Hallows: The Golden Viper

Eyelash Extensions

Khalid- The Ways

B.B.

Decarious Adams is waiting for us outside of the salon casually leaning against his car. Dec is stupid pretty. I mean come on. The guy is wearing regular jeans a royal blue t-shirt with a Yankees baseball jersey over it, and a matching baseball cap. He's just gorgeously standing there being the greatest pretty boy of all time. I haven't called or texted him since I walked out of his house. He hasn't either.

"You okay?" Stacy asks when I park a few spots away from his car.

"Yeah, I'm okay," I shrug.

"Is that why you look super cute today?" Natalie smirks.

"I always look super cute," I smile.

Yes, that is why I look super cute today. I went with something less Carson's fashion obsession and more freshman year B.B. Jeans, crop top, and sneakers. Minimal makeup. I also want new eyelash extensions. I scratched one off the other day and I've been hyper-fixating on it whenever I walk past my reflection.

"We should f**k with him," Stacy suggests.

"What are we thinking?" Natalie gets on board quickly.

"Charlie's Angel's greeting?" I laugh. "Say his name every time we ask him something,"

"Yes," Stacy laughs. "So full name or just Dec?"

"Just Dec. His dad only calls him by his full name when he's angry,"

"Ugh," Natalie scoffs. "My nani does that,"

The three of us all walk over to Dec. He pushes off the car looking me over appreciatively. f**k head.

"Good morning, ladies," he greets us.

"Good morning, Dec," the three of us say at the same time. His eyes flutter as he looks us over.

"Are you ready for your appointments?"

"Yes, we are Dec," the three of us say in unison again.

That was perfect. He clears his throat and spins around so we can cross the street. We laugh quietly and follow. He might snap at us and then me but I'm willing to take that chance.

"I was wondering what you were doing standing around outside like that," Tecia laughs as she comes over to us. "What's up white girl? It's been a minute,"

"Hey," I hug her back when she wraps her arms around me. I haven't seen her since her friend's funeral. Carson paid for the whole thing.

"Come on. I've got you today. What do you want to start with?"

"I could use a haircut,"

"And an eyelash extension change," she looks me over.

"Yes," I nod. She takes my hands and holds them up. They are a mess. I've been working on the robot a lot and my nails are wrecked. It's hard to get the oil off the edges. She looks up at me annoyed. "I'm working on my robot. If you make them pretty I'm only going to f**k them up again when I get home," I tuck them behind me. "I know they're ugly,"

"You're an emo girl. Do them black, B.B.," she says my name teasingly.

"Maybe if you promise me glitter," I shrug.

"Always," she tips my chin.

It smells like B.B.'s personal days in here. That's what the guys call them. Acrylics, hair dye, and shampoo. The soothing sound of the hair dryers and the light banter of other girls being pampered is music to my ears. The first time I did this after finding out what I was, I swear I told myself I would do this more often. The pretty emotions of relaxation and power here are sublime. It's therapeutic even.

The Queen's Throne is beautiful. The walls are striped a pretty soft pink and white glitter. Pretty princess chandeliers decorate the stations and the chairs are a really nice white leather which is insane because it doesn't make sense to me. They dye hair here. Yet, none of them are stained. Each station is carefully designed to appeal to the customer and for the convenience of the artist. I feel like a f*****g princess.

"Excuse me," a girl taps me on my shoulder before I take a seat. "Girl, that ass is out of his world. Spill the technique,"

"Oh, uh," I look around nervously.

"We have a t****k for that," Stacy answers her coming to my aid. "It's linked to our personal trainers and nutritionists. I used to be a double zero. I'm pushing a five now," she says lifting her sweater to show them. "It's real. I dare you to feel it,"

"This b***h," Natalie shakes her head when some of the girls go over to touch her ass.

"B.B.'s a genius. She doesn't have time to be keeping track of this stuff. She also doesn't like to be approached directly. It makes her nervous," she comes over to me and pinches my cheeks. "This glow on her skin right now is from the new moisturizing formulas I'm working on. B.B.'s skin dries easily but I've also been working on oily skin care for Delilah. Here, I'll show you,"

The girls all gather around her as she starts going through her ** posts. I laugh when Tecia helps me into her chair.

