Page 15 of The Kill

I stare hard at Lucian, wondering about the wisdom of going for that run. He has done nothing to make me doubt him, but nothing is more precious to me than Mandy. Suddenly, I’m hesitant.

Lucian nods, a wicked glint in his eye. “It’s totally that. Not the fact that you're the deranged bloodsucker who wanted to kill her alpha and steal his pack, and his luna, for himself. She probably thinks she’s your consolation prize.”

In a flash, I’m in his face, towering over the youngster. “My mate is the prize. The only prize. And before I knew she was here, all I wanted the pack for was to find her.” Seething as he simply shrugs, Lucian’s calm demeanour in comparison to my whirling emotions makes me feel even more unhinged. Dragging a hand over my stubbled jaw, I wait for my rage to subside.

Lucian casts an assessing gaze over my tense posture and tired eyes.

“You need to feed. This angry gaunt thing you’ve got going on isn’t going to work. Not if you’re trying to impress Mandy.”

Turning my back on him, I stalk away. This is a conversation we’ve had repeatedly since I found her again. Lucian has been under my guidance and protection for a long time, now he seems to think it’s his turn.

“You need your looks because all het up like this? Your personality isn’t going to cut it,” he mutters, and I look over my shoulder, giving him a stern glare. He’s pushing it, but he ignores my warning and continues. “If you do something stupid, in the heat of the moment, you’ll never forgive yourself.” Flashing in front of me to continue the conversation, I halt and look to the ceiling, praying for patience.

“Never. I would never hurt her.” But even as I speak the words, my fangs descend and my claws emerge, unbidden and uncontrolled.

“Intentionally? Of course not.” His gaze darts pointedly to my hands. I’ve lost control, and all he has done is antagonise me with a few comments that hit too close to the bone. Right now, I’m a slave to my urges, and we both know it.

Chest heaving, I get in his personal space, even though I know I’m proving his point, I can’t stop myself. “Nobody feeds from her. Not me, not you. You touch her and you’re dead. No second chances.”

Lucian doesn’t blink. “I’ll defend her with my life, Tyson.” He doesn’t look scared or hurt, just determined. “She’s ours now; one of us. And that means telling you what you don’t want to hear. You need to feed. If not from her, you need to get blood somewhere.”

Surprised at the force behind his words, I ease back, guilt roiling inside me with the dark, deadly thoughts I was having about the vampire in front of me. My friend, my charge, who’s barely a man. Lucian has never done anything to make me doubt his absolute loyalty except be a typical, sullen, smart-assed teenager.

“Good,” is all I can manage, my voice thick with emotion. “If she wakes, stay out of her way until I’m back.”

Shoving out into the cool night air, my head spinning with all the permutations of what could go wrong, I shift seamlessly. Mandy might never accept what I am. Maybe we’re incompatible now, because of our differences. What if I get carried away and hurt her?

As my wolf takes the reins, careening off into the forest to mark his territory and check for any signs of intruders; the clarity his single-minded vision provides is a welcome sanctuary from my own spiralling thoughts.

10

MANDY

I feel the moment the bond breaks, like a cold hand reaching into my chest and pulling the last remaining strands of our bond from around my heart, painfully.

It happens while I’m standing in a car park, trying to figure out which vehicle matches the set of car keys I’ve just stolen. My knees give way, and I collapse, grateful it’s dark and no one is around to see. I could do without drawing attention to myself while I attempt to steal a car.

Clicking the unlock button, I could cry with relief when the lights that flash amber are in the same row as me. I drag myself from car to car, determined that if I can just get inside and lock the doors, everything is going to be okay.

Wrenching open the door, I fall into the seat, gasping for breath and clutching at my chest through the thin nightdress I borrowed from a clothes line a few miles back.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I try not to think about what this pain means.

Yes, it means Lee is dead, but it also means he can never hurt me again.

My body hurts from the severed connection, but another strange feeling begins creeping through me, and my heart feels light.

Is that because I already broke my side of the bond? I did reject Lee on the steps of the pack house, right before I ran for my life.

The stranger’s eerily calm eyes fill my mind and I swear I hear him telling me to keep going. I’m still not safe yet; now, neither is he.

“Thank you,” I speak aloud into the night air. “I’ll never forget this.”

“Run,” he whispers, his words in my mind feel so real I shiver. Turning the ignition, I anxiously cast my eyes around the parking lot to make sure nobody’s watching, then I do the only thing I can: leave him behind and never look back.

Startled, I jolt awake from my fitful sleep, my brow sweating, and my blood pumping.

Used to poor sleep, my mind immediately switches to high alert, checking my surroundings for danger and searching for what it was that roused me from my slumber. I’ve spent half of my life waiting for my alpha to burst through the door. To say I’m a light sleeper is an understatement.

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