Page 79 of Hunting His Vampire Mate

And the moment I stopped to catch my bearings in an alleyway a few streets down from the club, surrounded by people, I realized why most of the vamps we had ever hunted had been so careless. It was impossible to feel this level of hunger, of need, without giving into it.

A group of four twenty-something men stood just inside the mouth of the alleyway. Good ole’ boys cosplaying as cowboys and already way too drunk, judging by the way they jeered at the pair of attractive young women walking past. They were passing around a bottle of liquor with a paper bag around it and taking swigs, completely oblivious to my presence.

I felt a dangerous, predatory smile slide across my lips. They were perfect. Hardly a need to even go into the club at all. They would satisfy my need for fresh blood and then some.

I took a step closer.

Then another.

They were less than ten feet from me.

I knocked an empty glass bottle sideways with my foot. It skittered into the concrete wall of the building beside us and shattered.

All four of them turned to look at me. They were bleary-eyed and confused. One of them, the smartest in the bunch, took a step back. Belatedly, I remembered that I was probably covered with dried blood and would likely look frightening to a mundane person.

“Come closer,” I told them, my stomach growling with my hunger.

Somehow, I knew how to let the hypnotic power of a vampire flow into my words. It was instinctive.

And the effect was immediate. They all took a step toward me. And then another. Except for the guy in the back, who had stepped away from me initially. He took another step back, out of the alleyway and onto the sidewalk, staring at me with wide eyes, the bottle of booze still clutched in his hand.

The one nearest to me had a shaved head and tattoos on his neck. He smelled strongly of alcohol and cigarettes. He wasn’t quite as solidly built as Michael, but I wasn’t about to be picky. Besides, I didn’t want his body. I wanted his blood.

“None of you want to run,” I told them, but I fixed shaved head with my gaze when I spoke, so he took the brunt of the hypnotic power. His lips parted and his eyes went even more glazed. “You will feel no fear. You won’t scream.”

“I won’t scream,” shaved head agreed.

“Who are you?” The one in the back demanded, his voice wobbling a little. But my hypnotic spell had caught him too, and he was coming closer. And his expression was growing more placid, just as glazed as the others.

“I’m hungry,” I told him, barring my fangs. Then I grabbed shaved head by the shoulder and sank my teeth into his neck.

My eyes slid shut with pleasure as hot blood filled my mouth. And I swallowed it greedily. Mouthful after mouthful.

The guy didn’t even try to fight back.

Then, a few moments later, before I could even really begin to slake my thirst, strong hands grabbed me, tore me off my prey, and then I was momentarily airborne.

I hit the wall of the alleyway hard.

I landed in a crumpled heap on the ground.

My hypnotic spell broke and all four of the men tore out of the alley.

I let out a disappointed hiss, watching them vanish around the corner at a sprint. Shaved head had one hand pressed against his throat. He was paler than before, but still alive.

Scowling, I looked up to meet the gaze of my attacker.

Michael was watching me from the shadows on the other side of the alley. His eyes looked strange. Far too bright in the dimness, like they were practically glowing.

“Hello, Danny,” he whispered.

Then he leapt onto me, moving blindingly fast, knocking me off my feet and pinning me to the ground one-handed. The blow caused pain to rocket through me and I hissed again.

The strength he used on me was inhuman.

And when I locked gazes with him, I felt something stir in my chest: a flash of horror. His eyes weretoovivid. The gray of his irises wasn’t cold granite anymore, but silver. It was almost lit from within.

And his skin was paler than it should have been. Michael had always been pale. But this was… it wastoopale.

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