Page 103 of Our Sins in Blood (Coven of Sin 1)

“Good. Now run, I’ll give you a head start.”

“R–run?”

“Yes. It’s the mating hunt, like how you tried to hunt me in the tower. A cute attempt, but I’ll show you how to do it properly.Now run.”

Chapter forty-nine

Crashing the Party

Withmyheartthrashingin my throat, I raced out of the den and into the library. With the countless rows of shelves, haphazard stacks of books, and random pieces of furniture strewn between, the place was a labyrinth. It would be most kids’ hide-and-seek fantasy come to life, but for me, I knew Sterling could find me within moments.

No matter how many great hiding spots there were here, no one could hide from an ancient vampire with the nose of a bloodhound.

Every single nerve in my body was tingling in anticipation, going off like fireworks inside me as I scrambled past row after row of bookcases, searching for a place that would provide me with an advantage. Although, I wasn’t exactly trying to hide from the prince. Not when my body was practically in a hot sweat, desperate for his claiming.

The thing was, I knew this wasn’t going to be much of a hunt. I knew I was fast, but comparing my reflexes to Sterling’s was like comparing a cheetah jacked up on espresso to a comatose sloth. Even though I wanted him to catch me, a deep, primal instinct inside told me to make him work for my submission.

It was obnoxious how much my body needed him in this moment. Sure, I was growing fond of all the princes—Vincent notwithstanding—but I didn’t want to need any of them. Of course, the evil, twisted instincts inside me weren’t giving Sterling or me an option in this matter.

As weird as this whole thing was, it felt almost…normal. Cathartic even. Like I was finally indulging in a side of me that was just beginning to emerge.

I twisted to look over my shoulder. My heart slammed against my ribs when I saw Sterling emerge from the passageway, shadows wrapped around his athletic form like a cloak. God Almighty. He was so beautiful, a predator eternally at his prime. For a moment, I was so mesmerized by the male that all the moisture in my mouth sank straight to my hot, needy core. There was something so hypnotic with how the muscles in his neck and shoulders shifted as he prowled forward, a dark smirk sitting on his lips.

“I thought I told you to run.”

Remaining rooted where I was, I couldn’t help but bathe in the masculine energy rolling off him in droves. “You’re going to find out very quickly that I’m not so good at following rules.”

“Well, I’ll just have to teach you a lesson, won’t I?” As he spoke, he flung an arm out, his fingers barely brushing my hair as I lurched away from him. My back bumped into a bookcase, and without thinking, I turned and scrambled upward, using the shelves as footholds. My heart burst into a gallop when I looked down to see Sterling climbing after me.

My foot landed on the spine of a book, and my weight made it shift. I almost lost my balance but caught myself just in time. The book went hurtling right at Sterling’s face. He snatched it out of the air, catching it just in time.

Holy shit. How had he seen it coming?

Setting it down carefully on the shelf, he veered his displeased scowl in my direction. “Miss Baxter, I like to think myself a gentleman when it comes to women. But for you, I may have to make an exception if you continue to abuse my books.”

“I’m sorry!” I made it to the top of the bookcase, and just as I was crawling over the edge, he seized my ankle. Taking another anchor-sized book, I threw it down at him. He managed to catch it just in time, but only by letting go of me. Pulling myself up, I moved to the end of the bookcase and turned to see Sterling already crouching on the other end. “I should have known threats would only provoke our masochistic princess,” he murmured.

With where he sat, I could barely make out his features. Most of the candles had burned out, leaving only the thin slivers of moonlight that sliced through the gaps in the window coverings.

For several intense seconds, we stared at one another in silence, crouched and ready to spring into action at any moment.

Electric energy crackled between us, making my skin prickle with bumps and my brow pebble with perspiration.

“What is this?” I panted.

“I already told you,” he muttered. “You’re in heat. It’s something that happens to half-bloods.”

“No, that’s not it. What’s happening between us? What’s this feeling, this freakish chemistry?”

“Sometimes, our deepest instincts pick our mates for us. Yours has selected me. And it’s a sad thing because I will not have you, not as my claimed mate.”

“But you’re hunting me.”

“I am.”

“What are you going to do when you capture me?”

His throat twitched with a swallow. “I’m going to fuck you, Miss Baxter.”

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