Page 87 of The Blood Witch

Jasper didn’t move.

“Where’s Fey?” he asked, shoving his hands into his pockets and looking around the empty townhouse. Her scent was nowhere in the air tonight.

“Family dinner,” Alastair answered, reaching up to run a hand through his hair. Jasper noticed it trembled, ever so slightly. “With her sisters. She’ll be back later tonight.”

Jasper frowned, staring at the Vampire on the couch before him. His hand was definitely shaking. And he looked gaunt. Paler even than normal. “No offense, boss, but you look like shit.”

Alastair smirked. “Such a flatterer.” The smile faded so quickly Jasper could have convinced himself he imagined it. Alastair ran a hand over his face, groaning. “I need to feed. I was supposed to the night we went to see my family, but…”

Jasper raised an eyebrow. “Wait you… you don’t feed from Fey?”

The look of disgust that flashed in Alastair’s eyes before he shook his head was very curious. Very curious indeed.

“I just assumed that you did,” Jasper explained with a shrug. “That’s what Vampires do, right?”

Alastair kept shaking his head.

“It’s complicated,” he muttered. “This whole thing is too fucking complicated.”

“She won’t let you?” Jasper asked.

Alastair’s laugh was entirely devoid of humor.

“No, puppy. She’d let me. But I won’t do it.” He sighed, tipping his head back. “We don’t feed on anyone stronger than we are. I can’t feed from Fey. But I can’t…” He paused and took a long drink, draining his glass. “I can’t bring myself to feed from anyone else, so…”

“So, this is your solution?” Jasper asked, raising an eyebrow and glancing around the dark room. “You’re going to sit in the dark and, what, starve yourself to death?”

Alastair didn’t answer.

Right. For a moment, there, he’d forgotten how stubborn the Vampire could be.

With a frustrated sigh, Jasper reached down to grab the hem of his shirt and pulled it up over his head.

“What in all hell do you think you’re doing?” Alastair asked, raising an eyebrow as Jasper folded his shirt and placed it on the couch.

“This is my last clean white shirt,” Jasper explained. “And I don’t want to get blood on it.”

Alastair’s face remained impassive. Blank.

“That doesn’t answer my question, puppy,” he said.

“I’m not as powerful as you are, right?” Jasper asked. It wasn’t even a question that needed asking. No Shifter in the realm could rival a Vampire. Especially not a Vampire like Alastair.

Alastair just blinked in response.

“So.” Jasper spread his arms wide and grinned. “Why not feed from me?”

The seconds ticked by as Alastair stared at him, his face giving away nothing. Each passing second standing there, shirtless, got a little more humiliating.

“I’m not going to beg, if that’s what you’re waiting for,” Jasper told him.

“You don’t know what you’re offering,” Alastair said, finally.

“Does it matter?” he asked, rolling his shoulders. “You need to feed. And… here I am. You can feed from me, right?”

Alastair shifted forward on the couch, setting his glass down heavily on the table.

“Why are you doing this?” he asked in a low voice. “Why offer this?”

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