Hyde (16 page)

He looked at the hurt on her face, "Hanna, look
I know we had a weird meeting for the first time. I'm confused by
it too. I can't seem to keep my thoughts on what they need to be on
when I'm around you." He looked her directly in the eyes and smiled
his most charming smile, "I don’t want you to go back to him but I
can't let her die. It's all my fault she's even sick."

He watched as her eyes dilated, as she drank in
his charms and nodded, "Okay."

He smiled again.

She reached into her shirt and pulled out a
piece of paper, "I need Aimee to go over this and text me the
answers."

He took the paper, "Okay I will get her to do it
when she gets back. Can I take you there now?"

She smiled staring up into his face. He bent
kissing her lips softly. He couldn’t help himself. She kissed him
back wrapping her arms around him.

It seemed when he used his charms on her they
bounced back on him.

He lifted her into the air, holding her against
him.

"I need to go home. I need to see Roland first.
I will go right after my birthday party. I promised Roland I would
be there for it. It's tonight."

He nodded and instantly they were standing in
the foyer of her house. She looked peaceful seeing her
surroundings. He watched her sigh and lighten up. He didn’t know
how she had been able to fight his persuasion but she had. She had
chosen her birthday over Giselle. He assumed she didn’t realize the
severity, not the way he did.

Roland walked in smiling, "My dear girl you made
it in time. I have the dresses and all the ladies to do your hair
in your room upstairs. They've only just arrived."

Aleksander couldn’t bear to smile at the old
man, he had betrayed Hanna in the worst way.

Hanna squeezed his hand, "See you tonight
then?"

He nodded, bowing slightly, "Tonight."

He was gone and back to the house instantly. He
only hoped Giselle would last long enough for Hanna to celebrate
her birthday.

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Monster's Ball

Hanna

The dresses all fit remarkably but the pale
green one made her hair come alive. She twirled looking at it as
her reflection floated past in the mirror. She was excited and
nervous. She stood still as the finishing touch was added to her
face, a small beaded black masque. It covered the top of her face
only.

Roland walked into the room beaming, "You look
like a princess. My word that is a dress."

She looked at her reflection and nodded. The
dress was a sweetheart cut with silver beading along the bust and
hemline. It was pale green with a shimmer to the material. It was
strapless and fit perfectly. Her chest made attempts at escaping
through the top, making her wish she had a cover of some sort.

"Your parents would have loved to be here at
this moment. They would have done anything to be here Hanna. This
was your mother's wish. Its tradition in her family."

She nodded trying not to tear up.

"Your guests are waiting."

She turned to him, "Who have you invited?" She
honestly couldn’t think of any friends who would want to come. She
had vanished from her world. She responded to no one. Her old
friends had stopped texting and messaging her at all.

"Trust me." He offered her an arm. She took it,
gripping for dear life.

He led her down the stairs and through the long
hall to the great room. As she entered the large opening clapping
started up. She looked to see a massive room full of people.
Everyone was dressed in gowns and suits. Their faces all wore a
masque. They sang happy birthday, making her face blush beneath
hers.

The room was transformed. She had never wanted
the birthday party. She had ignored the day for years, forcing her
aunt to treat it as a normal day. Her mother had made a big deal
out of it every year, before she passed away. Hanna had never felt
up to it after that.

"I asked Lydia to let you stay with her. I know
she wants you there. I needed to prepare. I only hope I was able to
do your mothers wishes justice." Roland whispered in her ear.

She felt her eyes water, "It's beautiful. Thank
you Roland."

The ceiling was covered in twinkling lights and
the walls were filled with vines of a sort, making it seem as if
the room went on beyond them. There was a bar set up in one corner
and soft music playing from a string quartet in the other
corner.

Roland gripped her hand leading her into the
room. It felt surreal, the room was packed with people.

Lydia was suddenly in front of her, her eyes
sparkled behind a dark purple masque. Hanna would have known it was
her from a mile. No ones eyes sparkled like Lydia's. She embraced
Hanna warmly, "Happy Birthday dear girl."

