Page 97 of Filthy Rich Vampires: For Eternity

But Aurelia stepped forward. “She challenged your mother for primus sanguis.”

“You what?” I whirled on Camila, my stomach plummeting like a stone.

“And she won,” Aurelia continued. For a brief second, I couldn’t move, couldn’t think, as I processed this information. If Camila had challenged our mother to a duel...

My brain refused to do the rest of the work.

“She’s dead?” Lysander asked, his words coated in disbelief.

It couldn’t be true. Our mother couldn’t be... Not at the hands of my sister. Camila hated her for what she’d done, but my twin also loved our mother in her own way. Just as I did. I took one stumbling step forward and Thea rushed toward me. Maybe she wasn’t as tired as I thought, which would be a relief. Especially with the news I had to deliver to her.

“She’s alive,” Aurelia said, “but she is pissed.”

“But if she’s alive...” Lysander blinked a few times, his confusion mirroring my own. We all knew the rules of a primus sanguis challenge. There were two ways to lose: die or... “She surrendered?”

“Crazy, right?” Camila rubbed her hands together in front of the fire.

“I can’t believe you got our mother to surrender,” I repeated.

Her nose wrinkled, and she shot a frustrated glance at Jacqueline. “Jacqueline did it.”

“I did what I had to do.” Jacqueline held her hands up, and I sensed we’d walked into a much bigger argument. One that needed some privacy.

“It sounds like you two have some things to talk about,” I said smoothly, reaching for Thea’s hand. I held down a moan of relief when my skin met hers. I didn’t know why her gloves were off, but I was glad about it. “I should change.”

I tugged Thea gently by the hand back toward our quarters.

“We need to talk,” Lysander called after us. “Can’t that wait?”

“No,” I yelled back.

Despite her annoyance with me, Thea giggled as we dashed toward our rooms. As soon as we were inside, I hauled her over my shoulder and locked the door behind us.

“Where are you taking me?” she demanded, wriggling to escape.

I held her firmly. “To bed.”

Instantly, she stopped fighting. At least we were on the same page about that. She didn’t say anything as I continued in that direction, but as we reached the bedroom, her voice sounded in my head.

I need you, too.

It was the first good news I’d had all day. My blood rage had nearly gotten out of control at the bar. Tamping it down had taken a considerable amount of effort. The second I’d spotted Thea outside, my fragile grip on it had given way to full-blown bloodlust.

The bedroom was dark as we entered, but I didn’t stop to turn on the lights. Later, I would inspect her with them on, but for now, I would take her word that no one had touched her. It was everything I could do to keep myself from going to my knees and devouring her.

But something held me back, and I paused, studying her in the dark.

Thea reached to stroke my face. “Are you hurt?”

“Not even a scratch.”

“We need to talk,” she said.

“We will,” I promised, my voice strained as I continued, “but right now, I need my mate.”

There was a lot to deal with, but I was also increasingly aware of how painfully hard my dick was becoming with each second that passed. Knowing what I did now, I needed to touch her, feel her, remind myself that she was real, that she was safe.

“Then claim me,” she whispered.

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