Page 96 of Infernal Secrets

My brows rose. Once again, the nervous cadence crept back into her voice.

Ash handed her the glass of water from her nightstand when she wiped sweat from her brow. “How do vampires act?”

Zeke shrugged a shoulder. “I’ve only seen them in movies, so I don’t know how they act, either.”

“Vampires aren’t actually real,” Ash said, chuckling.

She took a long drink, passing the glass back to him. “Like a pred…a…tor,” she mumbled, words slurred and broken before she slumped into Zeke’s waiting arms.

I needed to act now.

“Everyone out,” I barked.

“What?” Zeke looked down at her, panicked. “No way.”

“We don’t have time to argue,” Ash said, standing. He turned to me. “Are you good? Do you need anything?”

“I’m fine. Take him and shut the door on your way out. I can’t have Cyn coming in here when he scents her fresh blood. Guard the stairwell.”

When they left the room, I approached the side of the human’s bed.

Little did she know, her assessment of me as a predator was perfect. My singular purpose was to protect Elyrdin, and that involved hunting and eradicating all threats to our people. If that included her, then so be it.

I lifted her into my arms, and she sagged against my chest with a pained groan as I turned toward the bathroom. The dampness of her clothes and the sweat on her skin intensified her sweet scent. I’d never met a human with such a strong natural perfume.

When her brows furrowed, her face twisting in pain, I knew I needed to act.

I wanted to take her to the bathtub to avoid a mess, but her muscles jerked, and her hands twitched in her lap. I knew it wouldn’t be long before I’d need to physically restrain her.

Placing her back on the bed, I stepped into the bathroom to grab a towel and a damp washcloth. When I returned, she shuddered, her back bowing. Seeing her arched with her mouth open on a silent scream pierced me, and I knew I couldn’t prolong the inevitable.

I went to her, allowing my shadows to embrace me.

Tears streamed from her eyes, down her temples, and into her hairline as she looked up at me, wide eyes filled with terror.

I didn’t know if she could see me—didn’t know if the fear in her eyes was because of what happened to her body, or the sight of me transformed.

I wasn’t like the others.

Zeke wasn’t the only one with special powers.

Her sudden seizure prevented me from warning her of what came next, or even reassuring her she was safe with me, for now.

I bound both of her wrists in my hand, careful not to rip her skin with my claws, pressing over her to keep her still.

If I bit into my arm for her to drink, it’d block my access to her neck.

I didn’t think she’d appreciate me biting anywhere except her arms, which trembled in my grasp, or her legs, which jerked beneath my weight. I didn’t want to fight her flailing limbs in order to drink.

“Raelynn,” I said, voice firm, hoping to break through the haze. It didn’t work. “Raelynn,” I barked, infusing power into the name, vibrating the air with my growl. I clenched my teeth when my shadows flared, wanting to taste the human beneath me.

She wasn’t the enemy right now; I couldn’t let them feast on her.

She whimpered, her eyes clearing enough for me to recognize she was focused on me again.

“I need you to drink from me when I bite you. Can you do that?”

Her eyes flew wide.