Page 50 of Make Me Bleed

“I have to! You’re not my beloved, Julian.”

He shakes my arm, squeezing it tight. “Forget the bear, Elise. Choose me, forget him, and we can both have what we want.”

I wantHank.

But… “What is ityouwant?”

His laughter is just as icy as his tone was before. “I’ve lived in Dyea for four years. I was the first vampire let in. I should be the one to rule the Cadre.”

The Cadre… That’s what he’s talking about?

Wait—

“We don’t have a Cadre.”

“Not yet,” he admits. “And the other vampires in Dyea have outright refused my leadership. They feel I’m too impulsive. Too vindictive. Just because I’ve had to replace my donor a couple of times with some of the locals, that doesn’t mean I don’t have the temperament necessary to take over the sanctuary.”

It hits me. Probably far later than it should’ve, I finally understand why his eyes are such a dark shade of blue, they’re nearly black. Why his scent is bitter. Why he’s talking about taking what he wants, whether it’s me or power over the rest of the vampires in Dyea…

“You’ve gone rogue,” I whisper.

Rogues are the most dangerous vampires that exist. Any humanity they have? It’s gone. Closer to a feral shifter than a civilized vampire, he could sink his fangs into me for real, not caring at all about the repercussions.

Thorn threatened to drain me once. I like to believe it was a bluff. That he was using me as a pawn against Bridget and her affection for me. He wanted her to show off her magic in front of him and, if she didn’t, he would suck all of the blood out of me.

It takes a powerful vampire to do that. Like a Cadre leader—or a rogue with aspirations to become one.

Vampires can be killed by decapitation. That’s undeniable. But while I would never starve to death without blood, if a more powerful vamp takes every last drop I have, I’ll be nothing more than a withered husk with ruby-red hair.

And his fangs are mere inches from my throat.

Even more frightening is how he grins, showing off the saliva dripping from his fangs. “Am I?” he says softly, a hint of amusement seeping into his tone. “I hadn’t noticed.”

He’s not lying. He can’t.

But Julian is rogue—and I’m in big, big trouble.

I let out a soft cry. Lost between fear and regret, wishing I hadn’t fallen into the age-old trap of letting the villain monologue like they do in most of the shows I binge with Bridget, I realize that a gentle vampire like Elise van Duren is no match for a rogue.

But you know who he is?

Blood and honey. Spices and heat. Hank’s scent reaches me on the breeze, and as though my soft cry summoned him—and knowing my possessive mate, it’s possible—he’s here.

He steps out from behind my house, his warm honey-colored eyes finding me first, then Julian, before he throws his head back and roars so loudly, my bones shake.

Or maybe that’s simply from the force of my relief.

Because it’s Hank.MyHank.

Mymate.

And he’s here.

Julian might be rogue,but he isn’t insane. An insane vampire would continue to threaten a raging bear shifter’s mate. An insane vampire might even test his super speed against that of his enemy’s, sinking his fangs into my throat in a bid to see if he could drain me before Hank rescued me.

But he’s not insane. That’s why it took me so long to realize he’s turned rogue in the first place. All this time, I thought he wanted what nearly every male I’ve ever known has: sex. When males look at me, it’s always been about their desire to fuck me.

Except for Hank.

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