Page 5 of Wolf Bitten

Footsteps quickened toward me.

Shit. This was bad, especially since my blood was fizzing. If he came in here, I would smell more alluring, though nothing like a hum. Still, if he attacked, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to fight him off. And I feared what would happen if the walls and floor cracked. I couldn’t shake off the feeling that we were underground.

I hurried toward the bathroom. I could shut the door and hopefully lock it from the other side to put another barrier between us.

“Warin,stop!” the older woman shouted. “You’re not going in there with her.”

He laughed maniacally. “I’ll do whatever I want. You’re not mypriestess.”

Releasing my nose, I slammed the bathroom door shut and found a lock on the door handle. I turned it even though I suspected it wouldn’t hold up against the vampire. At least, it would buy me a few seconds.

I used my sleeve to wipe the blood gently from my nose and saw a door to my left that swung outward. It didn’t have a lock. My mouth dried further, and my throat burned as my blood rose too close to a hum.

Was there another way to get inside?

I heard a thump outside. Warin and the witch were fighting.

When I looked through the doorway, some weight lifted from my shoulders. The room was a walk-in closet that was mostly empty except for a few pairs of yoga pants, underwear, bras, and shirts stacked in the far corner. By the doorway, a wire rack held white towels and washcloths.

A new plan formed.

I needed to clean up and calm down before the vampire reached me.

I removed my sweater, tossed it to the floor, and grabbed a washcloth and a shirt. In the bathroom, I went to the smooth white sink and turned the water on to warm.

The door to the bedroom crashed against the wall.

My time was running out.

“Don’t make me do this,” the witch gritted. “Because I will.”

I held the washcloth under the warm water and heard Warin laugh. Chaos erupted on the other side of the door.

I gently wiped the blood from my face, neck, and hands. The sound of things hitting the wall and Warin’s moans made focusing on my task difficult.

When the blood was washed off me, I turned the water to cool and splashed my face, imagining Raffe. I needed to calm down so I could find a legitimate way out of here.

With Raffe’s image locked in my mind and the coolness of the water outweighing the warmth of my blood swirling within me, I managed to calm my blood to a jolt. I took deep breaths to center myself and then bent over and took several long gulps of water.

Almost back to normal, I straightened and opened my eyes, realizing that, in my haste, I’d forgotten to put on the shirt. As I slid it on, Warin hissed and said, “Stop, Glinda. I’m fine now.”

I shut my eyes again to imagine Raffe’s face. If I let my blood get the best of me, the vampire would go crazy again.

“Why should I believe you?” the witch challenged.

“Because the allure is gone.” He sighed. “Apparently, her blood is like a siren’s call.”

“You need to leave. We can’t chance you reacting like that again. I’ll talk to her alone while you compose yourself.”

He laughed. “If you think I have to obey you—”

“Don’t force my hand because I will callher.”

Silence.

Whatever threat she’d tossed out there had had an impact, and I wanted to know whoherwas. That had to be the person who could let me out of here. Whereverherewas.

“Fine,” he huffed, and I didn’t hear anything else until a knock on the bathroom door startled me.

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