"That girl is always talking. I swear," Tecia grins. "You really let her put weird Stacy stuff on you?"

"The results don't lie," I shrug. She laughs.

"I'm not supposed to talk to you," she says quietly as she brushes my hair out. "Are we getting rid of the layers finally?"

"Yes, please," I nod. "I'd also like to darken it,"

"A darker purple?" she shakes her head.

"Mmm, I was thinking about going back to brunette,"

"I was thinking black fades to white," she says and places a sketchbook in front of me.

"Is that me?" I laugh.

"Yeah, you like it?"

"I love it," I nod looking over the little anime-style drawing. The top is a. pretty dark that starts to fade gray and the tips are pretty white. Lucien is going to love this. I can come back and do the rest before I leave. "Okay. Yeah, let's do that,"

"All right let's get you ready," she smiles tightly at me through the mirror and then lowers her head as she steps away. A woman takes her place. The girl with the f*****g hair beads.

"Good morning, Miss Blackstone," she greets me.

"Do I call you Mrs. Goodwill?" I ask. She straightens up her little smirk fading better than the little drawing of me.

"You've heard of me?" she asks.

"Briefly, I've heard more of your mate actually. We've met," I shrug. She takes the brush from Tecia and begins to brush my hair. She sections it so she can start at the base of my skull.

"You have a lot of hair," she compliments. "You take very good care of it,"

"Do something to my hair and I will kill everyone in this building and then set it on fire," I smile.

"You really want to start a war with us?" she scoffs as if the idea would bother me.

"More than anything," I nod. "I know my devils would love a piece of your little kingdom here, Queen b***h," she stops brushing my hair. "But that's not how things work, is it? We have to be civilized. I did promise my stepdad I'd behave while he's running for Mayor. This election means a lot to him. It's personal,"

She looks my reflection over with contempt before taking a strand of my hair to keep brushing it.

"What do you want?" she asks.

"I didn't come here to talk to you. I'm here to get my hair done,"

"You could have done it anywhere else. Don't your people got Go-Go Bunny Salon?" she rolls her eyes.

"Sure, that's usually where I go. You need an appointment to get in and I kind of had the urge for a change last night. You were the only ones available. Business must be rough," I shrug. "I thought maybe we could help each other out here. A Blackstone, A Whitmore, and a Phantom in your chairs. Sorry, thrones. If I wanted an audience I would have asked for you specifically. I didn't. I don't know why you're even touching my hair,"

"I can make the acid in your belly so hot it would cook all of your insides in seconds, little girl," she growls. Her eyes flash red.

"Alpha," Tecia comes back. In her hands, she's holding a tray with different dye bowls sitting on it. Her tone is low almost submissive. It doesn't match the look of rage in her eyes.

"We got a problem, Mrs. G?" Dec asks.

"I don't know, Wreck it Dec. Do we?" she drops my hair and tosses the hairbrush on the tray. Natalie and Stacy stand. Natalie growls at her.

"I've got this Queen Mother," Tecia bows her head.

"Finish them up. I don't want them here when I get back. Leticia," she orders.

"His name is Decarious or Dec. If I ever hear you or anyone else call him that, I'll snatch the air right out of your body, or maybe, I'll put more until you pop like a water balloon," I press my lips together and pop them. "You should all spread the word. Don't talk to him like that. You don't know him,"

"Do you?" she turns to face me. "Do you know who this little motherf-"

I stand up reaching for her the same way I did with Ashley when she made Lucien attack her. Her body shakes as I pull the air out of her lungs. She puts her hand to her throat and stumbles back.

"B.B.," Tecia steps between us, and I let her go. She falls to the floor. Tecia immediately goes to her to make sure she's okay. Queen Mother is gasping for air as she looks up at me with disbelief.

"You can go tell Alpha Goodwill if you like. I'll be right here," I smile. She stands up and walks out without saying another word.

"Did you just choke her with the force?" one of the other werewolf girls laughs. I look around the room to see that none of the other girls are bothered by me attacking her.

