by C. M. Owens
“Holy shit,” Kya says, her eyes widening on us as Slade and I appear on the floor in front of her. “What the hell happened?” she snaps, dropping to her knees.
“He fought the forest, even though I don’t know what the hell he was thinking,” I growl before I bite into my wrist and hold my arm over his lips.
So long as I let it run into his mouth, and no venom is involved, we won’t have the uncontrollable urge to have dirty, feral sex.
Then I can properly yell at him the way I want to right now, as my heart continues to panic in my chest.
Her eyes pop over to mine then down to him, and she releases a heavy breath. “This is my fault. I shouldn’t have said what I did to him,” she tells me quietly, her jaw ticking.
“What do you mean?”
She gestures to him. “I forget how damaged he truly is, because I keep forgetting how much longer he was in there than I was. Some wounds go too deep,” she says without looking at me.
A single tear rolls down her cheek as she stands.
“Where are you going?” I ask her, noticing a couple of his smaller wounds start to close.
“He wouldn’t want me to see him like this,” is all she says as she walks out.
“Are there any blood packs?” I ask loudly, hoping she’ll pop back in.
She doesn’t.
I need her as a distraction from the piece of me that is wanting to use more magic. The piece of me who wants to go take on the forest myself as punishment for it brutalizing him.
Instead, I focus on Slade, since he needs me for a change, instead of the other way around.
My healing powers are hit and miss, and I’m already on the cusp of not being able to stop using right now, so I stick to simply feeding him blood.
My wrist keeps healing faster and faster the more I bite into it, so I finally just take a long draw of blood into my mouth, then part his lips more before I deliver it that way without our lips touching.
He’ll probably mock me for this when he wakes up and I start yelling at him.
It’s a slow process to deliver the amount of blood he needs, but my blood is so much stronger and will heal him faster than packaged blood. Hopefully there’s packaged blood, because I’m going to need it for myself by the time I’m done.
The long hours pass with the speed of a snail race. It gives me too much time to really take him in. I grab a shirt from the ground and toss it over his middle, ensuring I don’t get distracted by anything down there.
It also makes me feel like less of a perv, as I look over the rest of him. So many scars crisscross. What can leave scars like this on an immortal? Certainly the harbingers didn’t do all of this to him.
Kya talking about his damage makes my mind wander down dark paths, understanding his burning need for revenge.
I just hate that he wants to give his life to these people, letting them take that too.
My fingers run through his bloody hair, like I’m soothing him as he peacefully sleeps, no longer in danger of bleeding out completely.
The sun is starting to come up by the time his last wound seals shut, and I weakly lift myself, stumbling toward the fridge, leaving his side for the first time all night. Thankfully, there is packaged blood, and I grab five, sliding to the ground when standing becomes too difficult.
I’ve practically drained myself to replenish him. Bright side, I think I now know the most effective way to stave off my addiction. Drain my blood, and I forget all about my power hungry madness.
I’m practically moaning as I drink the blood from the pack, sucking it dry before moving onto the next one, my eyes watching his chest as it rises and falls with stronger breaths.
By the time I finish off the fifth pack, I have a headache, but I’m strong enough to stand again.
Someone knocks at the door, and I go to answer it, finding Kya standing there. “Your family was freaking out trying to find you, so I sort of lied and told them you were pissed at them for using you as a distraction for Slade.”
“What?” I ask, confused, wondering if the headache is the reason for my befuddlement, or if it was her random words.
Her eyes widen. “Oh, I figured Slade would have told you. Is that not why he came to find you? How did you two end up here if he didn’t go there to say something mean then punish himself by attacking the woods?” she whispers, acting as though no one else is allowed to know.
I open the door wide, letting her see Slade is still on the ground, then close it back to where only I can be seen.
“I just finished healing him.”
Her eyes widen again. “How are you still standing?”
“He’s going to need more blood in his fridge, because I’m about to use the last two to see if I can rid myself of my headache. So why did my family trick me into going into the forest to distract Slade?”
She rolls her eyes. “Because he’s been too obvious with following you around and saving you, and they’re wisely using that information to their benefit. It’s still shitty.”
“Very, but I get their mindset. However, feel free to tell them I’m too pissed to return home right, but ensure them I’m safe so they don’t come looking for me,” I go on. “I’m going to clean him up. He’s got blood all over him.”
“That’s the norm,” she states on autopilot. “But just so we’re clear, you’re the one technically betraying their trust with this lie and not me, right?”
“Actually, I’m simply returning the favor. What’d they get for tricking me into the woods to hang out with a sociopathic incubus?”
“Gavin,” she says, glancing around.
Grimacing, I say, “I bet that’s why Slade was so pissed in the woods then. Not whatever it is you said to him. You seemed upset about that earlier.”
“Sure,” she says. “I’m sure it was just them getting Gavin,” she nervously tacks on, looking around at anything but me.
“Is there something else?” I prod.
