Page 30 of Forged in Blood

He laughs darkly and releases me. “Run home, little girl.”

I huff out a sigh and brush past him, his psychotic laugh ringing in my ears. As I pass the building, I steal a glance at the shadows, unable to resist seeing who Axl’s latest victim is. Regret strikes immediately, my heart laid bare with surgical precision as I fight to catch my breath.

I stand, rooted to the spot as though my limbs have become part of the earth, and watch him suck onherneck. Penelope claws at his thick sandy-blond hair and moans, her head tipped back and one leg wrapped around his waist as she grinds against him. I suck in a loud, stuttered breath that catches his attention. His fangs still in her skin, he winks at me.

Bastard!

I have no idea why my heart just shattered into a billion fragments and fell into the pit of my stomach. We aren’t friends, Axl and I. Not even acquaintances. He’s made it clear how much he despises me. But fool that I am, I clung to some ridiculous notion that our daily interactions had grown into something more than his desire to make my life hell.

It’s now abundantly clear how wrong I was.

Tearing my eyes away from him, I force my feet to move. I want to run, but I refuse to allow him or Xavier the satisfaction of knowing how much they’ve hurt me. So I steadily put one foot in front of the other, tears blurring my vision and my legs trembling with each shaky step.

Axl bit Penelope. And he only bites people that he likes—people who smell good. Not people like me. What the hell is wrong with me? Like I even want to get bitten by a vampire! I’m not insane. Or am I?

A heaving sob rattles through my chest. I swallow it down and wipe my cheeks with the backs of my hands, furious at myself for crying. Except my tears aren’t alone. Rain streams down my face and hammers onto the sidewalk below my feet, soaking through my clothes and streaking down my cheeks. So I let myself cry, safe in the knowledge that even if someone could see me under the blackening sky, nobody would be able to distinguish my tears from the freezing rain. Nobody but me anyway. Because each one burns my skin with a fresh wave of anger, shame, and sorrow.

I imagine that it must be heartbreaking to get hurt by someone who cares for you. But realizing you never meant anything to a person to begin with—that has to be the worst kind of pain there is.

Chapter

Nineteen

OPHELIA

Ipull up the hood of my sweater and step behind a tree, my eyes fixed on Penelope and Madison and a third girl I don’t recognize. They giggle and each take a swig from a bottle of clear liquid, which I assume is some kind of alcohol. After a few minutes, they head in the direction of the woods at the edge of campus, and I wait until they’re a safe distance ahead before I follow after them.

After we’ve been walking for about ten minutes, the sound of cheering and shouting drifts through the trees. Penelope and her friends squeal delightedly and pick up their pace, and I hasten my own steps to keep up with them. As we draw closer to the noise, the sense of excitement and anticipation grows thicker in the air. What are these Trials, and why the hell was Xavier so secretive about them? Like he has any right to tell me what I can and cannot do. Jerkwad!

The sound of the crowd gets closer until we reach a clearing in the woods lit by floodlights and surrounded by a ring of people. I move around the periphery of the crowd. Everyone’s too focused on whatever is happening in the center to pay any attention to me. Finally there’s enough of a gap between bodies for me to see the two guys they’re all cheering for. Both shirtless, they grapple and throw punches, one wearing black shorts and the other wearing red. Is this one of the Trials? A fight?

I crane my neck to see more, then duck when I spot Malachi. He’s also shirtless, his tattooed abs glistening beneath the harsh LED lighting. Objectively, I have to admit he is incredibly hot.

A loud cheer pulls my attention back to the two guys fighting, and I wince as the guy in red slams the other guy to the ground and continues raining blows on him even after he’s stopped moving. Quick as a flash, Malachi steps into the clearing and pulls Red from Black with ease, dragging him to his feet and lifting his hand in the air, declaring him the victor.

Another chorus of cheers celebrates Red’s victory, and someone rushes to Black’s side before lifting his limp body and carrying him away. I stand on my tiptoes, trying to see where he’s being taken. Is he dead?

“What’s a pretty little thing like you doing out here all alone?” Hot breath dusts over the back of my neck, and my skin crawls like it’s been overtaken by a million scurrying ants.

Before I can spin around and see who the creepy voice belongs to, a meaty hand is wrapped around my throat, pulling me back against a sweaty chest. I can tell from his solid form that he’s a lot bigger than me, and I open my mouth to scream, but he squeezes my windpipe, cutting off the sound.

He presses his wet lips to my ear, and although his hold is too strong to escape, I try to twist away from him. “Shush now, sugar. Nobody will come to your rescue here.” He runs his nose up the side of my throat and inhales. “You smell real pretty too.”

Oh god. Not another vampire? “Let me go,” I croak.

His maniacal laugh rings in my ears, and he slips his free hand beneath my skirt and sinks his fingertips roughly into the soft flesh of my inner thigh. Tears leak from the corners of my eyes. “I don’t think so, pretty thing. You see, you’re trespassing in these woods tonight. Only those invited are entitled to be here, and anyone else, well, they’re…” He licks a path along my jawline, and I shudder, disgusted. “Fair game.”

“I do have an invite. I’m here with Malachi.”

His low growl vibrates against my back. “Malachi Young?”

I close my eyes and hope this isn’t going to bite me in the ass. “Y-yes.”

“That makes what I’m about to do to you all the sweeter, pretty thing.” His fingers dig harder into my thigh, traveling higher. I elbow him in the ribs as hard as I can. He doesn’t even seem to register it, but at least he releases my throat and uses that hand to pin my wrists behind my back.

“Try to scream and I will rip out your throat before you can make a sound.”

Having witnessed how quickly vampires can move, I don’t dare scream. Still, I wriggle in his grip, but he’s too strong for me. I try to squeeze my thighs together, but he pushes them wider, using his knee to drive them apart.

---