Except she’s hanging onto a man. She’s smiling, laughing, and touching someone else.
The bastard.
Jealousy roils in my stomach. That isn’t fair. She should be with me. I'm sure I'd make her happier than he'll ever be able to.
I spent my adolescent years surreptitiously watching humans. Before the Decrypting, that was all I had. I coveted so many things humans had and I didn’t.
Nothing has ever spiked this type of red-raw jealousy before.
She is meant for me. She ismine.
It’s easy to follow her movements. Her red hair practically glows in the darkness. Like a flame drawing me closer. The couple turn left from the bar. Her bright yellow sneakers wobble on the uneven pavement, a hint of intoxication in her steps. Her drunken laugh echoes loudly into the night. The man shushes her before urging her forward with slight irritation in his voice.
My antennae flutter. My vision flashes red briefly. He had better not be forcing my mate to do anything against her will.
She doesn’t seem concerned. She laughs and speeds up, grabbing his wrist and tugging him along. I spread my wings and catch the wind. A small jump, and I’m airborne.
I follow my mate, and her date, through the neighborhood. His expression doesn’t lighten the entire trip. He grumbles, and she giggles. I can’t hear the whole conversation from above them, but I do catch her laugh again. Loud, light, and expressive. Like a mating call.
They don’t walk far, maybe fifteen minutes. Turning down three or four side streets before they finally stop at a house.
My territory. My mate.
I land on the rooftop across the street from them. She pulls the man in close for a long kiss. His sour expression finally breaks and his shoulders relax. My hands clench tight into fists. It isn't fair that he has her.
I should be under her lips, receiving her kiss. This human man doesn't deserve to touch her, he doesn't deserve the smile she brings to his lips.
My mate says something I can't hear, making herself laugh again, before stumbling up the front stairs of a brownstone, pulling her date after her. She fumbles with the keys for a moment before the man pulls out his own set and unlocks the door. Her apartment. Or possibly their shared space.
I tighten my fist. That isn’t right. She should be living with me. In our nest.
My mate is giggling as she pulls her date in for another kiss before leading him into the apartment.
How sad would she be if he disappeared? If she never heard from him again? If I snatched him from the street, flew three miles out to sea, and dropped him into the ocean.
The night air is chill so I tuck my wings around my shoulder for extra warmth while I watch the windows. It’s easy to track the couple’s path as lights turn on and off throughout the apartment. Until finally, silhouettes are highlighted through sheer curtains on the second story. I can see enough to know it is their bedroom, and enough to know they are about to participate in bedroom activities.
It's wrong to watch. I know I shouldn't be here. I should leave now, go home alone, with only my memories of her.
I spread my wings and flit down to her front step.
Eventually she'll realize that human man is wrong for her. She will come to her senses and leave him.
A tiny peek through her front window won't hurt anyone.
The glass on the front door is textured, but there's a sliver of clear window that provides an unobstructed view into her home. A set of stairs leads up to the second story on the right side of a long narrow hallway. The left side is filled with moving boxes. In the rear the kitchen is cast in a warm homey glow.
Headlights pass on the street behind me and I flinch at the engine noise.
I can’t get caught here. I shouldn't be spying into her house. But I need to be ready for her when it happens. I need to know everything I can about her. Learn what she likes, what she wants. I need to be waiting to give her...everything.
A flutter of movement catches my eye, a flier hanging from her mailbox catches the wind. I shouldn't look. It's illegal, and invasive. I pull it out, a piece of junk mail, it won’t be missed. And now I know my mate’s name.
Piper.
Piper Hamilton.
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