And Forest.
Rowen.
The pack.
I’m not alone.
Confusion swirls in my gut as I watch the beast drink from the puddle. Every fleck of dust, even ray of light helps me tune in to my prey. Her muscles twitch, her throat constricts, and that vein… the long, thick vein running down the side of her throat. I can’t look away. It pulses like a beacon, telling me right where to strike.
Hunt.
Blood.
Drink.
I step out from the bush, head slanted as I survey my meal. Startled, yet accustomed to humans in this area of the forest, the elk does not run. She takes a step back, ears twitching as she watches me with large, beady chocolate-colored eyes. Her scent invades me, pulling a snarl from my lips as I leap. She turns to flee but is too late. I crush her ribs in my arms with a single blow. She makes a terrible cry of pain as she gasps for air, kicking furiously to break free. Dark, coarse hair flies off from the stress as I toss her to the ground.
Without hesitation, I sink my teeth into her neck, right over the pulse point. Instantly, hot, rich blood floods my mouth, making me groan with delight. I grip her pelt tighter, suck harder.
Yes. This is what I need.
With every drop, the fire ebbs and I gain a little more control—but only a little. Too little. With two more swallows, I realize though blood is what I needed, it’s not her blood I want.
It’s Evan’s blood.
Evan.
God, Evan.
My sweet, beautiful, humble Evan.
Eyes the color of a summer sky flash in my mind, and with it, the echo of a laugh more soulful than any Aerosmith song.
I’m not afraid of you.
Wordsthat sing like a promise every time he’s uttered them, yet an empty one. He should be afraid. The carcass at my knees is proof of how easily—and how quickly—I can drain the life from someone. He’d even witnessed it, in his home.
The burn intensifies. Beckoning. Forcing me to look back in the direction of the house. I crave him.
Go.Drink.
I have ignored the desire too long, teased it too many times with tiny licks from his finger. It’s never enough. It will never be enough.
I need to taste Evan. I need to have him.
Tossing the elk’s large body aside, I walk back through the trees, licking my lips in anticipation. Three wolves prowl the ground around the house, their noses to the ground as they follow my trail. Will they stop me when I try to get to Evan? They’d be stupid to try.
I step out from the shadows, and one wolf instantly shifts.
“You’re back,” Ivy says in a mix of surprise and relief.
I press on toward the house.
Forest bolts up from the chair the moment I’m inside, his skin flushed with anger. “Where have you been?”
The light is different now. Harsher, like every light in the house is now on. How much time has passed? A couple of hours, maybe? The whole day? I can never be sure when I hunt. I could have stood in that clearing unwilling to move for days if only to protect Evan from myself.
A flame licks up my throat.
