Chapter 55 AND SHE STRIKES AGAIN
MERRIELYNN.
The first night it happened, I thought it was just a fluke.
I heard them as soon as I climbed into bed. The soft giggles, the low murmurs of a girl’s voice, and then Cormac’s distinct, deep laughter. I pressed my pillow against my ears, but it was no use. Every sound seemed to cut through the walls like they were paper-thin.
I squeezed my eyes shut and told myself it would be over soon. After all, I had no right to expect peace and quiet.
But as the noises grew louder, I realized luck wasn’t on my side that night. Cormac wasn’t just entertaining company—he was entertaining her.
I tried to ignore it, focusing on the soft hum of the ceiling fan, but it was impossible. The occasional burst of laughter turned into something far more intimate, and I clutched the pillow tighter, feeling my face burn with embarrassment.
It wasn’t until an hour later that the house finally went silent, and I managed to fall into a restless sleep.
The second night was worse.
This time, it wasn’t just the sounds of laughter and muffled conversations. Cormac and his guest made no attempt to keep their activities discreet. I lay there in the dark, my fists clenched at my sides as their voices echoed in my ears.
By the third night, I started to wonder if he was doing it on purpose.
Cormac had always been difficult, but this felt like a new low. He didn’t even glance in my direction during the day, but as soon as night fell, the parade of girls began. Each one seemed more enthusiastic than the last, their voices filling the halls like they were putting on a show just for me.
I couldn’t take it anymore.
On the fourth night, I snapped.
It was getting ridiculous.
He stood across from me in his usual casual attire—low-slung sweatpants and no shirt, his lean, muscular frame on full display. His hair was slightly messy, as if he’d just rolled out of bed, but his sharp green eyes were wide awake, glinting with amusement as he leaned against the doorframe.
“Well, well,” he drawled, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.
I crossed my arms over my chest, ignoring the heat rushing to my cheeks. “Cut it out, Cormac.”
“Cut what out?” He tilted his head, feigning innocence.
“You know exactly what I’m talking about,” I snapped. “This… this circus you’ve been running every night. It needs to stop.”
Cormac’s smirk deepened, and he stepped closer, his towering presence making me feel small. “What’s the matter, Merrielynn? Jealous?”
I blinked, caught off guard by his words. “Jealous? Of what?”
“Of them,” he said smoothly, his voice dropping lower. “You want me to stop because you can’t stand hearing me with someone else? Feel free to admit it.”
My mouth fell open in disbelief. “You’re insane.”
“Am I?” Cormac leaned in, his face inches from mine. “If you want me to fuck you instead, all you have to do is ask.”
His words hit me like a slap, and my stomach churned with a mix of anger and humiliation.
“Do you talk to your sister with that mouth?” I shot back, my voice shaking.
Cormac froze, his smirk vanishing like a switch had been flipped.
His eyes, which had been gleaming with amusement, turned cold—colder than I’d ever seen them.
The second the words left my lips, I regretted them.
The air between us grew heavy, and my heart pounded in my chest as I realized I’d made a mistake. A grave mistake.
“What did you just say?” Cormac’s voice was low, each word laced with quiet menace.
I swallowed hard but refused to back down. “You heard me.”
His expression darkened further, and he stepped even closer, his presence suffocating. “I dare you to say it again.”
My instincts screamed at me to stay silent, to walk away while I still could. But my pride wouldn’t let me.
“I said—”
Before I could finish, Cormac’s hand shot out, wrapping around my throat.
It wasn’t tight enough to hurt, but it was firm enough to remind me that I was on the thinnest ice ever.
“Merrielynn,” he said, his voice a dangerous whisper. “You don’t know anything about me. So stop poking around in my life. Stop talking to me like you’re anything but a nobody scholarship skank with nothing to your name.”
His words cut deep, sharper than any blade, and my chest burned with humiliation and rage.
When he let go of me, it wasn’t gentle. He released me with a rough shove, and I stumbled back a step, my hands clenched into fists.
Before I could stop myself, I swung at him.
Cormac caught my wrist with ease, his grip like iron. He twisted my arm just enough to keep me from moving but not enough to hurt.
I struggled against him, my frustration boiling over. “Let me go!”
But then his hand moved to the back of my neck, and the second his fingers brushed against the scar there, something inside me snapped.
A wave of panic surged through me, and without thinking, I lashed out. My vision blurred, and I felt my canines elongate.
I lunged for Cormac’s throat, but he turned his head at the last second, my teeth missing the graze and sinking deep into the crook of his neck instead.
Time seemed to freeze as we both realized what had just happened.
I drew back, retracing my teeth as my heart pounded fiercely in my chest.
Cormac released me, stepping back with a hand pressed against his neck. His eyes widened in shock, and again, just like that time in the palace, I saw that absolute look of distress flicker across his face.
“What… what did you just do?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
I stared at him, my breathing ragged as the adrenaline coursing through me began to fade.
“I don’t know,” I admitted, my voice trembling. “I didn’t mean to—”
But I didn’t need to finish. Cormac’s expression said it all.
He turned away from me, his body tense as he gripped his neck where the mark now rested.
“Cormac,” I started, but he didn’t let me finish.
“Don’t,” he said sharply, his tone colder than I’d ever heard it.
He left the room without another word, his footsteps heavy and deliberate.
As the door slammed shut behind him, I felt a strange, overwhelming sensation—a connection that hadn’t been there before.
I could feel Cormac. His emotions pressed against my mind like a weight, and I struggled to make sense of them.
Pain.
Anger.
Longing.
Three distinct feelings slamming against the forefront of the new, tangible thing suddenly forming between us.
The intensity of it all was suffocating, but just as quickly as it came, it was gone. Cormac had blocked me out, shutting me out of his mind completely.
I sank to the floor, my hands trembling as I tried to process everything that had just happened.
The room felt colder now, emptier.
I had no idea what I’d done.