Page 46 of Make Me Bleed

Being a born vampire comes with some hang-ups that I’ve struggled with all my life. Always be sweet, never short. Comport yourself with decorum. Keep your head held high. Smile, right? I’m such a pretty vampire, but I’m prettier when I smile…

I take a second to get myself under control, looking as nonplussed as he did when I saw him sitting there. Even then, I can’t help but I frown at him. “What are you doing here? This ismyhouse.”

“You left the door unlocked. I took it as an invitation.”

My door is unlocked in case Bridget wants to stop by, not a smarmy vampire.

Swallowing my anger, I say, “I hope you weren’t waiting long.”

“Yes. I did notice that you’ve been missing from the sanctuary. Enjoy your foray out into the woods?”

Immensely, but I’m not going to tell him that.

Then again, I don’t have to. Shifting in his seat, removing his arms from the back of the couch so that he’s leaning forward, elbows planted on his thighs, he draws in a deep breath. His nostrils flare as a tiny smirk appears in the corner of his mouth.

“I smell musk all over you, and it’s not only yours. Another scent covers you. It’s a little sweaty, a little sweet. Blood, too. Hot blood.” He shakes his head. “Shifter blood. You’re not cheating on your beloved now, are you? Unless…”

My surprise at just how keen his sense of smell is—and just howrighthe is—must show on my face because he chuckles.

“Surprised, Elise? You shouldn’t be. Some vampires get the looks,” he says once he gets his laughter under control. “Others get the speed. There are those who can sense a vein pulsing from a mile away… and who can scent when you’re scared. When you’re wet. When you’ve beenfucked.” Julian wrinkles his nose. “The bear, Elise? Claws-for-brains? You let one of them touch you? I know it’s slim pickings up here in Alaska, especially when you don’t have a human donor eager to please you, but I thought you understood you could always come to me if you needed relief.”

Ugh. I’d rather dry up and never have sex again than accept Julian’s offers.

Then he says, “At least tell me you traded your body for blood and pleasure while waiting for your true beloved to service you. I could respect that a lot more than if you willingly mated with ananimal,” and I can’t even hide my revulsion from flashing across my face.

Now, this certainly isn’t the first time I’ve met a bigoted vampire. In Clarity, most of my kind have an innate sense of superiority over other supes, and humans especially. I did my best not to fall into that trap. I’d like to say that I accomplished it, and when faced with how outright other vampires despise the other races, I think that I have.

“Don’t talk about him like that,” I say sternly. “Hank?—”

Julian holds up his hand. “And I don’t care. There’s no bond or mating mark, so whatever had you crawling around the woods with the beast, I simply do not care since you’re still free to claim. And now we’re together, so that’s all that matters.”

He’s right. I’m here—and he needs togo.

I gesture at the door I foolishly closed behind me. “I’m not interested. You need to leave.”

“Not yet. You see, something happened while you were fooling around in the woods with some animal. Another came to see me. The wolf.”

Oh, crap. How did I forget that I warned Bridget about the way Julian had been creeping around my house? I’d been so concerned with Peter skulking along the edge of Dyea’s borders that I told the head of security about the human, but I needed Bridget to keep an eye out for the vampires in case Julian proved to be more trouble than I can handle.

And that was my bigotry peeking out after all, wasn’t it? I didn’t even realize it at the time, but I… I just didn’t trust Conall—as a wolf shifter—to confront a vampire. He could do patrols and keep Peter away. That was fine. But when it came to another vampire unnerving me, I couldn’t ask a wolf for help. I confided in Bridget instead.

And Hank…

I couldn’t tell Hank, and that has nothing to do with him being a bear shifter. Until I relocated to Dyea, I’ve never even thought about bears before. I was raised to detest wolves thanks to the Claws and Fangs war, but that was vampires versus wolf shifters. Bears… my only impressions of them come from my large, huffing, sweet, honey-loving Hank.

He’s kind. Dedicated. Devoted. Protective. Adorable.

Oh, and the sexiest male that I’ve ever known.

His bloodsingsto me. His heartbeat echoes in time with mine. The thud of his pulse lulls me to sleep as I sprawl out on top of his big body. I’ve always been petite, never sure that anyone would believe me when I insisted I could take care of myself, but in Hank’s arms, Iwantto let him keep me safe.

Only he’s not here right now. It’s just Julian and me, both of our fangs on display as I remember how quickly he was able to cross the sanctuary with his speed. If I try to leave, he’ll chase me. He’ll catch me. And while I’m certain I could hold my own against other vampires on my level—and definitely any humans who came after me—there’s something about Julian that has the small hairs on the back of my neck standing on end.

Forging past the insult of him breaching my home like this for the moment, I pay closer attention to the other vamp.

I don’t have the same sense of smell that Julian clearly does. It’s still vastly more impressive than a human nose, and I look past how annoyed I am to see him infiltrating my space to focus instead on how the room has changed with him in it.

The air crackles with tension. A hint of something… acrid overlays the room. It’s bitter.

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