Page 75 of Incipient

“Give it up, brother. You’re not strong enough to stop me and certainly not with a diet of rabbit blood,” he mocked, looking at him with a mixture of amusement and disgust.

Gabriel kicked off the ground and charged him, bowling him down as though he were made entirely of straw. Dominic flew backward and landed on his ass, though he quickly jumped up and regained his footing. The look of shock in Dominic’s eyes was priceless, though it quickly faded away as he narrowed his eyes at his brother and then grinned.

“You’ve been feeding off humans,” said Dominic, and it wasn’t a question. His gaze swung to me and I immediately recoiled against the tree. “Or perhaps something more than human,” he added, facing his brother again.

The accusation on Dominic’s face was as clear as the guilt that was splattered all over Gabriel’s face.

“Oh, how far you have fallen.”

“Not as far as you, Dominic.”

“Perhaps,” he agreed easily, as though it had no effect on him whatsoever. “But I think you will come to find that it’s a far greater drop from the top, dear brother.”

“Save the sermon for someone else, Dominic. You’ve gone too far this time,” gritted Dominic as he reached into the back of his jacket and took a small step toward my attacker. My heart leapt up into my throat because I knew exactly what he was doing. He was closing his fingers around the handle of his stake and preparing to turn it on his brother. “You’re not going to get away with this anymore.”

“And who’s going to stop me?” asked Dominic, his eyes trailing Gabriel’s every movement. “You?”

“Yes, Dominic. Me.”

“Perhaps,” he said and then laughed again. “But, not today, brother,” he said and then threw what looked like a handful of dirt into Gabriel’s face.

Caught off guard, Gabriel’s hands rushed to clear the dirt from his eyes as Dominic spun on his heel and bolted into the shadowed brushwood, melting into the blackness as though he had never been there in the first place.

Cursing, Gabriel kicked off the ground and tried to go after him, but then halted at the sound of my petrified cry. The last thing I wanted was to be left alone in the woods; not with Dominic or god knows what else lurking around in the shadows, waiting for another opportunity to strike.

Gabriel turned his head and looked down at me, his jaw tensing as he studied me. It took me a moment to realize he was gazing at the smeared blood dripping all over my neck and upper body.

A different, but equally terrifying level of fear returned as I watched him stare at me as though remembering the taste of my blood. As though contemplating whether he might finish the job or not.

Wondering if anyone would hear my cries if he did…

I choked down a whimper and tucked my legs against my body, knowing I would not be able to withstand another feeding. And certainly not from Gabriel who still had zero control over his bloodlust. Gabriel’s head snapped in a different direction, as though hearing something in the distance, and then he sprang, disappearing into the same thick brush his brother had faded into.

The noisy sounds of insect mating calls filled up my head as my focus drifted from the bordering trees to my semi-nude, blood-soaked body. I was alone and hurt and scared out of my damn mind.

Patting my pockets and sides, I searched for my phone to call for help only to realize I had left it in my car—along with my purse and keys and jacket and weapon. How very prepared of me.

I sat there for a moment, weak and shell-shocked, wondering how the hell I had gotten myself into this mess in the first place. An eerie wail sounded from the shadows and I sat up a little straighter.

What if Dominic was coming back?

What if Gabriel came back?

At this point, I wasn’t sure which one I was more afraid of. The only thing I was certain of was that I needed to get back to the safety of my car and its locked doors. Not that locked doors would be able to stop a Revenant.

Rolling my bunched-up skirt back down my waist and then over my underwear (which was thankfully still there and untouched), I looked around for something I could clean the blood with. The last thing I wanted to do was stroll injured through the woods with a bloody hole in my neck. And certainly not in wolf country.

After attempting to use some dried-out leaves and getting nowhere, I picked up the bottom of my ripped blouse and used it to wipe off some of the excess blood. My neck stung as I rubbed the fabric against the open wound. I hadn’t even had a chance to heal from the last bite before he was right back at it, making holes in my body like I was his own personal pin cushion.Damn heartless bastard.

Pushing my back against the tree to steady myself, I slowly attempted to get back on me feet, only making it about halfway when Gabriel suddenly reappeared in front of me, his mouth and jaw completely covered in blood.

My heart stuttered to a stop, and in my rush to get up faster, I lost my footing and hit the ground with my ass.

30. LONG WAY FROM HOME

The moment my heart regained normal function, it decided to jump right out of my rib cage and lodge itself somewhere in the back of my throat. Every part of my body was shaking, trembling uncontrollably as I looked up and met Gabriel’s eyes. His very dark, very dilated eyes.

Raising his palms out to me, he carefully stepped closer. “I’m not going to hurt you, Jemma. I justfed,” he said, nodding into the woods as if to reassure me. Showing me the front and back of his hands to prove he was unarmed, he cautiously brought his hands up to his black leather jacket and then chucked it off his body.

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