"No, I can bend energy particles," I say and take a seat. "If I turn them into bubbles I capture just about anything in them and pull them back to me or throw them. It's linked to my decay ability. If I keep the material inside of the bubble for too long it breaks down into dust,"

"You shouldn't tell people what you can do," Dec scolds me.

"It's just one thing and it's not like they can counter it. The only known creature who can is Stacy,"

"Hello," Stacy waves at everyone. Tecia laughs and comes back over to me. She spins me around so I'm facing the center of the room where I have a visual of both exits.

"Isn't she your Luna or whatever you call what she is?"

"This isn't a f*****g werewolf erotica, B.B. She's alpha Goodwill's mate. It makes her alpha female and she's also a witch Queen. So, Queen Mother," she takes the black bowl with the black hair dye in it. "You guys don't like her?" I ask.

"We tolerate her for the alpha's sake," one of the other girls' answers. "But she's a b***h and not in the cute way little red here is. She uses her magic on us,"

"We heal fast but magic leaves a nasty taste in your mouth for days," Tecia shrugs as she begins to apply the dye using wax paper sheets and cotton so it doesn't stain my skin.

"It really does. Where is Casey anyway?" Natalie asks.

"Alpha Goodwill demoted her after you almost killed my brother. She's working at the deli," Tecia answers.

"Wait, you have a brother?" I ask her. We don't want to think about how we maim one another on the daily at the moment. No need to start a fight. I'll ask Nat about it later.

"I have four brothers and six sisters," she nods. "I'm the eldest,"

"Holy s**t. That's a lot of siblings. I have a lot to deal with and I only have one sister," I say. They all laugh.

"Different Shadow Beings. The world definitely doesn't need more Blackstones," someone laughs. I grin. I beg to differ but that's just me.

The conversation shifts and the information starts to flow as they share their little encounters with their Queen Mother and the Alpha.

The Goodwills are actually a very interesting family. They became part of the Hellbourne founding families after the slavery laws were abolished. They were brought here by the Hunters. The last name was dropped when Kelly Hayashi was named the sole heir of the Hunter's wealth and it's a vast one.

While they were forced to give up the Goodwills, it didn't stop them from selling humans like pets. If anything it got worse. It's why Kelly murdered him as soon as those papers were signed. She was also best friends with my dad so, that could have been a big part of the reason why she killed him.

I didn't know they were werewolves but it definitely explains why they were actually able to force their way into the founding families. It's impressive. I almost feel bad for thinking about killing the last two Goodwills left. They're brothers. But when I feel bad about stuff like this, I just hear Carson's voice in the back of my head. Business is business, B.B., and sometimes, it gets ugly.

My phone rings. I reach into my back pocket and laugh.

"I was just thinking about you," I answer.

"I just got a call from Trey Goodwill, Baby. He said you assaulted his mate," Carson scolds me but his tone is playful.

"I gave her a fair warning. She was talking s**t to Dec. I have witnesses,"

"Yeah, witnesses that say you did in fact assault her, my love," he laughs. "Were you thinking about last night?"

"No, I was not thinking about last night. I forgave you but I'm still mad about it," I scoff.

"Play nice, B.B. Dec can take care of himself,"

"No woman is going to talk to him like that in front of me. He can't slap a hoe. I can," I roll my eyes. "Repeatedly until I say they've had enough,"

"Okay, okay. I forget you get all sensitive about Dec," he huffs. "Just chill. You're supposed to be relaxing. Not picking fights with stupid little girls over Dec's honor. This is why I don't like you hanging out with him alone,"

"ThIs iS wHy I dOn'T lIkE yOu HaNgInG oUt WiTh HiM aLoNe," I mock. "You sound like Delilah. Yeah, I'll play nice. I am behaving myself. I could have torn out her tonsils. She wouldn't have died and I didn't. So, you're welcome,"

"Yeah, thank you for not being stupid, B.B. I am eternally grateful, Baby," he growls angrily.

"Perfect. So, I don't see what the problem is," I laugh. He groans.

