12 Scarlet - Confused Emotions

I scoffed and walked past the half-naked man.

"What were you even doing for so long?" Sabastian closed the door behind him. "I'm starving."

I placed the bags with the food and the cake on the nearest bedside table. "If you were hungry, you should have gone out to get something to eat. I'm not your maid."

Sabastian waved away my argument and searched through the bags. The corners of his mouth lifted at what was inside. I rolled my eyes.

He left the bags and fetched his shorts and underwear from the bed. I couldn't help but notice it wasn't the pants he had on before. Where the hell did he get clothes?

I didn't get a chance to voice my question because he ripped the towel from his waist. The act provoked a gasp. I squeezed my eyes shut and pivoted on my heels, turning my back to him.

A soft chuckle taunted my eardrums. "You do remember we were in a room naked before, right? You should try not to act so innocent, you might give people the wrong impression."

This guy, though.

"What kind of impression would that be?" I gritted out.

"That you've never been touched," he whispered in my ear. The slight wind from his lips tickled my earlobe.

I shifted away from him. A laugh was his response.

I swiveled around to face him with a scowl. "Just put on your damn clothes!"

"I have." He crossed his arms across his chest. "You should get those eyes of yours checked."

My gaze slid down his naked chest. His lower half was covered in shorts. I didn't suggest my assumption because his top half was naked.

He didn't wait around for me to give a response, he grabbed the bags with food and placed them on the bed next to him. The cake was the first thing he dug into. Without using a fork, he ate the delight with his bare hands.

I stood, watching in amazement.

"Where is Angel?" he asked. "I thought you were going out to look for her."

After I got caught up in the game with the kids, that thought slipped my mind.

I collapsed on the bed beside the big child. "I forgot," I admitted. "A few kids stole my attention."

The alpha licked the icing from his fingers. "A few kids, huh. You spent a long time. What happened?"

I laid on my back, contemplating whether to answer the question. This guy swore he would kill me. Yet, he behaved as if we were friends. It was puzzling. I couldn't tell if he really did hate me or not.

"I wanted money to buy the food, so I played a game with these boys to get the information needed." I rolled on my side. "I went into it thinking it was a simple game. Those little brats almost beat me. I had to pull out the big guns. A warning: whenever you see kids playing marble never but in."

Sabastian wiped his hands and mouth with the napkin found in the bag. "Marbles. I always thought that was a fascinating game. The players had to be precise and clean with their attacks to hit the opponent's marble. A good game to practice aim."

It was. The marble we played was far different, but the concept was the same. It appeared more to be a practice battle. The ways the boys were going at it, no wonder they were so powerful. If they played the game every day, it would enhance their battle skills.

"We should play it sometimes." The alpha unwrapped one of the burgers and bit into the delight.

I laughed.

No way was someone going to sucker me into a game like that again. Still, I wouldn't mind seeing how Sabastian would react when faced against the boys. I doubt he would go easy on them, just the way they liked it.

He handed me a pouch with fries. "What's so funny? You don't see me kicking your ass in a kid game?"

I munched on a french fry. "As if I was going to sit back and be defeated in a game by you."

He swallowed with a smirk. "You won't have a choice but I like the way you talk. It's always good to have goals."

I said nothing else. This guy was just too much. If I followed him, he would only drive me crazy.

He finished the first burger and went to the next one. I bought four. If Jason could eat two, I figured Sabastian would eat more. My theory was on point.

A soft knock drummed on the door. The alpha remained seated. The knock came again. I sighed and went to open the door. This man really thought I was his subject. He was not a King. Not here.

I yanked the door open. Angel stood on the other end. She flashed me a smile and strolled past me.

Her eyes landed on Sabastian stuffing his face with food. "I see you both have eaten. That's good."

She sat beside the alpha. He gave her a bite of his burger. I couldn't help the irritation that came with watching the two. They were just two cozy for people who just met. This angel, whether she needed guidance or not, was annoying. Sabastian didn't seem to mind her dependence.

I dragged my gaze from the two. "Do we have to spend the night here?"

Angel swiped a finger in the cake and licked the icing from her finger. "Why am I not surprised you bought cake? I almost forgot how much you love these things."

Sabastian nodded to me. "Redhead bought it for me. I didn't even tell her I liked the red velvet, she just bought it. I think she deserves a point in customer service."

They both ignored me and carried on as if I wasn't even in the room.

Angel laughed. "I thought you loved every cake. I didn't know you had a favorite."

Sabastian swallowed the last of his second burger. "I never before, but now I do."

Angel's laughing grew louder. "You're such a big baby. I'm happy you're the brother I saved. I doubt your twin would have been this relaxing to be around."

The alpha snickered, devouring his third burger.

Back to the brother thing. Sabastian had another half. An image of Kyleon kept floating to the forefront of my mind every time they mentioned his twin. Kyleon did mention he had a brother. However, his sibling was locked away to preserve his life. Then again, this guy was kept in an isolated space too. He and Kyleon looked similar. If it wasn't for the eyes and hair color, one would think they were the same person.

But, it couldn't be. Why would Kyleon's brother want to kill me? He wouldn't. This just didn't make sense.

I groaned and four pairs of eyes met mine.

Angel pulled one of the bottles of grape juice I bought. "This place is not called Shabah Village for no reason. We can't roam about after sundown. The ghost bandits that you heard outside the village will wander around after dark. Everywhere shuts down by five. It gives everyone time to get home before six. Once the clocks hit that hour, there is no escaping the ghost. They devour any unprotected soul."

"What would stop them from entering our rooms?" I asked.

Angel sipped the juice and fed some to Sabastian. "The buildings are protected by a barrier spell. Therefore, they can't get inside. But, if you're not under that protection, then they'll get you. One look at them and you're good as dead. Your life force gets sucked out and you turn to ash."

Which would explain why she told us never to look back. These ghosts were tricky spirits. They used my family against me. Surely, they had more tricks up their sleeves.

Angel corked the cover back onto the bottle. "Just don't go outside after dark, no matter what you see or hear. Stay inside and close the doors and curtains. It's better to turn the TV on. It'll drown out some of the noises."

The muscles in my forehead tightened. "Noises?"

Angel licked another finger of whip cream. "Yeah, they use noises to lower folks out. Some of it might be real while most of it is not. Don't be a hero. This is the time to be selfish."

In other words, if these noises included someone screaming we should leave them to their fate.

Sabastian finished his four burgers and went back to his cake. "That's fine by me."

Typical of him to say.

Angel patted his thigh. "I know, big guy. That's why they don't affect you. They're scared of you."

What?

"Sabastian is too powerful," Angel explained. "This power radiates from him which makes it look like he's glowing in the dark. Light is a repellent. Sabastian might be dark but he's a light they can't touch. Plus, his personality is way darker than theirs. Their taunts won't frighten him but excite him.

A darkness that portrayed light. How screwed up that was.