‘Pretend you’re biting into an apple, and then tip the apple back and drink it’s juice,’Luka coached me.‘It won’t hurt him.’
I knew that, I’d been fed from more times than I could count. In fact, I was pretty sure it was going to feel good for the guy, which gave me the creeps.
Pulling the guy’s wrist to my mouth, I looked at him, wondering if I should expressly ask permission or something. But the eagerness in his eyes was permission alone.
Gross, gross, gross,I thought as I pulled his wrist to my lips, focusing on the pulse I could hear and nowfeelagainst my tongue. My teeth lengthened and I closed my eyes, doing as Luka had suggested and envisioning an apple. The moment my teeth pierced his flesh, he moaned throatily and I winced.
‘Motherfucker, I want to rip his head off,’Luka growled from across the room.
An explosion of flavor burst across my tongue more vibrant and potent than the bottled blood. I drank it greedily, ignoring Luka’s voice in my head. The hunger had taken over me and I was too enthralled in this flavor bomb to care that my soon-to-be husband was jealous. My eyes were still closed when the feeder’s free hand came up around my waist and stroked my hip.
“Touch her and die.” Luka’s voice sounded inches from me. My eyes snapped open and Luka was hovering over the feeder’s back with a red-tinged mouth and glowing eyes. The feeder dropped his hand from my hip, looked at Luka and paled.
Taking one last sip, I gulped down the rest of my meal and lowered his wrist. The feeder slipped away, running for the door as fast as he could, and Luka stepped closer to me, the veins in his neck bulging.
‘We’re never doing that again,’he stated.
I grinned, enjoying his jealousy a tiny bit.‘Sounds like a plan.’
We exited the room hand in hand and I was wondering when it would be polite to leave and go back to the hotel, when I heard a commotion outside.
“Gather round! The fights are beginning,” Carmen called out to the party, and everyone rushed forward to press outside.
‘Fights?’My stomach dropped.
‘King Constantine clearly likes bloodshed,’Luka answered.
We were swept outside with the crowd, and my gaze brushed over the lush, well-manicured gardens. There was an open grassy area at least an acre wide that had been set up to host the party. White tealights lined the outer edge of the garden, and there were hundreds of white folding chairs out on the lawn. They all surrounded a square mat where two werewolves in human form stood.
My stomach sank when I realized they were going to make the wolves fight for their entertainment.
The king waved us over and Luka plastered on a fake smile, linking his arm into mine.
I was surprised to see witches and fey standing around as well. They were all coming into a side gate that looked to be guarded.
“My special guests get the front row seats!” The king tapped two high-backed chairs next to his.
Great.
Striding forward, the crowd parted and we sat next to the king, with Luka sitting closest to him. The gathered crowd started to take their seats as well. Fey, witch, and vampire mixed about, seeming to chat among each other and get along well. That was something positive here at least, in the fact that they didn’t segregate the supernaturals like we did.
Carmen walked over to the wolves on the fighting mat and checked something on their collars. Probably making sure they were still secure.
‘Those hurt,’Luka growled in my mind, and I looked over at him.
‘What? The collars?’
‘I wore one for years in prison and they fucking hurt.’He gave King Constantine a side glare and my heart fell. We never talked much about his time in prison.
‘I’m sorry. Just play it cool. We can’t save everyone. Focus on the goal.’I reached out and squeezed his thigh.
He nodded once, swallowing hard.
“Place your bets!” Carmen yelled into a PA system, and the feeders in lingerie made their way down the aisles collecting money and noting names. When they got to Luka, he pulled a wad of cash out of his pocket and pointed to the small wolf. I realized then that it was our driver, Tink.
The woman raised her eyebrow. “You sure about that?”
“Never underestimate an underdog,” Luka told her, and handed her the money. She shrugged and left.
