Page 2 of Soren

For once, the fucker wasn’t smiling that disconcerting smile; instead, Soren’s golden brows were drawn together in concern as he knelt on the ground beside him.

Gabe didn’t know why, when Soren usually left him feeling so unsettled, the man’s presence now felt like a soothing balm.

Still, he couldn’t help but cry out as Soren picked him up by the shoulders, gently placing Gabe’s upper half in his lap. Fuck. For a man who looked so delicate, he certainly was strong.

“Don’t freak out,” Soren murmured.

And then he…changed.

Soren’s pupils expanded, the black covering first the pale blue and then the whites of his eyes. His incisors sharpened, lengthening into fangs that poked out from full pink lips.

Gabe held back a scream, trying to struggle out of Soren’s hold, but the attempt at movement sent searing pain shooting down his arm.

What the fuck was happening?

He found himself whimpering again, to his mortification.

“Shh.” Soren used both hands to hold Gabe’s head still, forcing him to meet his unnatural-looking eyes. “You’re okay,” Soren said firmly. “You’re safe. I won’t hurt you. You’re not afraid of me.”

And, looking into that endless black, Gabe suddenly…wasn’t.

He knew somewhere in the back of his mind that he should be. But that rush of fear was replaced with an unnatural calm.

Soren wouldn’t harm him. Still…

“I hurt,” Gabe whispered. “Everything hurts.”

“No,” Soren said, his thumbs rubbing soft circles onto Gabe’s cheeks. “You don’t hurt anymore. You’re not feeling any pain. None at all.”

And just like that, the pain faded. Gabe sighed in relief, staring up at the face looking down at him, his brain skipping right over the more alarming details. He saw delicate features, sharp cheekbones, soft-looking pale skin.

Soren was…

“So beautiful,” Gabe murmured, reaching up a hand to touch the pretty man.

Soren’s eyes widened in surprise, his lips twitching. “None of that.” He pushed Gabe’s hand down. “We need to heal you.”

He bent over Gabe and started…licking Gabe’s face? He seemed to be aiming for all the injured spots, his tongue softly touching all the abrasions Gabe had received from the pavement.

Gabe laughed when Soren reached the bite on his neck. “Tickles.”

Soren ignored Gabe’s protest, continuing his ministrations. Gabe wasn’t sure, but he thought he heard Soren mumble something like, “Why do you taste so good?”

But that couldn’t be right. Gabe’s neck was covered in blood. And blood had to taste…gross. Right?

Gabe wasn’t sure how many minutes passed like that, his mind a blissful haze while Soren lapped at his injured skin. Eventually, Soren lifted his head, looking down at him with an inscrutable expression. “I fixed what I can, but the arm is beyond me.”

Gabe had forgotten his arm was even broken. How strange.

“We have to get you to the hospital,” Soren told him.

“Maybe they’ll give me an employee discount.” Gabe laughed again. He knew the situation wasn’t actually funny, but he was having a hard time accessing the fear and anxiety he knew he should be feeling.

He let Soren half carry, half drag him to his car and drive him to the hospital.

Hours later, the nurse pushed pain medication through Gabe’s IV, and everything changed again. The calm he’d been feeling fled, and the fear from before returned tenfold.

Gabe’s heart raced, his palms growing damp with sweat. He turned his head slowly to the blond man next to him—Soren hadn’t left his side, not for a moment—who was holding himself with an unnatural stillness, his pale gaze meeting Gabe’s.

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