~Carmen~Not from the others, and certainly not from myself. The need to protect him is cracking under the weight of the need to punish him for betraying my trust.For so long, he was the only one keeping me together, keeping me moving on. Encouraging me to be stronger, to survive. Convincing me there was a light at the end of the tunnel on my darkest days.All the while he was secretly drinking my blood. Does his father know about this too? Was Kennedy nice to me all along because he was using me?“For four years,” Kennedy says, and I stop in my tracks.I’m so shocked, I spin around to face him, giving Zegulf my back. “Four years?” I repeat incredulously. I must have heard that wrong.“Yes, four years,” Kennedy confirms in a hoarse rasp.“How do you get her blood?” Zegulf asks from behind me.Instead of trying to take advantage of my distraction, his heat meets my spine.Kennedy and I answer at the same time. “From the cleansing rituals.”“What the fuck is the cleansing ritual?” Zegu
~Carmen~ “But,” Zegulf continues. “Pure vampires survive on blood. A Were-vampire like me needs blood at times, but not necessarily for survival. At least not anymore. But a human drinking blood is vile. It’s obscene. They don’t need blood to exist. It’s practically cannibalism.”I can’t argue with Zegulf on that, and a flash of fresh anger sizzles through me because he’s right.My anger only increases when Kennedy bends over and begins to hastily work on the cuffs and tape around his ankles and legs.“I’d really like to know why,” Zegulf muses out loud. “I mean, I have my suspicions. But first, I think Kennedy should tell us whose blood he was drinking. Don’t you, Kennedy?”Kennedy’s hands pause, and he looks up at Zegulf, then shakes his head, his fingers working faster to free himself. Fear is pouring off him in waves.The primal part of me wants to turn to Kennedy, sink her fangs in his neck, and bask in his fear.Shaking the fog from my head, I glare at Zegulf. Forcing myself to
~Carmen~But Kennedy is not weak by any means. The boy, the sweet boy who spent all his time with me, protecting me from what he could, giving me a reason to live, to endure what I suffered, encouraging me to be strong and go on, has honed himself into a strong, lethal weapon.“I’m going to fucking kill him!” Zegulf shoves Brody out of the way and launches himself at me.Zegulf may not want to hurt me, but I won’t be returning the favor. I have no qualms about causing him pain. I want to hurt him. I want to make him bleed for everything he’s done to Kennedy. For everything he’s done to me.When Zegulf is nearly within reach, I lash out with the chain, striking him across the chest and kissing his neck with the end. The thick links of the chain slap against his skin, marking him with red, and he staggers back in shock.“Carmen...” Zegulf exhales and then looks down at himself.I hit him hard enough to mar his perfect skin, but not hard enough to break it. Almost instantly, the inflamed
~Carmen~I immediately jerk my arm out of the grip and spin around to see the tired-looking man standing beside me.The man looks at my barely concealed body and turns his face away instantly.“Forgive me, Luna,” the man says, sounding truly remorseful. “I only wish to spare you from the Alpha’s wrath.”Luna? Alpha? I scowl at him, truly having no clue who he’s talking about.I open my mouth, ready to tell him ‘I’m not your mommy’ only to be stopped by a growl coming from the other side of the basement.“It’s too late for that,” Zegulf says ominously.Shirtless, wearing only a pair of dark pants that aren’t even properly buttoned, Zegulf stalks toward Kennedy and me. The expression on his face was furious.He knows, thanks to the connection between us, what I intend to do, and he’s pissed. My instincts immediately recognize the danger, but my eyes can’t help but take a second to lovingly eat up the sight of him, appreciating the work of art god created.He’s all hard, rippling muscle
~Carmen~Zegulf’s idea of practicing better things turns out to be wringing every ounce of pleasure he can out of my poor body.His hands and mouth explore me, mapping me out like new terrain. Discovering places that make me moan, squirm, and clutch at him without abandon.No part of me is seemingly forbidden or sacred. Nothing is off limits or taboo. He explores me from the inside out, learning every spot that makes me whimper his name.And when I think he’s discovered all my weaknesses, he finds a new one, using the bond between us against me.There can be no lies or secrets when all he has to do is look inside me to know what I’m feeling. Even when his fingers delve into that forbidden place between my asscheeks, filling me up when he finally stuffs me with his cock...He knows how much I like it. How much I like being so full of him, even if I don’t want to admit it.By the time he finally takes mercy on me and tucks me close to his chest, I’m beyond tired. My eyes slam shut the s
~Carmen~ Slipping my legs off his shoulders, Zegulf gathers me up in his arms and rolls onto his side. I whimper into his chest when he pulls me close. My legs twitching and shaking as I stretch them out. The effects of everything wearing off. I can still feel him inside me, connected to me, but all I feel is his... joy to finally have this moment. It’s like a warm brick pressing against my ribs, where my heart is. With a start, I realize I haven’t felt my heart beat this entire time. I know after what we just did it should be beating like crazy. But there’s nothing moving in my chest. There’s only the buzzing heat of Zegulf’s presence. Blood is cycling through my veins, my lungs are still working, but my heart is still and unmoving. Zegulf’s arms tighten around me as he senses my distress. “I know it’s disturbing, sweetheart, but you’ll get used to it eventually. We all do.” Through the connection, he soothes me with a burst of warmth and rubs his hands up and down my back. My