Page 97 of Afflicted

He chuckles, spreading his hands. “Got the same tech you do. It wasn’t hard to guess where you’d lay the lines.”

“So why shoot at us?”

“You’re a feeder, my friend.” He shrugs. “It’s not personal. Though she’s human isn’t she?”

“Juliet, you better still be under that truck!”

The man chuckles. “She’s not.”

“You could have killed her.” I keep my eyes on him. “She’s a human.”

“Yeah, that would have been too bad, huh?”

Rage prickles at the back of my throat. “So, you’re disrupting our alarms and trying to kill us, what else?”

The man seems to relax, confident I won’t shoot him. He lowers his hands and still keeping them where I can see them, taking a few steps past the tree line.

“You feeders have gotta know it’s all over now.”

“Over?”

He sidles a little closer. “ For you and your little human whores.” His poisonous gaze lands on Juliet. “I’d hardly call her human anymore. Not when she’s been sullied by a dirty fucking feeder like y-”

Juliet yelps as the gunshot rings echoes over the wind that continues to tear through the trees above us. The man’s head snaps back as the bullet hits his forehead, skull and brain matter flying as his body crumples to the ground. I try desperately to blink away the red at the edges of my vision, breathing rapidly.

Juliet is at my back, fingers clawing into my shoulders. “Oh my god, Silas, what did you do?”

I don’t answer, because the bloodlust flares again as I hear her thundering pulse, as I scent all her delicious fear. I snarl, and her eyes widen as I leer down at her.

“Silas?” She shrieks as I seize her in my arms. “Silas, what are you doing?”

I can feel that caged animal, that intrinsic dark shadow, clawing at my skull, trying to tear free. “Are you afraid of me?”

She twists herself out of my grasp, but we both know I’ve let her go. The scent of her fear becomes stronger and stronger as she backs away from me, sweet and bitter on the tip of my tongue. It makes my mouth water.

“Have you ever played catch and kiss, little rabbit?” I stalk after her slowly, matching each one of her stumbling footsteps.

“Silas, what’s wrong with you?” She brushes the hair out of her face as the wind flings it about. “Silas?”

I bare my fangs at her. “Run,” I command in a voice that isn’t mine. “And believe me, when I catch you, I won’t just kiss you.” She shudders as I growl, echoing the thunder ringing through the clouds above us. “Run. I want to see if I can taste the fear in your blood.”

Like a flash, she darts into the forest, long hair flailing out behind her. She has speed, certainly, but nothing compared to me. I match her every move as she weaves in and out of the trees. Rain begins to dot the ground, crashing down in heavy drops.

The darkness within me shrieks and snaps, tearing free of its cage as Juliet’s fear becomes more and more potent. I gain on her easily, falling back to keep the game going, until her panting is so loud I can’t stand it. I’m so fucking hard, if I don’t have her now, I’m going to lose my mind.

I lunge at her, my arms locking around her waist, and shove her against the trunk of a towering tree. She’s whimpering and panting, her head slamming back against my shoulder as she says my name and pleads with me.

“Not fast enough, little rabbit.” I chuckle into her ear. “Now, what am I going to do with you?” I twist her arms behind her back, holding her to me with one hand as the other wraps around her throat. She sucks in a breath as I squeeze, her ribs contracting against my chest. “I could snap this pretty neck in half, you know.”

Her answering moan sets the beast inside me feral. I release her neck as I nick her earlobe, eliciting a small shriek of surprise.

“You like that do you, filthy little whore?” I tear her shirt from her shoulder, scraping my fangs along her bare skin, and she cries out. “How bad do you want it to hurt?”

“M-more,” she stutters.

“More?” I bite her shoulder, not releasing enough venom to make her come, but enough to send a wave of pleasure through her body.

I push down her pants, ripping her panties from her body and casting the scrap of fabric to the ground. I shove her against the tree, kick her legs apart, spearing two fingers inside her roughly. She tosses her head back, fighting the pressure of my hand on her arms.

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