"This is why I don't f*****g call you. We always end up fighting. I'll see you at home. You better not have cut all your hair off. I'll f*****g pull it back out of you,"

"That's not how it works, Car," I laugh. "It's like a three-D printer. I don't have hair reserves inside my head,"

"I-I'm hanging up now, B.B.," he sighs.

"Bye, Baby," Lucien laughs in the distance. We all laugh when they hang up. Even Dec cracks a smile.

"Girl, I've seen that man rip someone's throat out with his bare hand for looking at him weird and you out here pissing him off for fun," Tecia laughs.

"I only do it when he pisses me off for fun. He knows what he did," I shrug. They all laugh again.

As she washes out the stuff in my hair one of the other girls removes my eyelash extensions, After when she starts the top of my hair they turn me around in the chair again and I keep my eyes on Dec who is playing something on his phone. I know he can feel me looking at him because he kind of shifts a little every now and then but the world be damned if he looks up at me.

"Hmm," Tecia shakes her head. "Girl, I would hate being in your shoes,"

"Aren't you excited to find your mate or whatever you call it?" I ask.

"Actually, I had to kill my mate," she whispers. I sit up straight and look back at her. "Alpha's orders are absolute, white girl. Didn't even know his name,"

"Why would he even do that?" I ask.

"Katerina Ndwadik wasn't always alpha female," she shrugs. "He said he'd do the same. One thing Eastsiders have in common is that they're all f*****g liars," she looks up at Dec with a glare. "There are no exceptions, Dub G. The prettier they are. The deeper it hurts. We can't trust them and they have no reason to trust us,"

"I'm sorry that happened to you, Tecia," I place my hand over hers.

"You are a weird little monster," she smiles. "It's hard to believe you're real. That those eyes are as genuine as they look,"

"Why wouldn't they be?" I ask.

"I don't know. Maybe I just don't want to believe that things can change anymore. I believed in something once. I swore I'd never do it again," she shrugs.

"Why did you stay?"

"These are my people," she looks up at the other girls. "I keep this pack together. That manipulative ass b***h would have killed my wolves if I had walked away. Trey forgot why I chose him. He forgot about everything and everyone we had to sacrifice to get here,"

"How old are you?" I ask her.

"Twenty-six. How old do I look?"

"My age," I laugh.

"How old are you?" she smirks.

"I'm seventeen. I turn eighteen this year,"

"Wolves age slower. The more we shift, the more we heal. No wrinkles or gray hairs," she shrugs.

"That's f*****g cool,"

"Not as cool as staying young until you pass on your heirloom," she smirks. "Reverand Adams is ninety-six years old and he doesn't look a day over thirty. He looked younger when he arrived with his son,"

"Reverand Adams scares me," I admit.

"On that, we can agree on," she grins. "Aight, let's get these eyelash extensions on,"

I close my eyes and lay back in the seat. She's almost done when the atmosphere in the room changes. The room goes silent and I feel the warmth of something heavy in the air. I sit up when Tecia taps my forehead with her tweezers. At the entrance is Trey Goodwill.

"Are you finished?" I ask her. She shakes her head. "You should finish before the glue dries," I lay back. "My hearing is really good,"

"We meet again, Miss Blackstone," he walks over to us.

I can feel the warmth coming off him the same way I feel Tecia's but it somehow feels different. Louder. More dominant. Maybe it's because I didn't know what he was before that I didn't find him threatening but I see it now. Or rather, I feel it. Maybe it's the fact that he's upset because I "assaulted" his mate. Whatever it is, he seems bigger. It could also be because I know Tecia isn't weak but she's fighting the tremble in her body.

"Okay," I say because what the hell am I supposed to say to that?

"Take another step and I'll be dragging you out by your weave," Dec says calmly from behind him.

"Is that right?" he asks him.

"Yeah, man. Why you coming down here over a girl fight? Your girl mouthed off and she couldn't handle the pushback. It's got nothing to do with you,"

I place my hand on Tecia's before she pokes my eye out. She gasps when I tug on her essence enough to help ease her nerves. I might get yelled at by the guys later but it's a chance I'm willing to take. She needs to stand up for herself. Even if she is in love with that i***t.

"You want to take this outside?"