Hanna hugged her back, "Thank you Lydia."

Instantly she started to recognize the eyes
behind the masques, Aimee, Ari, Lucas, Ben, and the little kids
from the breakfast table.

A man she didn’t recognize walked up to her
smiling with soft looking lips, "Happy Birthday Hanna."

She nodded allowing him to take her hand, "Thank
you."

"You don’t recognize me do you?"

She frowned, "No. Sorry."

He laughed, "It's Andy."

She frowned looking harder. Behind the masque
she noticed his eyes and laughed, "Thank you for coming."

He shook his head, "I was stunned when Roland
asked me to come."

"I'm glad you came." She was telling the truth.
She liked him. He was the boy next door.

Aimee walked over with a man, Hanna was pretty
sure she didn’t know.

Andy turned and smiled brightly, "Bagley."

The tall man next to Aimee put a hand out,
"Paulson, nice to see you man. Weird seeing you here."

"I know right. I'm a friend of the birthday
girl. You?"

The tall man pointed to Aimee, "My girl."

Hanna watched his eyes meet Aimee's. Her grey
blue eyes sparkled and came to life. Aimee giggled. It was fleeting
and Hanna had to pinch herself lightly to be sure she heard it.

"How did you two meet?" Aimee asked still
looking randomly at the man beside her.

Andy looked at Hanna and shrugged, "Pulled her
from the woods."

Aimee's eyes flashed fear, as if she suddenly
realized where they were, "He found you?"

Hanna shook her head, "No he was the police
officer who was on my file."

"Weird. I'm being rude, Hanna this is Shane my
boyfriend. He works with Andy."

Hanna put her hand out "Nice to meet you."

"You too. Happy birthday."

"Thank you."

Regardless of the fact it was her birthday and
all eyes were on her, Hanna felt someone watching her from the
other side of the room. She looked up to see the most beautiful
eyes in the room, fixed upon her. They watched her from behind a
dark grey masque. She felt her breath leave her chest. She bit her
lower lip, no longer aware of anyone else in the room.

He walked to her as she turned toward him and
away from the people she was speaking with.

"May I have this dance?"

His hand came out for hers. She put her hand
into his. The warmth of it sent a shiver up her back.

As his arms encompassed her, he spoke softly in
her ear, "Hanna I told you not to take anyone's hand."

She smiled remembering his beautiful face.

"Sam."

He chuckled, "You didn’t recognize me?"

She shook her head. She couldn’t speak, feeling
her chest being crushed into his.

"Sam why do I feel like I know you?" She spoke
softly, struggling with her words. Something about him made her
thighs ignite.

"I feel the same way. I find myself lost,
watching you." He kissed her cheek tenderly, "Happy birthday
Hanna."

He held her against him as if he were savoring
every second he got. She forgot anyone else was in the room.

The song felt as if it was over too quickly. He
stepped back smiling, "Thanks for the dance."

She gripped his hand, but his eyes darted behind
her. She heard a throat clear in the background, but all she saw
was Sam. His eyes were black pools she wanted to get lost in. He
let her hand drop and stepped into the crowd. The further away he
got the colder she got.

She turned to see Andy smiling at her, "Want to
dance?"

She glanced at the people milling about and
nodded. Andy pulled her to the open space near where the quartet
played and took her in his arms.

"Are you having a good birthday?"

She nodded as she looked across the room,
wondering where Sam had gone.

"Weird your friend came with my friend." She
spoke after a moment, realizing she was being rude.

He nodded, "It is weird."

"How long have you known him?"

"A couple years, we joined the police at the
same time."

She looked into his eyes, she felt the same
attraction for him but something was in the way suddenly.

As the song ended she felt another tap on her
shoulder, "May I cut in?"

She recognized the dark blue eyes immediately,
"No."

Marcus stared her down, "Please."

She felt Andy tense, "She said no."

Hanna flinched watching Marcus react to being
spoken to by Andy. She turned back to Andy and smiled reassuringly,
"It's okay. I was joking."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded and let Marcus take her into his
arms.

