Page 48 of Make Me Bleed

He doesn’t mean?—

Hecan’tmean?—

A lump lodges in my throat. The thrall doesn’t work on other supes. I couldn’t inadvertently cause him to be attracted to me, and even if I did, my own instincts would’ve made it so that all of my attention was focused on Hank once I recognized him as my beloved.

So why is Julian looking at me like he’s fantasizing about sinking his fangs in me?

Crap. I know he suggested it before, but Julian doesn’t really wantmeas his next conquest, does he?

No.No. He can’t. If he had even a hint of a possessive instinct toward me, he would’ve lashed out after realizing I’d been intimate with Hank instead of being amused by it. Plus, he has his human donor. He doesn’t need me.

Right?

So, rather than think about what hecouldmean, I bring the subject back to Peter.

“You’ve seen him? Here? In Alaska?”

Julian waves one hand flippantly. “I left him to the woods when I thralled him to give me every last detail I needed from him. Pity it’s spring now. The winter won’t have the chance to claim him, but I’m sure something else will. But I promise you this: it won’t be you, dear Elise.”

CHAPTER 16

POWER

Itry not to shudder in renewed revulsion at the way he cooed my name, or how he added the word ‘dear’ in front of it. Instead, I think about Peter out in the wilds of Alaska after encountering a male vampire whothralledhim.

Was that even Peter I heard the other night that sent me spiraling into the darkness? Is it possible it was my own imagination, or is Peter still out there now? Conall hasn’t found him… but if Julian found him first, who knows what thereisto find?

I left him to the woods…Julian didn’t say he left himalive,did he?

“You didn’t kill him?” I ask.

The way Julian’s lips curve, I have my answer.

No, what he did was even worse, and a hundred times crueler. He found Peter lurking around Dyea, searching for me, and?—

“Would that disappoint you?” He cocks his head slightly. “He’s just a human. They break so easily.” His smirk returns. “And if you know how to target the beasts, so do they.”

Who is Julian threatening? Conall for ‘interfering’, or is this back to Julian thinking something—someone—is his? Is he going to target Hank?

I’d like to see him try. There might have been a centuries-long war between vampires and wolf shifters, but maybe there’s a reason that my people never went after some of the other predatory shifters like the big cats and the bears. Hank is nearly double Julian’s size. Though Julian didn’t come out and say that he murdered Peter, I wouldn’t be surprised if he did; disappointed, yes, I’d be slightly disappointed that Peter’s relentless obsession with me led to his demise, but not surprised. If Julian tried to attack Hank, he would never win.

I honestly believe that—which is why I refuse to entertain this any longer.

“I’m done with this conversation,” I announce.

Forget freshening up. Forget the shower. Let Julian have this house if he wants it. I’ll stay with Hank at his den if necessary.

The river doesn’t sound so bad after all.

I just want my beloved. I want my mate. I want his arms wrapped around me, the warmth of his bear soothing me all the way down to my soul?—

“Elise van Duren.” Julian’s blasé voice as he uses my full name is so cold, it’s dripping icicles. “This conversation is over when I say it is.”

I go still.

Elise van Duren…

“How did you know my surname?” I whisper.

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