"Trey you need to chill," Tecia sighs with relief. He turns around to look at her. "The last thing I need is for you to f**k up my building before I get to sell it,"

"You're on their side, Tee?" he asks her challengingly.

"No, sir. I'm taking care of my salon. You fight with that thing outside and you'll destroy everything in your way. He's not wrong. Queen Mother wanted to talk and the client didn't. B.B. doesn't like it when people f**k with Dec. You should know that by now," she finally finishes and lets me up. I jump off the chair when she removes the cover.

"My eyes look huge," I bat them. She grins. My hair looks amazing. Lucien is definitely going to love this. She took three inches off my hair and I feel a little lighter even. It's now up to the middle of my lower back. I spin around to face her. "I love it,"

"It does look really good. You look like a ghoul," she laughs running her fingers through the tight curls she made to loosen them up.

"Did you come all this way to see me, Alpha Goodwill?" I address him finally. Dec is still sitting where he was earlier. He looks completely unbothered by the alpha's presence.

"You're the last person I thought I'd ever have to have this conversation with, Tee. I asked you not to go around this girl and you disobeyed direct orders," he sighs. "I never thought I'd have to turn you into a lesson,"

"Alpha, no rules were broken. She's a customer," she lowers her head.

"You ain't putting your hands on her," Dec finally puts his phone down and looks up at the alpha.

"Dec," she warns him shaking her head.

"Nah, Tee. This ain't the first time and I know this motherfucker ain't trying to tell my girl where the f**k she can and can't go,"

Eve appears behind Dec and wraps herself around him. The girls all gasp and jump back as Stacy comes over to me with my backpack. I take it and hand it to Tecia. Natalie comes over and hands her the wad of cash Marcos has slipped her this morning.

"I can't promise anything, Tecia. It's not my place to give you yours. Not unless you're sitting at my table. There are just three of us for now. Let me know if you're interested. I don't know how alphas work but I know how devils move. And I can tell you, no matter how hard the wolf puffs, he's not getting through one. Especially one that's properly fed. I'll be back in a couple of weeks to get the white-out. I'm going on vacation and I don't want it to get ugly,"

"Sure," she nods. "I'll be here,"

"Eve," I call out. She looks in my direction and hisses. "We've talked about this, Eve. Carson didn't like it the last time. Do you really want to spend the next two weeks in isolation again?" she hisses stubbornly this time. "Eve, let Dec go. Now or I will summon Rem," Dec reaches up to scratch her chin. Reluctantly, she lets him go and shrinks down even smaller as comes over to me. Trey jumps out of the way when she bites in his direction. "Eve," I growl. I squat down to pick her up and the f*****g little asshole bites my neck. I pull her off me and squeeze until she cries out and dematerializes. "Little s**t. If you do that again, I'll f*****g feed you to Mun,"

"You okay?" Dec asks coming over to me.

"Yeah, it's not the first time she does that," I feel my body starting to get numb. I hold up a black card with three golden sixes on it and hand it to Trey. I found them in the study. They used to be my dad's and he said I could have them. "Touch her and I'll bring three devils with me next time. You'd think the big one was the scariest but there's a reason why Dec gets to be out here on his own. Don't lose that. If something happens to her, I'm coming back for it,"

"You think you can threaten me in my territory?" he growls. His eyes are glowing red.

"She doesn't like to be asked questions directly," Stacy says. "So, I'll answer it for her. Yeah, that was a threat. Be a good boy and consider yourself lucky it was just that. She usually goes straight for your soul,"

"We ready?" Dec asks.

"Yes, Dec. We're ready," the three of us say at the same time. He lets his head fall back with a groan and opens the door for us. We walk out together. I hand my keys to Stacy. I barely make it across the street when my body starts to shut down.

"Hey," he grabs my arm when I stumble.

"You got her?" Natalie asks.

"Yeah, I'm taking her with me," he nods.

"You okay with that, B?"

"No, I want to go home," I shake my head. He sighs and picks me up into his arms.

"Too f*****g bad," he growls. "You're coming with me," he puts me in his passenger seat and buckles me in. His eyes search mine for a second and she shakes his head. "f*****g eyelash extensions,"