Page 26 of Fated In Blood

And this scent of hers…worked its way into the very heart of me, shuddering through blood and bone, strange yet familiar, exciting yet…soothing, my heart dropping into a slow, steady beat as I cradled her closer.

I sank into the couch, the ancient frame groaning while I rearranged her in my arms, pushing her hair away from her throat, marred only by one clean slice.

As professional a cut as I’d ever seen.

Blake cleared his throat. “I’ll be right over here.” He dragged a leather chair in front of the door and propped up his feet so nobody could get in “This will be a long night and I sure as fuck don’t wish to see Tyrell again. Or Bosch. Or fucking Valaine.”

I hummed in agreement, rubbing my thumb over a patch of creamy skin on her throat. “I am sorry about this,” I murmured. “But none of us have any choice but to follow through.”

I struck hard and true, my fangs sinking through warm flesh into her vein, blood still sluggishly moving in its final, futile attempt to reach her heart. I drank her down, warm and smooth as honey with a touch of exotic spice, reminding me of…

I broke away, wiping my mouth.

“Fuck. Her blood tastes…strange.” Still, I couldn’t stop myself from licking every trace off my lips. “Sweeter, richer. Almost like…” An idea formed, something crazy I discarded before it took hold. “Definitely not mortal, or not fully mortal.”

“I wondered when I caught her scent in that alley that day.” Blake leaned forward, eyes burning. “She moved faster than a human should be able to move. Thisisone of Tyrell's traps, Rohr. But I’m damned if I can see what he’s after.”

I met my friend’s gaze without flinching. “I know. But what is the alternative? You want to go fetch Tyrell and tell him you changed your mind? At least you won’t be the one leashed to her for the rest of her life.”

“Fuck. I’m sorry I put you in this position.” Blake hung his head, hair obscuring his face, but I sensed his emotions like a sour wave of acid. Regret. Defeat. Guilt.

I shook my head and bit down, and this time I didn’t stop.

She tasted like nothing I’d ever sampled before.

Every gulp was intoxicating, the rich, delicate taste sending my mind spinning away, power rushing through me so fast my fingertips dug into her soft flesh as I drank.

I glutted myself on her blood, spicy sweet on my tongue, filling me with a lethargic calm that seeped into every cell, making my limbs heavy and my eyes droop. I forgot Blake was in the room, watching. I forgot everything except how soft her skin was and the potency of her blood, her lovely, warm scent permeating my senses.

Her blood hummed with an odd power, foreign in a way I’d never tasted before, bolts of electricity shooting through my veins, thudding like drums. I couldn’t drink fast enough, couldn’t get enough of her, some sudden madness urging me to consume every last piece of her. To ravage and possess her, to own her in every way.

Our true natures were not kind or gentle or benevolent.

We were every bit the monsters the humans thought we were. And I would use this human to stop the corruption that was devouring my clan from the inside out.

That was what I focused on. I would save her, and she would become my weapon against Tyrell. I would use her to destroy him and take back the kingdom that was rightfully mine, damn the consequences. Innocents died every goddamned day, that was simply a fact of life.

Then I was taking my last taste, laving my tongue over the twin punctures.

Then another. Then one more because I couldn’t stop myself.

“Rohr. Enough.” Blake’s curt order cut through the lethargic fog clouding my head and I unwound my heavy, leaden arms from her fragile body, laying her carefully across my lap. Her face was pure white, not a hint of pink, freckles standing out like speckles on an egg.

Her blood was an ocean of power that kept cresting higher, coursing through my veins like a thunderstorm. Every time I blinked my eyes, the entire room became gilded in light like it was touched by the rays of the sun.

My head was foggy, my body heavy as lead, but I felt like a fucking god.

Right now, my blood-soaked brain thought she was the most dazzling creature I’d ever seen, with long dark lashes dusting her cheekbones and her bloodless lips slightly parted. She was a work of art, beautiful as a classical goddess, untouched by a surgeon’s knife, and even her thick, honey-colored hair was natural.

I tipped my head back. This was only her blood working magic inside me, rivers of power flooding through my senses, sparks playing on the backs of my eyelids like fireworks.

Every sense was heightened, from her slight weight pressing down on my thighs to the air currents ruffling across my overlysensitive, aching skin like a lover’s caress. I’d never felt like this before, never felt so connected to another being, as if we’d become bound on some deeper level.

Was this what being a Maker felt like?Unease shivered through me, but I couldn’t have opened my eyes if a revenant had burst into the room.

“You need to give her your blood, Rohr.” Blake’s voice came from far, far away, and I dimly felt him lift my hand. “To start her transition, she has to drink from you.”

“Too tired.” I couldn’t even open my eyes, much less lift my fucking head. “Can’t.”

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