Page 10 of Bite of Sin

He took a step toward me, and I warily moved back, my eyes darting around while I tried to get my bearings. I had no idea where I was now that I couldn’t see the river.

“Put the rock down,” he murmured, arching an eyebrow. “You really think that would hurt me?”

“I don’t know,Pax,” I shot back, spitting out the name the other vampire had called him. “Have you ever been hit in the face with one?”

A hint of surprise flickered across his features before he grinned. “All I want is an answer, and I’ll let you go.”

“I don’t believe you.”

He shrugged. “Have I hurt you yet? Actually, I saved you. Because if my brothers had found you first, then you’d already be dead.”

My heart thudded, and his gaze dropped to my chest, as if he could hear the change. I swallowed thickly, taking another few steps back.

“Don’t run,” he repeated, his smile fading.

“Why?” I sneered. “Not a fan of fast food?”

He gaped at me before he let out a loud laugh. “Do you taunt all the vampires you meet?”

“No,” I answered casually. “I usually don’t have much time to chat before I kill them.”

“Mm,” he hummed out. “I’m not the first vampire you’ve met.”

“Not even close.”

He stalked closer, but instead of coming after me, he circled me. I turned with him, not letting him out of my sight. The knots in my stomach tightened with each passing second. I needed to get back home, and I wasn’t sure how I was going to escape him without any weapons.

“Humans were chasing you,” he stated, still prowling around me. “You were running from your own kind. Why?”

“Does it matter?” I snapped.

“Were they taking you to the river?”

The blood drained from my face when Lisa’s murder flashed through my mind. Agony crushed my chest, and I couldn’t stop the tears from welling in my eyes.

“How do you know about that?” I angrily wiped my face, refusing to show him weakness.

“What if I told you we were out here to save the Shadows they killed every month?”

My eyes cut to his in disbelief. “Why?”

He grinned. “Can’t tell a human all our secrets.”

“If that’s the truth, then you failed. Because they killed her.”

“We don’t always get there in time. They change the time and place to evade us.”

“Do you know of a cure?” I asked, the hope in my voice impossible to mask.

He stared at me for a few moments before completely changing the subject. “We’re not all that different, you know.”

I scoffed. “Please.”

He lunged at me, catching my wrist when I tried ducking away. I swung my other arm, and he caught it before I could smash the rock against his jaw. He squeezed a pressure point, and I hissed out a breath as he forced me to drop the rock.

“Let me go,” I snarled, covering my fear.

He ignored me, holding both my wrists in an ironclad hold as I tried twisting away from him. My spine slammed against a tree, my already battered body protesting. He pulled my hand up, pressing it against his chest.

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