Page 91 of Our Sins in Shadows (Coven of Sin 2)

“I’m going to kill him. And this time around, I’m going to make sure he stays dead.”

“You’re not allowed to kill him. I don’t think he did this on purpose.”

“A mated male has responsibility. Even I—the freak who lives in the basement—understand the honor of being mated to the future queen of our people. Feral doesn’t deserve a woman, especially you, if he doesn’t know a mated vampire can’t stray far from their bonded partner.”

I frowned, and my stomach flipped with sour thoughts of Vincent. “What’s happening to me?”

“Your system is behaving as if your connection with Feral was severed. He isn’t in this world anymore, so your primal instincts believe he’s dead. You’re going into shock, shutting down so that you don’t have to experience the pain that comes with the bleak territory of losing a mate. Kind of like a hibernation until it eases.”

“How long will that last?”

His expression went dark. “Not positive. A week? Two? There’s a chance you’ll wake when Feral gets back, but who knows when that will be.”

I shook my head, trying to rouse some energy back into my body without much success. “That can’t happen. The Elders will be here in two days.” Even as I spoke, it was difficult to get the words out. My stupid body was shutting down, and the bitch wasn’t stopping to ask about my feelings on the matter.

So Feral abandoned me. Yeah, it hurt. But I was the vampire princess. I had shit to do. Wars to wage. Evil brothers to slaughter. Moping about Feral had to be put on the backburner.

“Is there anything else we can do?”

“You need the comfort of another mate.”

“Like you?”

Eros glanced down at where he cradled me in his arms, his gaze softer than I’d ever seen it. “Believe me, babygirl, I’d like nothing more than to fill the hole Feral left inside you. But you need more than what I can offer.”

I couldn’t be sure, but for a moment, I thought I felt a flare of heat flutter between my thighs. “And what’s that?”

“Something to wake up the power inside you. Overstimulation is our best bet.”

I arched my brows against Eros’ tattooed pectoral—at least I think I did. “And the guy nicknamed Deathwish can’t give that to me?”

He blew out a frustrated sigh. “Of course I can. In the way I know best. But I’ll have to go hard on you to wake up your monster. I think that part of you is more responsive to Sterling. And if he claims you, the mark will be enough to awaken Our Queen.”

“He won’t claim me,” I said placidly.

Eros was usually pretty sexy when he frowned, but this time, there was a glint of something in his eyes that tugged at my heart. “Sterling knows the agony that comes from losing a mate. Even if you haven’t truly lost Feral, there is a part of you that believes you have. Ster will do everything he can to mitigate that pain.”

For a moment, my nerves kicked on just so I could revel in the anger that blazed so fervently it heated my blood and tore through my veins like lava.

How could Vincent do this? What was so important that he had to literally bail on the world to retrieve? I doubted he would’ve gone had he known my body would have this kind of response from the distance. But that did nothing to diminish the boiling hatred I harbored for him at this moment.

It made me question every shred of trust I’d reluctantly placed in him. Then again, this was all my fault. I’d known he’d break my heart. And stupid me fell for him anyway.

I deserved this.

It served me right for giving my love to a man who’d never been human to begin with. What did a monster like him know about taking care of the heart of a mortal? Fucking nothing. And I had been so aware of that fact, but I’d given him my heart anyway.

Dark thoughts filled me like a hurricane, intent on leaving all of me in pieces.

The moment the scent of mildew-crusted leather, decaying paper, and dust greeted me like an old friend, I knew we’d entered the library. I was able to shove down the volatile feelings inside me as the familiar aromas filled my lungs. The vibe in here was different from anywhere else in the mansion. Quiet. Serene. Sanctuary.

I could sense the oldest prince was in his den, but I kept my mouth shut as Eros carried me up the winding staircase of the tower where Sterling’s formal bedroom lay.

“He must be in his den,” Eros grunted in the tower archway.

“Must be,” I whispered, so numb now, Eros could probably hurl me off this tower, and I’d feel nothing.

I’d once heard it was better to die from the cold than from the heat. In the cold, you felt nothing at all in the end. Then again, I wasn’t dying, was I? My body deserved a freaking Emmy award for its acting skills.

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