or reason to let this one go. With a casual grace, he finished his beer and stood, walking through the dwindling crowd toward the back exit of the club. The sun would be up in a few hours, which meant it was time to get moving. It had been a quiet night and he was on edge, but the adrenaline release would have to wait.

Making sure to stay in the shadows, he waited patiently for the bar to close and the workers to leave. There was no way he would allow her to walk home in the early morning alone, she may not have been aware of what went bump in the night, but he certainly was. So, as he heard the back door creak open and his eyes locked onto her frail form, he stayed close as she took off. It was entirely too dangerous for the humans to be alone during the night, especially in the earlier hours just before day break. The world was filled with all kinds of monster, monster that went beyond human comprehension. There had been talk of them coming out, announcing their presence and coexisting, but the coven had shot the idea down, time and time again. They claimed that it was too risky, that the human mind would not be able to accept and move on and when bathed in that harsh reality, it just wasn't practical. So in the shadows they stayed, existing but not existing.

When she turned into a rundown apartment complex, he found himself sucking in a painful breath. He had never been known for his compassion, he was a rather ruthless creature, but something about this young woman called out to him. He wanted to help her, make sure that she was safe. As he continued to follow her closely, watching for any signs of disturbance, he was violently launched into his past.

“You cannot keep at this Alexandra!”

“And just who are you to stop me? Hmm,” She placed her hands on her hips, facing off with her brother, bright blue eyes alight with fury, “Are you going to lock me away? Hide me in the dungeon?” Her voice held a soft, mocking lilt as she stared him down.

Exasperated, he threw his hands up in defeat, “Fine Alexandra! You do what you feel you must, but note, I have tried to tell you otherwise, as has mother but you refuse to listen,”

“Have you not stopped to think that perhaps I enjoy what I do? That perhaps there is a certain amount of freedom and that is why I do it,” There was something in her tone that unnerved him, carved him straight to the bone,”I do not wish to be control Jude, I want to live my life, not someone elses,”

He came back to reality with a curse, the images still playing out in his head in vivid color. He could remember that night like it was yesterday, could still see his sister as she walked out the front door, hair swinging as she walked with purpose. Little did they both know that that would be the last conversation they would ever have. The minute she'd pulled open the door a gun had gone off, dropping her to her knees within seconds. That night had changed his life, had ripped him apart, hollowed and hardened him. Creating both monster and rational man.

In that moment, he knew what he would do. He would help her, the young woman, as best as he could without controlling her. He'd foolishly tried to tell his sister how to live her life and she'd been murdered in front of him, shot down like wild game. He would approach this situation with caution, give her an out and hope that she took it. Because, unlike his sister, she didn't seem to enjoy what she was doing, the weight of the world becoming too much for her to hold.

His attention was adverted as he took note of the bright pink and soft purple appearing in the sky. The sun would be fully up soon and then he would be in trouble. It was time for him to get home and catch some shut eye, he had a long night ahead of him.