Page 58 of Incipient

Before I had a chance to connect, Gabriel had spun on me, his hand gripping my throat as he swung us in a circle and pushed me back against the front door. My heart pounded against my rib cage as I took in his dilated pupils—the inky black stretching so far into his green iris’ that not a spec of color remained.Shit.

I knew that look.

It was the look of full-on bloodlust.

Panic shot down my spine as my fingers dug into his wrist, scratching and clawing at his skin as I tried to dislodge his hold on my neck. “Gabriel! Stop it! Let me go!” I choked out, horror and anger distorting the sound of my voice.

As if snapping out of a daze, his pupils retracted, revealing his beautiful, regretful moss-green eyes. He yanked his hand away, clutching it to his stomach as though he had zero control over the limb.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” I yelled, coughing as I tried to refill my lungs with air. Without even waiting for an answer, I rushed over to him and rammed my knee into his balls.

He let out a painful grunt and then folded over. It wasn’t my finest or most mature moment, but it did make me feel better.

“Now we’re even,” I bit out as I walked around him and made my way into the living room, rubbing at my neck as I tried to absorb what had just happened. Something was very wrong. This wasn’t the Gabriel I knew; that much was clear, but I wasn’t about to give him a free pass either. “If you ever put your hands on me again—”

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, still holding his balls or his arm—I couldn’t really tell from where I was standing. “I’m notwell, Jemma. I’m not myself right now.”

“You don’t say? I hadn’t noticed,” I snapped sarcastically and then rolled my eyes even though he was still facing the door. “What the hell is going on, Gabriel? Start talking. Now.”

He straightened, keeping his back to me as though he couldn’t even handle looking at me. “The bloodlust is too…strong. And you’re scent…” He trailed off, unable to bring himself to finish.

But I didn’t need him to. I knew what he was saying.

Tasting my blood last night had opened a pandora-sized box of shit neither of us were equipped to handle. Gabriel was a virgin to human blood. That alone would give him zero ability to control his bloodlust. He didn’t have the experience or the tolerance to fight the cravings. Add Slayer blood into the mix…well, that was a recipe for disaster.

“This is all my fault. I don’t know what I was thinking.” I shook my head, horrified with myself for not seeing this coming a mile away. In my defense, I wasn’t exactly thinking straight while Dominic’s compulsion was crawling through my brain. All I wanted to do was make the pain go away—make his voice go away. I probably would’ve sold my first-born child to make it stop if given the opportunity.

“Tell me what to do. How do I fix this?” I asked gently, taking a cautious step toward him though making sure to keep my hands to myself and not to enter his personal space this time.

“You can’t.” He pushed his hand through his short black hair and shook his head. “This is not your battle.”

I supposed it wasn’t—I couldn’t exactly fight the cravings for him no matter how guilty I felt or how much I wanted to take his suffering away. “How can I help then?” I asked instead. There had to be something I could do that would ease his pain. “Do you want me to take a trip to the butcher?” That was the only place in town I knew of that could get you a full supply of animal blood. I’d make the trip ten times over if I thought it would help.

“I already have what I need,” he said and slowly turned around. I immediately noticed the purple coloring under his eyes as though the delicate skin there were beginning to bruise. His jaw was set tight and his hands were balled into a fist. “It’s not…enoughanymore.”

The animal blood was not enough to satiate his appetite anymore. Fuck. This wasreallynot good.

Weary of the microscopically thin line I was broaching, I asked, “Should I get some donor blood for you?” Bagged human blood, that is. I wasn’t sure when the last time Gabriel had donor blood, if ever, or if I was making a horrible mistake suggesting it, but I didn’t know what else to do at that point. The damage had already been done.

“I have that as well.” He lowered his eyes in shame.

“Oh.” My heart sank for him. “And it’s not…helping?”

He shook his head sharply.

I swallowed the knot in my throat and stared at him for a moment. “How about my blood then? Would that help?”

His gaze darted back up to mine, the green of his eyes disappearing again at just the mention of my blood. Something was telling me I’d just tripped over that microscopic line and fell flat on my face.

“You should leave,” he gritted out, his knuckles turning white as he tightened his fists. “Leave now, Jemma.” The urgency in his voice should have sent me running for the door, but it didn’t.

I couldn’t leave him like this. He was my friend—my Handler.

“You can’t hurt me, Gabriel. I’m protected, remember? Let me help you.” I started toward the kitchen but then froze at the sound of his fangs clicking out. Normally that sound excited me, but with Gabriel it was different. He didn’t have the control or experience that Dominic had. And I wasn’t in love with him the way I was with Dominic.

“Don’t move,” he warned lowly.

The hair on the back of my neck stood up as I stared into the kitchen. “Gabriel?”

---