Page 71 of Love Heals
Nicolai sat on the bed with me. Not right next to me, but close enough that his presence made me want to inch away even farther. But he was a spider, and I was caught in his web. Struggling was pointless. "Take his blood," Nicolai instructed. The tone of his voice sent a chill down my spine.
"I can't."
"You can't or you won't?" Nicolai asked. "Because we both know neither of those statements are true."
I pressed my lips together tightly. Drizzit sat in my lap, unaware of the danger he was in. And how could he know? He was just an animal. He trusted me.
He had no way of knowing that his trust was entirely misplaced, because Nicolai was right. There was no way for me not to follow his orders.
My sire moved until he brushed up against me, slinging one arm around my waist and pressing me to his side. I knew better than to show my unease with his actions, and honestly, the sense of disgust that made my stomach roll wasn't the worst part of this. The worst part was how much I wanted to turn and lean into my sire.
He was my tormentor, yes, but for the longest time, he'd also been my only source of solace.
"Don't make me wait too long," he prompted. "You want to make up for your sins, don't you?"
I swallowed and said nothing, looking at Drizzit.
"We both know this is going to happen," Nicolai continued. "I can command you, or you can show me that I can still trust you."
Drizzit licked at my hands. The smell of his blood was so strong in my nose it almost made me want to puke. "Anything else," I tried to plead.
My sire's voice was a low rumble in my ear. "Who gave you the idea that you have a choice?"
An image of Jared flashed in my mind. He was the one who'd made me think I had a choice. The only one who'd ever thought that I could be more than a whore, that I could be more than Nicolai's pet.
But he'd been wrong because now I was back here and there was no escaping and no future other than this. No matter what Jared thought, I was never going to be more than what I was. What I'd always been.
Suddenly, the dog's neck was right in front of my mouth. My fangs extended before I could even think about the whys and hows.
"Do it." My sire's words came sharp and decisive. He didn't add magic to them, but then, he didn't need to. I was always going to do exactly as he said, regardless.
Bile rose in the back of my throat and tears streamed down my cheeks, but I did what I had to do.
Drizzit's blood tasted like heavy cream that had been left out in the sun for too long, like everything wrong in the world. I wanted to spit it out, but I made myself swallow.
"That's right," Nicolai spoke into my ear. "Drink it all for me."
I screamed.
And then I woke.
With a start, I realized that I wasn't in Nicolai's bedroom. I was in Jared's bedroom.
The dream had been so intense, though, that I still tasted animal blood on my tongue. I tried to shake it, tried to swallow, but it wouldn't go away. There was that hairy feeling on my tongue too.
You're safe,I told myself.It was just a bad dream. Nicolai's dead, and he's not coming back.
I looked around the dark room to reassure myself of this fact. That was when I noticed the dog in my lap, and the way his fur matted around his neck.
Cold terror seized my heart at the sight.
Had I...?
For several seconds, I couldn't breathe, couldn't move.
The dream might not have been real, but my actions had been.
I'd bitten my dog. The best friend I had in the world and I'd...
