Page 59 of Feeding Frenzy

I was not a fan of the smirk. I rolled my eyes and turned back to Jax. I’d tried talking to him and then shaking him, now we sat just staring at him. It was kind of strange, sitting here in front of him after he’d snapped my fingers like twigs. He didn’twantto, sure, but still, the memory was alive and well. As was his pain-filled voice. I didn’t doubt he had a small, tiny soft spot for me. He’d given in to the lust between us well enough.

A soft rap at the door and Tobias came in slowly. “Any luck?”

“No,” I said, frustrated.

Tobias’s eyebrows met in the middle. His gray eyes were focused on the side of Jax’s head.

“What is it, Priest?” Asher was suddenly alert, standing as he turned from his twin to Tobias.

“He thinks he’s dreaming.” Tobias blinked and his eyebrows raised. He turned to me. “He’s with you.” He scratched his temple with one finger. “Sitting on your lap—as a cat?”

“I am so confused,” I muttered.

“He doesn’t want to wake up. He’s . . .” Tobias’s eyes narrowed. “Happy?” I pursed my lips and scanned everyone’s faces. They all seemed put off, like they’d lost something.

“Vampires can dream?”

“No,” Asher answered, and his lips twisted. Based off the look they sent each other, they knew what was going on already and it shocked them. I crossed my arms.

“Enough with the cryptic. Don’t leave me in suspense.”

“Bastien has him trapped in a dreamscape and Jax doesn’t want to leave it.”

Asher was already halfway to the door.

I hurried after him and grabbed his arm.

“What is it?”

“I’m paying a visit to Bastien.”

I puffed out a breath and pushed before him. Bastien couldn’t hurt me anymore, but he didn’t seem to remember what he’d done while in the dream he pulled me into, or was that a trick?

I fisted my hands at my sides and hurried downstairs. Ren’s wide shoulders were already at the threshold. Had he been listening to the conversation? The metal door was propped to the side, dents bending the middle. The wood where the hinges had been were shattered and splinters littered the ground. Ren disappeared.

“We haven’t come down since he called me,” Asher said from behind me. I purposefully made my way down the stairs slowly. I stopped on the final step and looked up at him over my shoulder.

It must have been after Imogen tortured me.He’dsaved me?

Asher’s lips moved but I couldn’t make out what he was saying over the rushing in my eardrums.

“Pet?” His inflection tilted higher at the end like he found me funny. I tore myself out of my thoughts and refocused on him. “Not even two nights a vampire and you’re already beginning to lose yourself to your mind.” He dropped from the step to stand over me. “Is everything all right?” He was worrying about me when I should be the last thing on his mind, considering his brother upstairs. That wasn’t fair to him. I licked my lips and forced myself to nod.

“My mind just wandered.” I cleared my throat. “So, what happened at Saphire Lounge?” I tried to keep the accusationfrom my tone. They hadn’t known what planned, so it wasn’t their fault. But then again, they’d allowed that bitch in here.

“It was a massacre. We had to hunker down nearby before the sun rose.”

“All planned,” I muttered. Imogen was meticulous. I hurried through the door. The first to catch my attention was Ren. I followed his focus to the bed.

Bastien reclined against the headboard.

“Took you all long enough.” He wore a too tight sweater that strained over his shoulders. I could practically see the muscled divots in his stomach and shoulders. “Hello, Little One.”

I pursed my lips and didn’t say anything back. Scanning his features, I hunted for any resemblance to the corpse that kept me captive. The emaciated creature had nothing in common with the filled-out male in front of me.

“Are you wearing my clothes?” Tobias asked without inflection to his tone. That was why the too-tight clothes looked familiar. On Tobias’s slighter form, they fit loose.

Accusations, hatred, tears—all of it pounded through my mind. Did any of it matter anymore?

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