Hooked (Never After, #1)

by Emily McIntire

And maybe it’s because in the deepest parts of me, I already knew he was different. The hint of danger stretches out like tentacles and suctions to my skin like a dark caress. It’s exciting, even if I know it shouldn’t be.

Walking toward him feels like diving in the deep end without knowing how to swim, but it doesn’t make my steps falter. If anything, I pick up the pace, an odd sense of excitement making me want to find out how far down the water goes.

My eyebrow quirks. “What, you think a man can’t have beauty?” “A man can have many things, darling.” He steps in closer. “But the only beauty I hope to have tonight is yours.”

It’s just hard to let go of someone, to let them drift away until they only exist in your memories. Once I do, I’ll have to admit that maybe he never really existed at all.

“Just remember that whenever things feel bleak, all situations are temporary. It’s not your circumstance that determines your worth, it’s how you rise from the ashes after everything burns.”

But we’re all a little twisted, and there’s no such thing as good and evil. There are only perspectives, and perceptions change depending on the angle. People aren’t static. Our morals aren’t constant. They’re variables, ever changing and molding into different versions of themselves, energy that can be shifted and realigned.

“Darling, if I’m the dark, then you’re the stars.”