Page 49 of Fated In Blood

And I’d just killed…My whole body went cold, my breath wonky as I replayed myself pinning Collum down, ripping at his throat like an animal. I couldn’t stop myself.

Hadn’twantedto stop.

Even in my compromised state, I realized how fucked I was. My life was over and would never be the same again. Even now, hunger gnawed at my belly like a rat, Riordan’s heartbeats drumming against the silence, his scent summoning me to come closer.To drink.

I despised what they’d done to me.

I despised what I’d become. But there was no going back.

There was only forward now, whatever that future looked like.

Riordan—the king—was handsome, beneath all that gloweringmaleness. Inky black hair gathered back to reveal equally dark eyes, a full mouth pinched together in frustration. Here was a male honed into a keen, bitter edge. Whatever drove him was unrelenting, and he would never stop, not until that compulsion was satisfied.

“Well? Are you planning to say something or just stand there and?—”

I tipped my head higher. “My name is Evangeline Silverwood.”

Wicked satisfaction bloomed when Riordan opened his mouth then snapped it shut, the silence stretching out between us as he struggled with the fact he was standing face to face with his arch nemesis.

Well, not me, technically, but my family.

Of course, it only now occurred to me that I was out here alone, defenseless, with someone whowouldconsider me his arch nemesis. Who, not a minute ago, had his hand wrapped around my throat.

Not exactly a stellar plan on my part.

“Silverwood?”

“That’s what I said.” I shooed my hands at him. “Now follow Blake’s lead and leave me to my own devices. I’m sure I canmanage the walk back to my apartment. I’ll try not to end up in a fighting ring with a vampire twice my size next time.”

“Fucking hell.”

“Yes, exactly. Now go. Do your disappearing act and don’t worry about me. I’ve spent my entire life taking care of myself, I’m sure I can muddle through this…changejust fine.”

I couldn’t stand how he loomed over me, larger than life, and I was standing very, very close to the edge right now. So close, in fact, that one shove would send me tumbling down into that dark water.

And while I might survive, that fall wouldhurt.

All he did was raise an eyebrow when I took a healthy step toward safety. He pulled out his phone again and aggressively jabbed his finger into the screen like he was trying to poke through the glass.

“You told Blake who you were?” He didn’t wait for me to even nod before he went on. “Poor bastard’s probably drinking himself into a stupor. You’re coming back to Crimson House with me. I suppose it’s up to me to figure out what to do with you next, because I’m sure as fuck not feeding you.”

Like I was a lost, mangy dog.

His head snapped up and the breath caught in my throat at the sharp glint of hate in his dark eyes.

“How many vampires have you killed in this town, Evangeline?”

“A few,” I hedged, quite certain that the king of this place wouldn’t take kindly to me killing over twenty of his loyal subjects. Every single one of them had stalked me, so really, they’d brought their demises on themselves.

“How many?”

“Twenty-one.” The words ripped out of me, followed by a burst of adrenaline that left me nauseous. “Twenty-two, including Collum.” I rubbed my throat, wondering why the hellhe was taking up so much room out here in the middle of nowhere, and why I couldn’t breathe.

“I compelled you because I need the truth and I don’t have time to fuck around,” Riordan said coldly. “Next time don’t make me force you.”

“I’m not your fucking puppet. Next time don’t force me, asshole.” One step closer and he filled my vision, canines long enough to rip my throat apart.

“You’re going to want to be very careful about what comes out of your mouth next, Evangeline. You’re alive because Blake has a soft spot, but your future is in my hands now. You are part of Tyrell’s bloodline. Do you know what that means? He can claim you. Command you.Kill you, if he so chooses. I am all that stands between him and you, and the sooner you accept that, the easier this will be.”

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