Page 112 of Claimed In Darkness

I see the night he first put his teeth on me, first held me down, first dragged my own body into submission beneath him.

I see the way he looked at me that night, like I was his ruin, his destruction, his fucking demise.

I see the moment he realized he could not live without me.

And now—he doesn’t know if I can live at all.

I press my fingers harder against my lips, breathing slow, careful, as the hunger inside me coils tighter, sharper, heavier.

Not for power.

Not for food.

Not for survival.

For him.

For his ruin.

For his blood, his hands, his voice, his breath.

For the only thing I have left that still makes me feel like I belong to this world.

I’m not sure if I belong here anymore.

But I know that I belong to him.

The water is ice against my fingers, turning pink, turning red, turning everything into something it should not be.

I watch the stains fade, but I know the truth.

The blood is inside me now.

It is in my veins.

It is in my heart.

It is in the way Zephiran looks at me—like he already knows I will never be the same.

I close my eyes, exhaling slow, steady, trying to ignore the pulse of hunger clawing at my ribs, my throat, my fucking soul.

But it is not going away.

I do not want it to.

That is the real fucking horror.

I am not losing myself.

I am choosing this.

38

ZEPHIRAN

She is slipping through my fingers. How am I supposed to hold onto her?

I watch her from across the fire, the light flickering against her skin, casting shadows that stretch too far, too dark, too wrong.

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