“I need to get back before Chaz starts looking for me and ends up finding you. I’m going to have to tell him where you are, but—”
“Chaz doesn’t get to know either. Last I checked, he kept plenty of secrets from me,” I remind her. “I’ll be home soon. It’s not like I’m leaving the country.”
I shut the door on her before she can argue, and I turn to face Slade again, going to collect a bowl, some warm water, and some soap.
It’d be easier to clean him with magic, but I’ll need more blood than he has on hand before I’m able to do spells. My skin is still too pale, and I feel my sunken in eyes.
But his color is really good, and his breathing is so easy and consistent. Slowly, I start washing away the blood, trying not to get any arousal from it, since that would be creepy, given his current state.
I take my time anyway, since it’s unlikely he’s had anyone care for him in a long time. For whatever reason, I pretend not to be in denial for a minute, and imagine a world where I could fix him.
A world where the end isn’t always around the corner.
A world where someone hasn’t tormented his soul for centuries.
A world where we could have had an entirely different existence without feeling forced to hate each other for what we mean to the other.
A world where we didn’t both have to be monsters.
Chapter 11
SLADE
Something warm and wet trickles down my side, as something gentle smooths up my chest, gliding in slow, methodical circles. It’s possibly the softest touch I’ve ever felt.
The warmth of the body next to mine and the scent in the air has me freezing as my hand darts out and grabs onto a wrist, stilling the circular motions as water continues to drip down my sides.
My eyes pop open and collide with Ella’s wide, dim ones. My gaze rakes over her face as I try to snap out of my confusion. Why the hell is she so pale? Why the hell are her eyes sunken in? Why does her neck look so frail?
Taking a quick glance around, I realize we’
re on my cabin’s floor, and there’s a shirt over my lap. All my wounds are healed, the blood is being washed from my body, and the sun is up.
My eyes flick back to Ella’s pale face, and a hiss of a breath escapes me as I blur into motion, scooping her up and carrying her toward the bed.
“Did you really drain yourself?” I snap. “I would have been just fucking fine with a few drops.”
“Didn’t seem that way to me,” she grumbles, her head falling to my chest. “Me? I just need about ten more packs of blood and five minutes, and I’ll be good.”
“Trust me, I know exactly how much my body can take and what it takes to come back from it,” I growl, and she stiffens. “I’ll get you some blood.”
It’s like I can feel her all around me, more so than usual. Damn it, why did she give me her blood? And I don’t even know what it tastes like, other than the lingering sweet taste in my mouth.
It’s torture of a new kind, because taste was never an issue in the visions.
“Why the hell were you cleaning me?” I ask as I gingerly place her on the bed, worried she’s even more delicate than bloody usual.
Fucking draining herself into me…
I’m going to go mad. It’s official. I’ve fought the madness for this long to finally lose the battle when I need to win it the most.
Daft fool I am.
I never should have gone into that forest until she was gone. And some sick part of me wanted to know what’d she do. If she’s just as fucking tethered to me as I am to her.
“I was cleaning you because you were caked in blood. You’re welcome. Your hair was a mess.”
Now that I have my answer, it just pisses me off more. Gripping the side of the counter, I try not to rip it out of the wall.
She tended to me. Sat vigil at my side, and drained herself to care for me.
She wasn’t supposed to do that.
She was supposed to be the disappointment I need her to be.
Dematerializing, I land in the middle of a very busy blood bank, and everyone stops to turn and stare at me as I walk naked through the building.
I toss some guy out of the room with all the blood bags, and I grab a cooler from the corner before I start loading it until it’s overflowing.
Faces are pressed against the widow, like they don’t know what to do, as I step behind some loud machine and dematerialize before landing in the room with Ella again.
She makes a concentrated effort not to let her gaze dip below my waist. But she fails no less than four times.
I dump all the blood bags onto the bed next to her, running a frustrated hand through my hair. I hate the fact she’s not already drinking them and getting better, and it’s her fault that I’m this upset, because she gave me her motherfucking blood.
“Do you have any idea how terrible it is to have your mate’s blood pumping through your veins, and seeing her pale and lethargic? Drink the fucking blood now!” I snap.
She looks a little surprised, and I swear she’s stifling a grin when she starts drinking one. Finally. Too damn slowly.
“Drink faster,” I say on a growl.
She obliges, but her color isn’t returning yet.
She finishes one bag and picks up another, hesitating.
“Drink,” I prompt, resisting the urge to hold her down and force her to drink it until she’s back to normal.
“You call me your mate, then bitch about having my disgusting blood in your veins. Just didn’t realize how much you enjoy kicking me while I’m down until this moment,” she says, then releases a sad, humorless laugh as she shakes her head.
Turning around, I try counting to ten. Kya constantly suggests that.
I’m not sure why. It’s miserably ineffective, and in fact, the waste of time only proves to further irritate me.
“I never said disgusting, Ella. Don’t be an emotional girl right now,” I bite out. “Think rationally. We’re unfortunately tethered to each other, and right now I have your blood in me. It’s consuming and maddening to see you suffer on my behalf, because my instincts demand I be the one to protect you.”
