Page 10 of The Coven’s Sacrifice

“Eat!” Jacob demanded, grabbing my face and angling my neck to Harland’s lips. Fangs pierced my skin, I closed my eyes, fearing the pain. It never came. Like with Jacob, it felt like a brutal hickey, nowhere near the painful experience Alexander had forced me through.

“Is he better?” Alexander demanded. Just the sound of his voice had panic rising within me. My body now saw him as a painful reminder. I needed to stay focused and keep my eyes open while Harland fed. Alexander could not be trusted.

“Yeah,” Jacob sighed.

“He should have fed yesterday, not me,” Alexander said, his tone full of guilt.

The more Harland sucked, the more my vision started to blur. I fought to stay conscious. I couldn’t risk fainting in the presence of three monsters. But no matter how hard I fought it, darkness fell over me and I succumbed to it.

Chapter Seven

Colin

“Do not punish him!” Jacob’s voice was rough and cutting. I’d never heard him talk like that to anyone. He seemed absolutely livid.

Memories slowly formed and I remembered where I’d been before losing my battle to stay awake. I feared opening my eyes, so I kept them closed for now, needing to assess the situation around me before I let them know I was awake.

“What else was I supposed to do?!” Alexander yelled back.

“Drink from his neck!”

“You know I cannot do that!”

Jacob made a wounded noise. “You deserve a chance at freedom too, Alex.”

A sigh came, and I thought it came from Alexander. “You two deserve it more than I.”

“The only one here not at fault is Harland,” Jacob argued. “Should I do as you? Erase all chances for my freedom?”

It was Alexander’s turn to make a wounded noise. “Please do not.”

“Then promise you will not either,” Jacob demanded, voice firm.

“I,” Alexander sighed, “will try.”

Harland, who I now knew laid right next to me, made a coughing sound. It startled me enough to open my eyes. Jacob rushed to Harland’s side, as did Alexander. I, however, did the only thing I could think of. I fell out of bed and hurried out of there, swaying as my vision whited out. A hand on my arm stopped me from falling over. Jacob’s hand. “What is wrong?”

Blinking, I stared into his blue eyes, so filled with worry. I cleared my throat. “I apologize for falling asleep. I’ll find my own way back to my room.”

Jacob looked like I’d spoken a different language. “Are you apologizing for fainting because of blood loss?”

“Well, yes.”

Jacob snapped his head in Alexander’s direction. “See what you did!”

Alexander sighed. “I apologize, Colin, for hurting you last night.”

Could the earth swallow me up? Please? Anything was better than this right now. All eyes were on me and all I wanted to do was to flee. “You’re um, allowed to hurt me,” I reminded him. There was no need to apologize. It only made my wrist throb harder with the reminder that they weren’t human.

Another wounded noise escaped Jacob. “We will not hurt you,” he vowed.

Before I could think, I said, “You already did.”

Slumping down against my door, I pulled in air. My lungs burned, but I reveled in the feel of it. I was alive. I could hurt.

After saying my last words to Jacob, he’d stumbled back like I’d hit him. It was then that I turned and hurried back to my room. What I’d said wasn’t a lie. They had hurt me. Maybe not Jacob directly, but his lover had.

My wrist was still throbbing, but I ignored it. I felt like I needed to wash this whole thing off me, even if the room had smelled amazing. Comforting, in a way. I believed it had been Harland’s bedroom. I doubted I’d ever be invited in again. It had only been because Harland was starving. Even with him famished and looking pale, the bite hadn’t hurt.