What a fool she was! All the Lycan blood in the room made her dizzy with hunger. Dammit, why hadn’t she locked into Gretchen’s mind and removed any memory of them at the well? She choked back a rising sob as she ran down the long corridors. Where the hell was the exit, she thought frantically.
Finally, she spotted a door and ran outside. A sharp stab in her gut made her wince with pain. Oh God, why did she put herself through this every single night? Prolonging her nightly feeding rite was only asking for trouble. And yet, she couldn’t help it. She hated feeding. Even though the act gave her an exquisite rush of ecstasy, the remnant of her human self was still repulsed by it, even after four hundred years.
She ran into the courtyard, past the entrance, to the perimeter of the grounds. The castle was atop a vast mountain and she inhaled deeply, looking down at the village below lit by torches and lanterns.
Without another thought, she stared up at the night sky and sprinted into the air, flying over the village to a field past the town’s edge. She landed firmly on her two legs and groaned, squeezing her eyes. Dammit, the pain was worse. She knew she could hunt for an animal in the village, but that was too risky. She didn’t want to jeopardize a villager’s life if she couldn’t find a stray dog and her thirst consumed her. She’d have to find a wild animal past the fields in the forest near the horizon. Gritting her teeth against the hunger, she rose and sprinted high in the air, soaring through the flat fields.
She prayed she was going to make it to the forest in time. After what seemed like forever, flying through the air, she caught a movement to her left and gasped. She landed on the ground and narrowed her gaze on the spot. A fox! Relief flooded through her veins.
She was about to sprint through the air to catch it when her vampire hearing caught a rumble in the distance behind her. She spun around, stared into the darkness and froze.
A massive Lycan was running at incredible speed towards her. Even from this great distance and with the absence of light, her vampire sight still made him out. He was over nine feet tall, with a smatter of hair all over his massive, muscular body. The only covering he wore was a dark loin cloth over his genitals.
She bared her fangs and hissed at the approaching beast. The fox ran to safety and Eve hissed at the Lycan who stopped before her. Up close, he was even more terrifying. His jowls looked fierce enough to rip a stag in two and his amber eyes glowed ferociously. He was a monster.
She was too weak to take flight, too weak even to run, but she stood her ground and hissed up at him.
And then he shifted. The brows meeting at the bridge of his nose disappeared, the dangerous incisors faded away, the fierce talons withdrew. She stood there, dazed as she watched the muscular figure of a man take shape. It was Drago dressed only in a black loin cloth.
Her breath caught as she ran her gaze over his body and when she stared up at his face, she froze. His expression was both astounded and furious. ‘Why didn’t you tell me you fly?’
‘You never asked,’ she said before collapsing on the ground.
* * * *
He lowered himself next to her and gently lifted her on his lap.
She lifted her blue gaze to his and said huskily, ‘How did you find me?’
He ignored her question. The truth disturbed the hell out of him and he pushed it at the back of his mind. He ran his gaze over her face and frowned.
‘What is wrong?’ he asked abruptly, fear making his nape tingle. ‘You look weak, paler.’
She licked her lips. ‘I…I need to feed.’ She glanced over his shoulder and squeezed her eyes. ‘Dammit, you scared the fox away.’ She winced, gasping in pain.
‘Eve, what is it?’ He tightened his hold on her and shook her gently.
She gasped for breath. ‘If I don’t feed…I will die,’ she said faintly.
He grimaced and lowered her gently to the ground. He looked around wildly. Dammit, he could have helped her if only she’d come to him. The cooks always had fresh meat being slaughtered and prepared in the kitchen for dinner. They were always washing blood off the counters and floor.
Deeply concerned, he glanced at the open field. It was barren. The forest was nearby, but he didn’t want to leave her alone while he searched for an animal. There was only one thing left to do. Grimacing, he looked down at her. All he saw were her daggers, her sword and a knife. Where the hell was her stake?
‘Are all of your weapons made of silver?’ he asked.
‘What?’ She blinked away her confusion until realisation lit her face. ‘No, you mustn’t. Let me…let me die.’ She closed her eyes. ‘Please…I beg you…just take care of my daughter.’ She groaned as she clutched her stomach.
He shook her. ‘Answer me!’
‘Yes.’
‘Your stake,’ he said roughly. ‘Are you carrying it?’
‘Be…behind me,’ she said weakly.
Without saying another word, he lifted her and felt behind her. The stake was strapped to her back. He pulled it free and laid her down. His heart hammered in his chest as her breath came out in short rasps. Clenching his jaw, he drove the stake through his wrist, twisted it to make a deep cut and pulled it out, tossing it behind him.
Blood poured from his cut.
Quickly, he leaned over her still form and placed his bloody cut over her mouth. ‘Feed,’ he said hoarsely.
Her eyes flickered and she shook her head.
Drago pressed his wrist on her mouth. ‘Eve, feed on my blood,’ he said thickly. ‘You will die if you don’t.’
She opened her eyes and stared at him, her expression horrified. ‘I don’t…feed on…humans,’ she said, her voice growing fainter.
He grimaced. ‘You forget I am not human. Now, feed.’
She squeezed her eyes. ‘Dear God, forgive me,’ she said and grabbed his arm, pulling his wrist closer to her mouth as she began to drink his blood.
Drago stared at her face. Slowly, her colour returned. She moaned with pleasure and he was taken aback by the sheer force of his emotions. Damnation, she was drinking his blood. The thought should have disgusted him, but it didn’t. Slowly, his loins began to heat with each draw she took, with each suckle she made and his penis grew hard.
Dammit, she was arousing him. He inhaled sharply through his nose, gritting his teeth. What manner of seduction was this that made him throb with intense pleasure and agonizing pain? He growled as he felt his body soaring to a place where he knew he would have no control. This ecstasy was more than he could bear and he gently tried to pull his wrist away, but couldn’t. Eve had a tight hold on his arm and her euphoric expression told him she wasn’t finished feeding yet.
He threw his head back and roared at the white hot pleasure washing over him. Dammit, he was going to lose control!
‘Stop,’ he growled, but she continued to suckle his wrist. ‘Eve, I…said…stop,’ he groaned. If she didn’t heed his warning, he was going to shred the leather from her limbs and drive his rigid penis into her warm folds.
He sucked in a harsh breath. He’d never contemplated rape in his entire life. Holding on to his last shred of sanity, he grabbed her hair and dragged her head away from his wrist.
He stared down at her serene expression, his chest rising and falling with heavy breaths. Her eyes were closed and she brought up her hand and wiped the blood from her mouth. Slowly she opened her eyes and stared at him.
‘Thank you, Drago,’ she said.
