Page 103 of Voracious

“ROWAN!”

The sound is ripped from her throat, burning, and scratching it raw as her neck cords and she fixes on the four of us.

Ana takes a step forward, not recognizing anyone. She only has a knife in her hand, body stained red, and she doesn’t fucking see me. I hold my hands up so she can see I’m not going to hurt her and keep my voice gentle, coaxing her back.

“Meet me in Venus, lisichka?”

Her head freakishly cocks to the side but there’s a new blankness in her eyes as she blinks, returning to it. She’s going to fucking kill us all.

I slowly take a step forward and the three fuckers who are supposed to be her family grab at me, attempting to pull me back to the hallway that’s coated in destruction. Their fingers grip my shoulders, and one pulls against my back as they hide behind the doors.

Am I fuck running from my woman?

She’s mine in hellish pain or blissed-out peace. I’m about to remove the mask from my face when Vlad’s warning comes through the earpiece.

“Cameras, don’t let them know who we are. Who she is.” His voice drops, a threat woven between each word as he reminds me, “She’s my sister, protect her with your fucking life, Remember the oath you gave.”

I step forward again and blood drips from my hellion’s mask onto her bare legs that are already coated red. I take a different route, so her identity is protected and take out the pendant around my neck. I turn it so she can see her sticker and shrugaway from the hands still trying to pull me back. Her eyes go behind me and I move forward again.

“Look at me, ignore them.”

She does it and the first fucking flicker of my Ana comes out as she focuses on the pendant.

“Your sticker, remember?”

She squeezes her eyes shut then opens them.

Everything is still as the knife slowly slips from her fingers, but her rage doesn’t leave.

“You’re okay, we’ll go home.”

My voice is weak as fuck, begging her as I continue inching forward. She tenses and I pause as her breathing escalates. It’s not coming through the earpiece so she must have tripped a wire when she’s in front of me and she’s physically safe.

There’s no illusion of what she’s capable of when it’s literally painted on the walls, and I ignore the dumb fucks behind me.

“Shall we go back to the forest, B?”

I’m saying anything I can fucking think of to get her back fully and she keeps fighting to come out. Her head returns to its normal position, and I start moving again.

“Do you remember your song?”

Some of the tension leaves her shoulders so I hum it as the world drops away. Once I’m within arm’s reach, I pull her to my chest and wrap my arms around her, keeping her tucked against me, her rage comes back instantaneously and there’s blood in her hair. The scent of iron fills my nose and mouth as I softly say, “I’ve got you, lisichka. Shh, I’ve got you, no one’s going to hurt you.”

She’s a contortionist and manages to turn around so her back is against my chest. Picking her up so her feet aren’t touching the floor, I keep whispering every little memory in her ear. Valentin moves forward and his hand trembles as he pushes the sedative into her arm. One vial doesn’t stop her murderous rage as shetenses, pressing her head into my chest and her feet into my knees, roaring out in pain. There are no words, it’s just soul deep anguish leaving her, and the balaclava moves over Val’s throat as he shakily brings up another syringe.

Doing another dulls the screams to shouts.

The third has them turning hoarse.

Everyone hesitates on the fourth, but Ana isn’t calming, and I hug her body to me, knowing it’s fucking deadly to give her it. My eyes close as he pushes the needle into her arm and liquid rolls under my mask as her body goes limp in my arms.

My knees are weak, threatening to crumble as I pick up her lifeless body in a bridal carry. Her arm falls off the side and Val gently places it on her stomach as I keep whispering to her, hoping she comes back.

“You’re okay, lisichka, you can’t leave me.”

She can hate me or kill everyone, I don’t give a fuck as long as she’s alive. It would be enough to know we exist in the same place at the same time, my body withering while hers prospers.

Nothing else exists as her brothers walk ahead and lead us out to the car. There’s less destruction from them breaking into the place than my hellion trying to get peace. There’s blood on every inch of her skin, it coats my hands just from holding her, and I can’t differentiate if it’s hers or the people who deserved to die.

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