Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 50512 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 253(@200wpm)___ 202(@250wpm)___ 168(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 50512 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 253(@200wpm)___ 202(@250wpm)___ 168(@300wpm)
A brilliant smile shapes her blood-stained lips. “Saint,” she says, eyes shining. “I did it.”
I can’t help but grin right back, showing her an uncaged smile that no one else ever draws from me. “You did amazing.”
“You showed me I can feed,” she says. “I can feed like a regular vampire.”
“Like you were born for it,” I say, my head swimming a bit from how much blood she took. She could’ve taken it all and I would’ve thanked her for it.
She inches toward my mouth, and I have to use all of my willpower to pick her up and gently place her on her feet.
She has the audacity to pout.
“If you kiss me again,” I say, taking a step toward her door. “There will be more firsts happening than just your first bite.”
“What if I want more firsts?”
“What if I can’t trust myself enough right now?”
I hold her gaze, the energy between us like a live fucking wire. Would it be so bad to give in? To let myself sink into her? To drown in her? To consume her in the way I’ve dreamed about since the moment I laid eyes on her?
“I trust you,” she says. “But I’ll never force you to do something you don’t want to do.”
Instincts sharper than my blades demand I claim, bite, fuck. If I give in to them, there may be nothing left of her when I’m done. I can’t do that to her. She’s already been used enough.
“I want what’s best for you, Aurora.” And I’m in no way what’s best for her.
Her shoulders drop a little. “Thank you for feeding me.”
I dip my head, then run the fuck out of there before I do something stupid.
Like take everything she’s offering and never look back.
“Easy,” Dagon warns a few hours later. He insisted he come with me to the volunteer feeder house, and for the first time in weeks, I didn’t argue.
The human man’s heart rate slows, but I keep drinking. I have to. Aurora took so much because she’d been practically starved, and I know I’ll need to feed her again soon. I need to replenish myself, even if this guy tastes like absolute garbage.
Seriously, what are these humans eating recently to get them to taste like this?
“Saint.” Dagon’s hand touches my shoulder. “That’s enough on this one.” He taps me again. “We can get another one if you need more.”
I jerk away from the man, swallowing down the last of his blood. I lock my muscles, forcing myself to stop before striking him again.
I meet Dagon’s eyes as he helps the guy across the room, leading him out the door and toward the medical staff, who will need to keep an eye on him. Guilt snakes into me, but I shove it away. I didn’t take that much. Not enough to kill him, anyway. He’ll be fine…in a day.
“You good?” Dagon asks when he returns.
I shake my head. “Bring me another one.”
Dagon’s eyebrows raise high over his head. “Really?”
I shoot him a glare.
“Okay. Another one.”
A few moments later, a new man comes in and offers his arm. I don’t hesitate, striking clean and quick. I almost wretch. This one tastes like shit too. I don’t pause to worry about it. As much as I enjoyed Aurora taking whatever she needed from me, I have to replenish. Samuel is still out there, and I need to be at my strongest when I finally catch him.
CHAPTER 6
Aurora
Even though it’s been a week since Saint fed me, I can still feel the effects from his blood. My thirst and hunger have returned, despite my efforts to ignore them, but it’s like I can feel him beneath my skin. Drinking his blood was like gulping down pure power—infinite, gorgeous, dangerous, delightful power.
I’ve never felt so strong or so clear-headed. Is that the key to clarity? To control over my mind? His blood? Or would any strong, ancient vampire blood do?
My stomach turns at the thought of feeding from someone else. Even a human.
I take a long, deep breath, enjoying the crisp, floral scent of the gardens as I stroll through them. The moon is high, blanketing the greenery in silver. Little flickers of gold illuminate the vegetation from the ambient lighting strategically placed throughout the grounds. It pays to be king, certainly. I’m surprised to not have run into Alek or anyone else in my nightly strolls the past week. If I owned these gardens, I’d be out here all the time. Though, I suppose a king has more on his agenda than merely existing, which feels like all I’ve been doing lately.
Shame trickles through me at the thought, but I can’t deny it. Since the hunters found me and brought me here, all I’ve worked on is existing. Being a fully turned vampire, but just barely. Before, I’d been able to ignore that half of myself, my father’s half. My mother had raised me as a human, and I’d lived that way until Samuel turned me. Now…