Page 106 of Claim of Blood
Lander leaned in with a muttered curse. His fangs sank into Adam’s wrist, too sharp to be careful.
Heat knotted in Adam’s stomach as the blood exchange began—visceral, grounding, potent. He felt the bone knitting beneath his fingers, the way Lander’s breath evened as the pain eased. A glance down confirmed the flush spreading across Lander’s skin—and the swelling in his jeans.
Adam’s own arousal stirred, uninvited but undeniable.
The intimacy wasn’t about desire. Not entirely. It was about surrender. Trust. Even if it was reluctant.
He let it go on until the wrist finished setting, then withdrew his arm.
Lander looked wrecked—pupils blown, mouth slick with blood, chest rising unsteadily.
The moment crackled with the start of something else.
Then their phones went off.
Shrill and simultaneous. Adam reached for his first, already registering Oren’s encrypted alert.
Intruders.
Right outside the mansion grounds.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Adam
Orenburstintothestudy with supernatural speed, Gaspard a graceful shadow at his heels. The security chief’s normally stoic expression carried an edge of urgency that had Adam straightening where he sat beside Lander on the couch, the lingering heat from their feeding forgotten.
“Single hunter,” Oren reported, voice clipped, dark eyes locked on Adam. “Tactical gear. Moving with purpose near the stables. Has some kind of tablet or scanning device.” His fingers flew over his phone, presumably coordinating the response team. “Carlos and Lydia are already in position.”
Adam reached for his phone, still navigating the new security app, when Leo’s sharp intake of breath pulled his attention across the room. His claim had gone perfectly still, staring at his screen with an expression that mingled disbelief and something close to horror.
“Care to share with the class?” Adam asked mildly, though his power stirred beneath his skin, responding to Leo’s distress.
“It’s Felix,” Leo said, barely above a whisper. “My cousin Felix.”
Lander’s incredulous laugh cut through the tension. “Your vampire-loving, supernatural-research-obsessed cousin Felix? That Felix?”
“Yes.” Leo’s fingers clenched around his phone, and Adam caught the subtle shift in his scent. Not just shock. Hope—or fear.
A slow smile curved Adam’s lips. “Bring him in,” he ordered, catching the fractional widening of Oren’s eyes. “Alive and unharmed.”
Oren’s hand flew to his earpiece. “Carlos, Lydia—new directive. Retrieve the target alive. I repeat: alive.” He paused. “Confirmed. Moving to intercept.”
“What serendipity,” Adam murmured, satisfaction humming through him as the order was acknowledged. His gaze flicked to Leo, still rigid in his chair. “Don’t worry, beauty. We’ll treat your cousin with appropriate... hospitality.”
The faint crackle of Oren’s comms underscored the silence as the team moved. Outside, oblivious to the web closing around him, Felix Rothenburg continued his careful sweep of Innsbrook’s perimeter.
Adam stood. Lander shifted beside him.
“Time to convene the Council.”
The security alerts continued their angry chorus as they stepped into the hall. Leo fell in behind them, silent but present.
Maja intercepted them at the landing, Ilona a calm shadow at her shoulder. “What’s happened?” Maja asked, her ice-blue eyes already sweeping the surroundings.
“A situation that requires the full Council,” Adam replied. “We have a hunter to question.”
Maja’s phone was already in hand. “She says she can be here in twenty minutes by car or…” She arched a brow. “She offers to teleport.”