She felt as if they were floating above the
ground, she wouldn’t be surprised if they were.

"Hanna I need to explain."

She looked away from him, "No."

He kissed her cheek softly, "Hanna please come
home with me. I need to explain everything. What you think was
happening was not. I would never do that…"

She turned sharply cutting him off, "I don’t
want to know."

His eyes pleaded with her, which she was certain
was new for him, "Hanna."

She shook her head, "No." She hated him. She
hated that he'd hurt her. She'd been in his castle for days and
he'd tried nothing. Instead he brought his own entertainment. She
felt disgusted.

"Hanna you are mine."

She felt another tap on her shoulder. She felt
Marcus tighten himself around her, as she looked to see Aleks
smiling down on her, "May I cut in?"

She pushed Marcus back, "Of course."

Chapter Twenty-Three: That puts a Sam in
the works

Aleksander

His hands took hers and in a swift and fluid
motion he pulled Hanna into his arms and away from Marcus.

"Aleks." Marcus growled.

Aleks smirked, "Maybe she will save you the next
dance." He danced them away from Marcus.

He looked down at Hanna, "You okay?"

She smiled, "Yeah just tired of the
nonsense."

He laughed, "I know the feeling."

She looked around, "Who is everyone?"

"Us, what's left of the Roses. Daniel has done a
number on us. This is about half of what we had for numbers."

"How does Roland know them?"

"I don’t know, he and Lydia have a thing I
think."

She made a face, "Ewwww, really. Wow. They're
old."

He laughed, "Hey I'm old."

"You look good still."

He kissed her cheek, "Happy Birthday Hanna."

"Thanks, so who is Sam?"

"He's Nephilim."

She rolled her eyes, "I wish everyone would stop
saying that like it meant something to me."

He laughed, "Half angel and half human. He's
more powerful than the others."

"He has the strangest effect on me. I feel like
I've known him my whole life."

They finished their dance and he stood off to
the side as she danced with everyone. The night seemed magical. He
felt horrid knowing he would be delivering her into the arms of
evil at the end of the night. He had ensured she had drunk several
glasses of champagne. Every time he saw her he used his charms to
remind her of her promise. He felt anxious thinking about it. He
watched her dance with Sam again. He could see the spark between
them. He knew he would need to quell it for at least a few days. He
would need her to enjoy being with Marcus.

"You better not be double crossing me,"

He turned to see Marcus sipping a scotch beside
him.

"If I didn’t need your help I would tell you to
shove it."

Marcus smirked, "We used to be best friends
Aleks, what happened?"

He felt a burn in his stomach, "You, you always
happen. You ruin everything."

The smirk never left his face but Aleks could
see the haunted look in his dark eyes.

****

Hanna came to him at the end of the evening,
"I've said goodnight to Roland. I'm ready. Aleks I want you to know
I'm not happy about this."

"Why? I thought you and Marcus had a thing."

She sighed leaning into him, "We did, maybe we
still do. Something feels different. Anyway I told Roland I was
going to be spending more time at Lydia's. I'm giving you a couple
days to get this sorted with Giselle and Marcus."

He hated asking it of her, "You're taking one
for the team?"

She laughed bitterly, "Yeah. Lets go before I
change my mind."

He was about to ruin her night. He knew Marcus
believed he loved her and would behave himself. He still hadn’t won
her over.

He took her hand softly in his and walked her
out to the garden. She pulled herself into him.

He looked down at her, feeling the pull coming
off her. His mouth ignored his brain. He bent his face and pressed
his lips into her. He lifted her slightly, feeling the full weight
of her against him.

Instantly they were outside the castle. He
placed her back on the ground. She looked drunk off the kiss. He
felt drunk off it.

"Why does that happen when we kiss?" She asked
trying to gain her composure.

He laughed, "I don’t know. Something about you
makes me crazy."

She laughed, "I'm attracted to you but I don’t
know you and I don’t really feel like I want to be with you. I
didn’t want you to kiss me but I just couldn’t stop myself."