Lincoln
"You disgust me. Hiding in your room every day and whipping yourself just to keep us away? Aren't you ashamed?" Kael's voice spat in my mind.
"Let Kael run free," Rael chimed in, sounding hungry. "So what if he kills a family? Once he gets it out of his system, he'll sit still for a few days and you'll finally have peace."
"Don't listen to them, Lincoln. If you let Kael take control, Rael will want to switch places. Before you know it, months will pass before you wake up again." Soren's tired voice was lower.
"Oh, shut up, you old bastard! Unlike you, Lincoln is young. He shouldn't spend his days locked in a room with a whip over his back," Kael snapped at Soren.
"You better keep hiding, Soren. When I get my hands on you, I will tear you limb from limb," Kael's voice spat in my mind.
Creak…
The three voices barking in my head stopped instantly as the door to my room creaked, slowly being pushed open.
Kael sniffed the air, jumping in excitement. "Yum. A human. Didn't you say no one should be outside after 9:00 PM? Whoever this is, they're asking for it."
"It's the new maid," Soren muttered. "She probably just got lost."
"Who cares? Lincoln, if you don't keep your promise right now, I will never forgive you!" Kael threatened, already salivating.
"Lord Lincoln? Are you… are you alright?"
I heard her light footsteps. Then her scent hit me, and I froze. She smelled so sweet it made my head spin.
"Oh, she smells delicious," Kael was drooling now. "The last time we had a witch, it was nasty. Maybe this is the Moon Goddess' apology to us."
I clenched my jaw and reached for the whip. But as I tried to strike my own back, my eyes widened.
My hand… it wouldn't move. It felt heavy, like it belonged to someone else.
Kael. He was fighting me for control.
"You're too weak to enforce your rules. So I will do it for you," he hissed.
"Get back, you idiot!" I struggled against him, trying to shove him down.
But I was so busy fighting Kael that I didn't notice Rael slip in. Just like that, I became a spectator in my own body as he pushed me back and took the wheel.
My head whipped toward the door, and the girl froze, her eyes widening in horror at the unmistakable sight of mine.
Slamming herself back against the wall in terror, she bit her lip so hard a trail of blood ran down her chin.
"Share some of her with me, Rael. Even if just her arms…" Kael begged.
While Rael was distracted by Kael's begging, I shoved them both back and took control again. I grabbed the whip, but my hand stopped midair again, shaking.
I looked at the girl, now crumpled on the floor.
I couldn't do it myself—Kael was blocking me. So I tossed the whip at her feet.
"Whip me," I barked. "Do it now! Whip me!"
"Lincoln, you wretched bastard!" Kael screamed, furious that I'd pushed him out.
Rael was silent for a second before he began suggesting, "Kael, let's work together. Soren is too weak to help him. If we join hands, one of us can take him."
Usually, they hated each other. But the sweet way this girl smelled had made them lose their minds. They were actually teaming up against me.
"Are you deaf? I said whip me!" I roared at the girl.
When she still wouldn't budge, I gritted my teeth and grabbed her hand, lifting it toward my bloodied back.
Unlike my brothers, my eyes hadn't been brown for a long time. When I wasn't sleeping or suppressing them with the whip, they were a kaleidoscope of shifting gold, icy silver, and a deep, bloody crimson.
It was like looking into a storm where three different souls were fighting for the steering wheel.
Every person who had ever seen the three colors swirling in my eyes had run away and never come back.
I expected her to do the same—to see the monster and strike me without mercy.
But as I turned my back to her, she didn't pick up the whip. Instead, she covered her face and burst into tears.
I froze.
"I'm so sorry, Lord Lincoln," she sobbed. "I'm so sorry, but I can't whip you."
Before I could speak, she threw herself into my arms, crying into my chest.
My back arched. Suddenly, the voices in my head stopped.
The resistance, the screaming, the growling—it all went still. Kael and Rael didn't disappear, but they lay down.
They were… quiet.
Then I heard Soren say it. It was the one word the witch had cursed us with a hundred years ago, vowing we would never know it as long as we lived.
He sounded almost drowsy, but I heard him whisper it.
"So… this is what having a mate feels like."