Cry for Krampus: A Dark Monster Romance by Pierce Aiden

Author:Pierce, Aiden
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2024-12-23T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

Clara

No matter how much sleep medicine I took, I couldn’t sleep. I tossed and turned until the early morning when the light started to pour in through the den’s curtains. The tiny loveseat—at least three decades old that had belonged to Hogan’s grandma—wasn’t helping either. I couldn’t stand to sleep in the bedroom or the living room. The den was the only place that didn’t smell like my dead fiancé.

I flipped onto my side, trying to get comfortable even though I knew it was useless. The shallow sleep I did manage to catch, I dreamed of Hogan. But it wasn't just of the bad times. No, I dreamt of when we'd still been in love. When he'd been a completely different person. Back when we were still in school, naïve enough to think we'd always be together. Graduation. His proposal. Dreaming of our own business, saving together. Then it all turned sour.

Flashes of him choking the life out of me filled my mind, the cleaver coming down over his face, the sensation of his warm blood slipping down the handle and coating my shaking fingers. The hogs feasting on his ravaged corpse. Then the dreams shifted gears, and it was Bastion's face filling my unconscious thoughts.

I probably should have dated in school instead, but all the kids were afraid of him—including me. Not because he was cruel, but there was always a dark, mischievous energy clinging to him that seemed to warn others to stay away.

I wish I hadn't.

His winter-cold eyes followed me in my dreams. Passing by my storefront window, always watching me. But I wasn't afraid. Not of him. Never of him.

Not even when he said those words to me after I’d kissed him.

Don’t thank me, Clara. There will be a price for this.

What could he have meant by that?

Maybe it was a good thing he’d said that. It had pulled me out of the bliss that was our first kiss and brought me slamming back into reality. That kiss had been innocent and sweet—literally, his lips tasted like candy cane—but from that simple touch I knew I wanted more of him. Needed more of him. I’d been about to invite him inside on some stupid pretense like getting him to help me with cleaning up the kitchen.

But then he’d said what he said, and I couldn’t help but get sweeping chills that swallowed me whole, sinking down to my marrow. It was that same demeanor he’d had ever since we were kids that scared everyone else off.

To this day, it only intrigued me.

Now that Hogan was gone, I had the ability to figure out the mystery that was Bastion Weber.

Finally, giving up on getting anything close to a decent night’s sleep, I did as Bastion instructed and I called the police to report that Hogan was missing. I was so anxious and scared, my voice shook and Peggy, the dispatcher who I’d been in 4H with in middle school, assured me that we’d find him.

When the

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.