Page 58 of Wanted

I don’t know him, and he scares the living crap out of me, but to have him look at me in such a way somehow hurts more than every other pain I’ve ever experienced before combined.

It hurts more than every beating I’ve ever received from Sister Agatha and Jeffrey.

It hurts more than my mother never loving me.

More than my father abandoning me.

“Your blood is tainted,” he whispers again, twisting the shard of ice deeper.

And leaving no doubt he absolutely loathes me.

On his feet now, towering over me, he seems to swell up with fury.

And time slows down.

I watch his hands clench into fists, his dark eyes flash to red, and his fang-filled mouth open in a monstrous roar.

Shrinking back in terror, I slap my hands over my ears.

The other vampire, the one with the black medical bag, is suddenly standing between us. Moving faster than I can blink.

He seems to be trying to calm my furious rescuer down, lips moving fast and motioning toward me frantically.

But whatever he’s saying isn’t working.

Chin dropping, Raphael’s gaze meets mine again.

Red and burning with rage.

He glares at me like he wants to rip my head off.

It’s absolutely horrifying, but a dark part of me hopes he actually follows through.

A dark part of me wants him to end it all and put me out of my misery.

At this point, I have nothing to live for.

I’ve been rejected by everyone, even the monsters.

Pain suddenly flashes across his face, a pain that echoes all the pain I’m feeling, and he takes a step toward me.

But then the other vampire puts his hand on his chest to stop him.

What happens next happens so fast my eyes can’t process it.

The door explodes and the vampire that was between us is now sprawled beside me on the bed.

I search anxiously for any sign of Raphael, but he’s gone. Only destruction left in his wake.

The bed beneath me vibrates as another monstrous roar sounds out from somewhere deeper in the house.

Dropping my hands from my ears, I move away from the vampire that tried to protect me, sliding down until I’m on the floor.

Some ancient instinct warning me to put distance between us.

“What the fuck?!” someone shouts. “Someone subdue him!”

Out of thin air, another vampire appears in the doorway, the splinters of the shattered door crunching beneath his boots.

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