Nox added, his hand still clasping mine, “But we've got you, baby.” He winked with that bad boy smile, and I couldn’t help my own grin then.
Whatever lay ahead, I knew one thing for certain.
Victor had underestimated me, and together, we would kill him.
37
Serina
One Week Later…
Thenightembracedmelike an old friend as I trailed the narrow path in the park. I had gotten used to staying in the shadows.
The guys have had looking into Witches here recently, but apparently Witches and Vampires had a longstanding history of not being the best of friends.
I wasn’t too worried about it; I was sure I could get Brielle to help me.
Over the last week, Bastian, Nox, and Thorne had poured their centuries of knowledge into me—how to move unseen, how to listen to my surroundings, how to quell the thirst.
They thought I was ready, and I clung to that belief as I tailed the jogger, my current prey.
He was a mere smudge of warmth in my newfound vision, his heartbeat a steady drum that called to the hunger gnawing at my insides. I could do this.
Victor believed me to be dead again, or at least that was what the guys were hearing from others, and I didn’t want to wait anymore. This time, my appearance truly would come as a surprise.
Thorne had argued it was too soon for me to venture out alone, that the bloodlust would make me too eager. But I was tired of waiting, of being the student. I was a Vampire now, and tonight, I would prove it not just to them, but to myself.
My father's cabin had been our refuge since what happened at the warehouse. But I still hadn’t processed being in my dad’s cabin again. Instead, I had done my best to stay busy with learning.
It was where we planned, where we healed, but it was also where we were hiding, and I was done with hiding.
I measured the distance between me and the jogger. The air was crisp, carrying his scent to me. This was one of the last tests—a stranger's blood coursing through me without taking his life.
It was one thing to drink from Sam, who knew what I was and had offered herself willingly to test my restraint. It was another to pull a living, breathing human into the shadows and taste their lifeforce on my tongue.
The jogger's pace began to wane, his breaths turning to ragged gasps that echoed through the stillness of the night.
Seizing the moment, I darted forward with a swiftness that still startled me. The rush of predatory speed was as intoxicating as the hunt itself. In one fluid motion, I yanked him off the path and into the concealment of the woods.
Before he could even register a grunted protest, my fangs found the throbbing pulse at his neck. My senses flared to life as I drank deeply, the warmth of his blood cascading down my throat. A low hum vibrated in my chest, a sound of pure, primal contentment.
This wasn't just sustenance, it was raw—rich and complex.
It was only the second time since… since everything changed.
Sam had been brave, offering herself up for my practice, trusting me to pull back from the brink.
But this? This was the real test. Feeding from a stranger, someone who didn't know the monster lurking in the shadows, someone who didn't sign up to be my dinner.
And God, did his blood sing to me. It was a melody that filled the hollow ache within, a euphoria that danced along my nerves and set my heart racing. I could feel every nuance of his essence, a connection so intimate but fleeting.
For a moment, I was lost in it, riding the crest of an exquisite high that made me forget.
In that instant, I wrenched myself away, my breaths coming in ragged gasps that mirrored the pulse of the man crumpled at my feet.
He was dazed, eyes wide with a fear that sent a shiver down my spine—not of him, but of myself, and the monstrous ease with which I'd taken what I wanted. I crouched in front of him.
“Go home,” I breathed out, the command weaving through the air between us as he held my stare. “Eat, get some rest, and forget this ever happened.”
