Page 33 of The Secrets of Roan Island

“Well, it’s no wonder they’re extinct, because they can only reproduce with their mate—with therightmate.” She leans toward me, holding the book open between us. That distinct scent that’s uniquely her envelops me. I breathe it in, glancing at the pulse point of her neck as she points to a passage. “It only happens under specific circumstances—a biological function because of their status as apex predators. Smart, really, to keep the population from overtaking the food source.” She tilts her head up to look at me, and I’m still trying to track what she’s saying. She smiles, and my body opens up, releasing everything I’m fighting to hold back. “It’s kind of… romantic, don’t you think?”

I swallow and blink, my body heating everywhere, preparing. I shake my head trying to recall what she said. The right mate? What the fuck is she talking about?

“Let me see that.” I hold out my hand.

She tucks the book behind her back and takes a quick step away. Prey. My chasing instincts ripple to the surface.

“First, tell me why you’re researching an extinct animal.”

She has no idea the game she’s playing with me. What I can do to her. It’s adorable she thinks she can keep me from getting the book if I want to. For selfish reasons, I give her more, my instincts primed and ready to hunt. “The bite of a Mavarri had certain properties that could, on certain occasions like Solstice, change the creature being bitten.” Licking my teeth behind my lips, I step toward her.

She steps back, maintaining the distance. “Change in what way?”

I grin. “It could rewrite DNA.”

Smile sliding from her face, she tilts her head to the side, locks of hair falling over her shoulder. My more violent impulses call me to twist it around my fist and use it as a lead to drag her to my bed.

“The ability to rewrite biology? That could have major scientific ramifications.” She holds the book out to me as if it’s a peace offering.

I glance at it, but my gaze catches on the skin of her exposed wrist. I notice her veins, the ribbons of blood pulsing under her light skin. My fangs lengthen, and I try to keep them hidden as I say a tight-lipped, “Indeed.”

“Is that what you’re experimenting with? Changing DNA?”

“Something like that.” I take a step toward her.

She looks around the room with a new sense of wonder. Her eyes bounce from the metal workspace to the shelves of specimens along the walls to the locked metal door in the back.

I step between it and her. “You should get some sleep, Ruby.”

“I’m not tired.” Her eyes spark with more than defiance. The heat of our kiss echoes in the look she gives me now.

I stalk her. “You should walk out into the library and shut that door.”

She backs away. “Why?” The word lacks strength, as if it’s an afterthought.

“Because I told you to.”

“I don’t do what you tell me.”

“I know. And you’ll be punished for it,” I say simply.

She shudders, and her cheeks darken with a stunning blush. I hear her heart pick up speed inside her chest.

“You like that idea.”

Her mouth parts as if willing herself to deny it, then to scold me for my boldness, but she’s silent.

“Hello? Noah?” Mrs. Darning’s voice cuts the tension and brings me back to my senses.

I stop.

The housekeeper carts in a breakfast tray, barely acknowledging Ruby but for a quick glance as if it’s the most normal thing in the world for Ruby to be down here with me. Shemaiah must have told her. For a moment, I worry, but Mrs. Darning has never gone against my brothers or me. If Shemaiah thought it was safe enough to send her, then I trust his judgment. She obeys my father, but she obeys us as well, and she’s not the type to volunteer private information.

“Figured you’d want to eat before you depart,” she says, setting the tray on the library table. Tracking Ruby as she reaches for the offered refreshment, Darning turns to give me a stern look. “You too. You’re too thin.”

“You know very well why,” I reply coldly. I’m always hungry before the new moon, and the tea and pastries in front of Ruby won’t satisfy. But under Mrs. Darning’s hard stare, I cross, take a bite of biscuit, and sit to pour a cup of tea. The smell masks Ruby’s scent and the temptation I just nearly succumbed to before the interruption.

Ruby studies the books as she drinks her tea, unbothered by Darning bustling around tidying things. I take another sip, and though the warm liquid doesn’t satisfy my true thirst, it does ease the ache.

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