Page 103 of Twice Bitten

“Kitten has claws,” Vesper said, but she didn’t take another step.

“That is not witch magic,” Alric said quietly. “Your mother isn’t the only one to hide secrets, it seems. What are you, Alex?” His eyes narrowed. “I shall look forward to finding out.”

I snorted, disgusted with the entire vampire species. “You and I are done. Trusting you was the worst mistake I’ve ever made. The next time you show up at my house, I’ll burn you to cinders.”

But Alric was unbothered by my threats. He took a step forward. “Would you kill me? I’m the one who made you. If anyone infected me with the virus he carries, it’s you.”

I felt the moment he turned his magic on, the one that made me want to drop all my walls and bare all my deepest held secrets. My fingers itched to reach out and trace the sharp edge of his jaw, to wander down his throat and see what lay under his shirt.

Cold sweat began to bead on my forehead. “Stop it,” I snarled.

“You want to talk to me,” Alric said, his voice a soft, hypnotic lure. “You want to show me what you are, how you work.” He came another step closer, so close now he could reach out and touch me. “You need me, Alex. You want me. You love me.”

My fingers shook, the new magic flickering like a faulty lightbulb. But he’d made a grave error. I didn’t love him.

Right now, I wanted to put him in the ground. Yes, he was handsome. Yes, even without the compelling magic he wasusing, I found him attractive. But I’d never loved any man. No one had ever been interesting or honest enough. The wordlovebroke his hold on me. Love was an emotion I could not afford. It only brought me heartache.

He realized it the same moment I did.

I unleashed everything I had at the two vampires, an unholy scream rising from my chest as black magic poured out from a seemingly never-ending well inside me.

Alric’s eyes widened with alarm. He reached for Vesper, and that was the last thing I saw.

The room plunged into the color of a starless night, and all I knew was endless magic, power the likes of which I’d never known. This…whatever this was felt natural, like it had known me my entire life.

A sharp scream of pain rang out, but empathy had gotten me exactly nowhere with Alric and his Hive. I couldn’t afford to stop now. They were too dangerous to trust, and I had to get the fuck out of here.

I turned and hauled ass to the door, flinging it open with strength I didn’t know I possessed. I hurtled through the lab and ran toward the other door they’d left open. The black and violet magic followed me, coating everything in darkness.

I couldn’t hear anything, but vampires could move silently when they wished. Stopping might sign my death warrant.

It was only after I burst out of the lab and into the heart of the main Hive house and skidded around the corner, I realized I didn’t have a vehicle.

“Fuck!”

His property was enormous, acres upon acres, and the driveway was at least half a mile long. I flew past Leo, knocking the wide-eyed vampire to the side. A quick glance back revealed only darkness as that strange power followed me, protecting me from danger. I kept running, faster than I ever had before, notknowing what I was going to do once I got outside, only knowing I couldn’t stop, no matter what.

I burst through the front doors, pounded down the stairs, and skidded to a stop just as an old F-250 truck screeched to a halt. The driver’s side door opened to reveal Silas.

He took in the scene—me, sweaty and breathless, my palms still streaming magic, the roiling darkness behind me—and swore.

“Get in the truck,” he growled.

I didn’t say a word. He wrenched open the passenger door, picked me up, and tossed me unceremoniously inside. A second later, he was back behind the wheel, his handsome mask a face of concentration as he stomped on the gas pedal.

The truck jerked forward and the tires squealed, white smoke rising in the mirrors. A moment later, we were peeling out of the Vampire Prime’s Hive, both of us breathing heavily.

I released the power, shaking my fingers free of the strange magic. The cloud of black and violet followed us all the way to the gate, stopping at the border as if it knew what to do.

Silas didn’t speak for a while. A sob bubbled from my lips. Tears streamed down my face. I dashed them away with trembling fingers.

“Are they dead?” he finally asked.

“I—” My voice came out in a harsh rasp. “I don’t know.”

Silas let out a deep exhale. “That’s better than yes.” He glanced at me, concern brimming in his hazel eyes. Then he reached into the back seat and came back with a water bottle. After twisting it open, he tossed the lid away and handed the bottle to me. “What happened?”

I took a large gulp and tried to organize my thoughts. “He tried to kill me.” I paused. “I think. Or scare me. I’m not sure which. He wants to know why I’m not showing any signs of the infection.”