Page 36 of Shadow Bound

Ransom barks out a laugh, the sound startling me.

Shaking his head, Ransom passes the bag to me and this time I accept it. My heart starts pounding and my stomach cramps in anticipation of being able to feed again. “Shit, do you need a straw or something? I feel like I’m giving you a really weird juice box.”

“Juice box?”

“I have so much to teach you,” he sighs. “Sorry, all we have is B positive because that’s Sawyer’s blood type, if you prefer a different…flavor? I can see if Doc can get her hands on some.”

“Ransom.” I step forward, raising a hand to stop him. “This is fine.”

“Okay.” He nods, shoving his hands in his front jeans pockets. He rocks back on his heels almost nervously. “So, ah, bon appétit?”

I look at the bag of blood in my hands, my fangs have fully descended in eagerness, but I still don’t bite into the plastic pouch. I’ve never been worried about feeding in front of someone before, but right now I am. “You can’t be here when I drink this. I’ve never gone this long without feeding and I already know my body is going to be craving more when I’m done. I might lose control and try to get it from the closest option available. That option beingyou, I don’t want to attack you.”

“I appreciate the worry, Tink, I truly do, but I’m not going anywhere.” He backs up a few feet from me, leaning his back against a tree. “Bottoms up, baby.”

Isabeau wrapped in leather, wielding knives? Hot.

Isabeau holding said knife to my dick? Nerve-wracking, but still hot.

Isabeau tearing into a bag of blood with her perfect, lethal fangs? Smoking hot.

It’s probably the last thing I would ever say if given the opportunity to list out my fantasies, but watching as she pulls in her first mouthful of blood, I’ve decided it’s right up there on my list. The leather, knife thing is still at the top though.

My wolf watches in utter fascination as her pale throat moves as she swallows mouthfuls of blood. A thin line of it dribbles from the corner of her mouth, the stark contrast between the crimson blood and her pale skin is vast. As if I’m watching her transform right in front of me, I watch as the light in her eyes is turned back on, the dullness dissipating. The frosty orbs start to shine and the alertness that was missing comes back. Her skin that was looking almost gray, returns to its normal pale color. The dark circles under her eyes also fade some, but don’t disappear completely.

Her chest heaves as she feasts, her knuckles are white from the death grip she has on the bag. Iknewshe was starving, but seeing how desperate she almost seems now as she finishes the last drop of the blood really shows just how hungry she was.

When her eyes shift to me, pupils dilated like someone who’d just snorted a line of cocaine, I regret not bringing her another bag. And when she drops the bag on the forest floor and her arctic eyes turn blood-red, I really regret it.

She told you to leave…

Using the back of her hand, she slowly swipes the blood from her chin. All it does is smear it across her cheek, but she doesn’t notice because her sole focus is on me. And she’s looking at me like she was looking at Sawyer today.Pure hunger. Bloodlust marring her features.

In a flash, she turned from a dream to a nightmare.

“Beau…” I warn, taking a step forward. “Come on, baby, fight it,” I urge, hoping she can snap herself out of her bloodlust state before things get ugly.

Her lips pull back and she bares her fangs, a hiss-like noise escaping her. She launches herself across the small amount of space between us. She slams into me, pushing me up against the tree I’d abandoned only seconds ago.

She goes for my throat, but I grip her upper arms before using all my strength to spin out from her grasp. Moving back a couple of feet from her, my knees bend slightly in the event she jumps at me again, I try again to reason with her. “Isabeau, just breathe. I have more blood in the motel room…”

Beau either can’t understand me through the bloodlust fog or she’s choosing to not answer. She lunges at me like a panther would at their prey, her lithe muscles moving under the tight clothes she wears.

I’m ready for the attack, as she flies toward me, my arms encircle her waist, holding tight. In a fluid motion, I twist us before slamming our bodies to the snow-covered earth. Using my weight to keep her pinned to the ground, I try to gain control of her arms as she claws at me to be released. I momentarily forget that her nails are the problem right now when she lurches for my jugular again.

The wickedly sharp tips of her fangs just barely scratch my skin there. “Fuck.” One hand holds her hands above her head, my other hand collars her throat, keeping her head down.

She writhes and fights under me, her body humming with energy from the blood she’d just consumed. I don’t know if I’ll be able to hold her here until she tires herself out, she’s stronger than she was on the mountain. The only way she’s going to stop is if Isabeau is able to get a handle on her bloodlust and come back.

Her fighting has forced her hair to splay out around her head, the long raven-black strands look even darker compared to the white snow. In a way, she reminds me of Snow White, with her pale skin and dark hair, but my Snow White’s got fangs and she’s eager to use them right now.

Even as she fights me and her lips are pulled back, as she snarls at me, I find her beautiful. She’s beautiful in the way a lightning storm is, it’s pretty to look at, captivating even, but if you get too close, you might get killed. Might be worth it though.

Isabeau’s lips, that are usually a pale pink color, are stained by the dark blood. “Beau,” I try again, but still she doesn’t come out of her aggressive state. An idea comes to me and I know instantly that it’s not the best idea, but I’m going to do it anyway. Maybe she just needs a little distraction from her overpowering hunger.

Before I can talk myself out of it, I dip my head and slam my mouth onto hers.

Everything stills when my lips collide with hers, Isabeau’s body freezes under me, my wolf who was anxiously pacing in my head as he watched her meltdown halts and if I could feel anything past what her lips feel like against mine, I would be able to tell if my heart is still beating in my chest. But right now, I can only feel her.

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