Little Stranger (The Web of Silence Duet, #1)

by Leigh Rivers

She has blood on her thighs.

I lean down and lick clean.

I’ll turn into a fucking vampire if I keep drinking her blood.

My little captive for the foreseeable future. My darling Olivia. You aren’t leaving here without me getting my revenge, you traitorous fucking bitch.

She just threatened me with myself—she thinks I’ll save her.

Maybe I should kill her. Would the wedding still go ahead if the mother of the bride had been tragically ripped apart and fed to a pack of wolves?

Knowing my family, probably.

I internally rain havoc on any warm thoughts of Olivia, but deep down, I fucking missed her too. Being separated from her was like being thrown into the sea when you can’t swim. Drowning—I was fucking drowning until I set eyes on my Olivia again.

“The itsy bitsy spider,”

“Climbed up the waterspout.”

“Down came the rain,”

“And washed… the spider… out.”

“Out came the sun,”

“And dried up… all the rain.”

“The itsy… bitsy… spider…”

“Climbed up… the spout again.”

“I don’t need you,”

she murmurs, and I feel like I’ve been stabbed in the chest.

My version of love isn’t enough for her—I love her, I do, but how am I supposed to know what’s normal and what’s not? My world revolves around her and always has. And if that’s not a good-enough version of love for her, and I can’t make her happy, then what’s the point?

I want Olivia to choose me. Please choose me. Nobody ever chooses me.

My chest is sore, and my eyes feel immense pressure, and they’re… wet. I think I might be crying for the first time in my life.

“Olivia,”

“Please don’t leave me. Please stay with me.”

“Please,”

“Accept my v-version of love. Pl-ease. I love you, Ol-l-l—”

Olivia doesn’t tell me she loves me back, or that she’ll stay. She just gives me a warm smile and pulls her hand away before squeezing past me. I don’t turn arou...

I’ve managed to hide the marks Malachi left on my body with concealer, but I can feel them everywhere. They’re reminders of what I’m leaving behind, even though I want to run to him.

Of every mistake I’ve made in my life, not choosing Malachi has been my worst.

Those eight years without him were torture, but the last two weeks? Hell.

Malachi has been the one for me since forever. He’s my forever. My heaven and hell.

“Olivia?”

So clear. So clear and pure and f...

“You’re mine, Malachi. You’re mine and I’m yours and I love you more than words can explain. Please forgive me. Please. I want you. I want to be with you, build a life with you, and make memories with you. I want to wake up every morning with you by my side. I want you to chase me through these woods and take me against a tree. I want everything you have to give. All of it. Everything. Because I choose you. I—”

I’ve never been afraid of dying—it’s inevitable. But the thought of dying and leaving Olivia behind? Of leaving her with all the poisonous toxicity in the world? That terrifies me.

But she can trust me. She can always trust me.

“I found you,”

“I’m never letting you go now.”

“You’re ...

“And you’re...

“Yours. You promise you won’t run away again? I’ll chase you.”

She’s so perfect. I’m starting to think this is all a dream. Maybe I’m still in prison and imagining all this? That’s fine—as long as I never wake up, I’m good to stay in this bubble with her.

“You can’t ask me to do that, Olivia. From the moment I met you, I swore to myself I’d protect you. I’ve done a fucking shitty job of that so far, so I’m not going to sit around knowing he’s out there and a threat.”

I was starved, thin, weak, but at least I had power over my speech. They wouldn’t take that from me too, because I hid it somewhere only Olivia could find it.

I kiss her—the only girl I’ve ever imagined giving my heart to. It might be a little black, a little jagged around the edges, and my mind might be a little wild, but she owns them.

Olivia owns my mind, body, and soul. She did when we were kids, when we were teens, when we were giving in and letting go. Even when I had her chained up in the basement, she had a hold over me.

I had it in my head that I wanted revenge on her—I now know I just wanted her back. And guess fucking what? I got her back. She chose me. Olivia act...