“How you make destiny’s one warm spot seem like a cold scientific miscalculation is beyond me. Can you call Kya and ask her to come get me?” she asks.
I turn around to look at her incredulously as she slowly sips the next bag, eyeing the label on one and furrowing her brow in confusion.
“Why the hell does Kya need to come get you?” I demand.
“Because I’m not strong enough to dematerialize yet. Hey, this isn’t one of our blood banks. This is a human—”
“You’re not fucking strong enough to do something as unremarkable as dematerialize?” I say in an abnormally, almost animalistic tone.
She shakes her head absently. “Seriously, this is a human facility. You can’t get blood—”
Her words stop short, and she squeals when I rip the top of one of the packs open, then grip her jaw gently but firmly as I start pouring the damn blood into her mouth.
I want to use my own blood—my instincts scream for me to do it like hers probably did to her when she saw me in need. If I do that, we’ll be damn well fucked, because she’ll be as crazy as I am in this moment.
She weakly struggles because she has no strength, so it’s easy to force three more bags down her throat. That’s when she gets enough strength to bury her foot in my middle and send me sailing across the room.
I crash into the wall instead of crashing through it, so she’s not too strong. It just catches me off guard.
My eyes narrow on her as she rolls to her hands and knees to cough up some of the blood, then gasps for air.
“You lunatic!” she shouts, glaring over at me.
The color has returned to her face a little, her eyes look more vibrant, and she’s able to hold herself up. Still on her hands and knees…head canted and back slightly arched to give her flawless body the perfect, seductive lines. Blonde hair stained red. Blood dripping from her mouth…
It’s the start of every dark fucking fantasy I’ve allowed myself to have.
When her breathing staggers and her gaze dips, locking onto the part of my body that can’t be hidden at this moment, the silver in her eyes grows brighter. When her tongue darts out to lick some of the blood from her lips, my frayed thread of control finally snaps.
I dematerialize and rematerialize behind her on my knees, running my hand along her spine, feeling the small shiver from her body as she backs into me. Her ass presses into my painfully hard cock, and a growl rumbles in my chest.
The material of her clothes starts to tear under my tightening grip as I pull her up by her hair until her back is pressed against my chest. As if giving into her instinct, she exposes her throat to me, and I groan as I let my mouth drop to it.
My fangs extend, and I run my tongue along her throat. Her arm comes up and snakes around my neck, sealing our bodies together that last centimeter I was holding back.
My hands roam her body, squeezing one of her breasts as she begins subtly writhing against me while I kiss her neck, tasting her, resisting the urge to bite simply because I know she needs more time to heal before I drink from her.
I need to push her away, give myself space and drink packs and packs of blood to get her out of my system so I can think rationally. But I can’t help myself. It’s like I’ve been fighting it so hard and looking for an excuse at the same time…
Another, more frustrated growl escapes me, and she turns, her mouth fusing to mine, giving me the taste of blood. She moans into my mouth, kissing me harder, almost desperately.
I turn her fully, bringing her front against mine, before dropping to the bed with her under me, settling myself between her thighs and thrusting into the fabric separating her from me.
She sucks in a sharp breath when the fabric tears. One more thrust and I could burst through the thin layers and be inside her. Everything in me demands I do just that.
Ripping myself away from her is the hardest th
ing I’ve done in centuries, and I dematerialize, once again landing naked in the blood bank, only this time I land in the appropriate room.
The woman in there ducks, and a uniformed man faints. The woman simply whimpers and shakes in fear, stinking up the room with her terror, as I grab another cooler and fill it up.
Then I leave, ready to start drinking Ella out of my system before I ruin her as effectively as I’ve been ruined.
Chapter 12
ELLA
I finish drinking a few more bags, thankful no one ever knocks on his door. I’m finally strong enough to dematerialize, and I land in my own room, collapsing to the bed with a tiny blood-drinking high.
It distracts me from the fact Slade quite literally almost fucked me, and that I almost let him after he drowned me with blood bags. He seemed panicked that I needed more blood, so much so that he lost that steely control he normally has in my presence.
Lost even more of it when he started touching me like a man possessed with the same need I feel around him every single time. And now I think it was all the effect of my blood, just like he was trying to tell me.
Groaning, I pull a pillow over my head, and release a muffled scream into it.
“Ella? For fuck’s sake, they’ve been looking all over for you!” Chaz’s angry voice has me sighing and pulling the pillow off my head so I can see him.
“Sorry,” I say as I look away.
“Sorry? Sorry is all you’re going to say? Kya feels like she had to lie to everyone because you didn’t want people to know you were nursing Slade back to health.”
“Of course she told you,” I grumble.
“It was shitty of you to ask her to lie to me, Ella. No matter how pissed you apparently still are at me, you had no right to ask her to do that. And sorry is all you have to say to me?”
“It’s more than you’ve said after not even bothering to tell me I was a distraction to Slade.”
He grimaces, almost as though he’s momentarily forgotten that.
“Ella, I know things have been tense since my secret—”