Page 32 of The Darkest Prince

I have to kill.

Thankfully, I don’t feel the sudden need all the time. It comes and goes, but I turn into a different person when the switch flips.

I’m not myself.

I’m a monster.

Bash turns onto his back, pulling his hand away from mine. “You’ve been better, I’ll give you that. But you haven’t been doing so hot since Luca took Alex away.”

“Neither have you,” I shoot back. “We don’t even fuck around anymore. It’s like you’re sickened by me.”

“Never,” he says without hesitation. “You know damn well how I feel about you, Damian. So don’t say shit like that.”

“You’re pissed. So am I.”

“Yeah. The. Fuck. I. Am.” Bash sits up and reaches into his nightstand, removing a knife from the drawer. He hands it to me. “Do your worst. ”

For years, Bash has let me carve into his skin. He has tons of knife wounds that have healed, though some don’t look great. The skin is pulled tighter in some places, marring his perfect body.

I take the knife from his hand. “You’re in pain, too?”

He nods. “Take it away, D. Just cut my fucking heart out. Because if you don’t, watching Luca and Alex will kill me.”

She was ours for most of the school year, and now that we’re down to the last few weeks, we will lose her again.

I get on top of Bash, pinning him to the mattress. Gliding the knife over his heart, I consider my first incision. He wants me to cut out his heart, but I won’t hurt him. Not the way I do my victims.

So I grip the hilt and carve an X over his chest. I take it slow, allowing him to adapt to the pain. Bastian is letting me permanently mark his skin because he trusts me. He knows I will never hurt him.

Blood drips down his chest, and I bend forward to taste him. My entire body trembles as the need takes over. The hunger inside me blooms, and the familiar metallic scent fills the room.

My cock hardens as I taste his blood, getting a hint of saltiness from his skin. I rub against his inner thigh to create some friction, desperate for a release. He’s hard too and pokes my stomach with his length.

I want to consume him.

Be one with him.

Even though I can’t control my urges, I only have to see his face or hear his voice to come back to reality.

“Damian.” I look up as his eyes slam shut, and he bites his bottom lip. “I hate feeling like this,” he says through clenched teeth. “I fucking hatehim.”

“I know, B.” I dab at the blood sliding down his chest and lick it from my finger. “But Luca is our brother. He’s family. And our family needs us to forget about her. It’s the right thing to do.”

I’m rarely the coherent one. Bash usually tells me what we need to do, not the other way around. But he’s struggling with not having Alex anymore. He was looking forward to there being an us someday.

I was, too.

Disappointment crashes into my chest as I bend down and flatten my tongue over his skin again. Whenever I need a release, Bash lets me do this. I’ve tasted his blood dozens of times and never get enough of him.

His fingers slip through my hair. “Damian,” he whispers. “Look at me.”

I lift my head until our eyes meet.

“I think I’m in love with her.”

My heart nearly stops at his confession. He’s known her for months, but still… Bastian can’t love her.

Anger furrows my brows, and I’m thankful it’s dark in his room, so he can’t see my reaction. A part of me has always been jealous of what Bash has with Alex.

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