“Forgive me for not being delighted at being beckoned into the dark as you bait me with my sister.”
He shrugged. “What can I say? I do enjoy my fun.” I jumped as his hand grazed my cheek. It was so cold, raising goosebumps across my skin in its wake. I jerked back, stepping away from him.
“You’ve been tracking me?”
His expression hardened. “Can’t have my sweet dove slipping away.”
“When did you do that? How did you even do that?”
He leaned in slightly and frowned. His nostrils twitched. His already cold eyes grew frigid, and his entire body stiffened. His hand lowered to my neck as he closed the distance between us, fingers tightening. “You let him feed from you?” It was nearly a whisper. A softness that carried an edge hungry for blood.
“He was dying.” My voice was smaller than expected.
“Yes, and what a shame that would be.” Bitter.
His hand curved around to the back of my neck, cradling my head. “Perhaps, we should settle the score.”
My mind went blank when he pulled me closer, crushing me against his chest as cold as stone and just as hard. He dipped his head and licked up the column of my throat. An electric spark shot through me, and I cursed my body for its betrayal as my core ignited. I already couldn’t comprehend the feelings I had developing for one vampire, how could I possibly begin to explain what was awakening within me for someone likeAlaric. I slapped my hands atop his chest and pushed. He didn’t budge at all. He was an immovable wall.
His soft lips grazed my neck, and a strangled scream escaped my throat as I tried to suppress it. “No,please.” I poured every bit of sincerity into the words, every bit of desperate pleading. If he bit my neck, everyone would see, everything would be over. “Not there, please.” Not anywhere really, but if he was going to bite me, maybe we could compromise.
He paused, pulling back slightly as his eyes roamed over my throat. A dawning seemed to come upon him. His dark eyes landed back on mine. His words were silken, a warm caress, an endless depth. “Sweet dove, where did he bite you?” Suggestion was scrawled all across his face. He tilted his head slightly, animalistically.
His eyes narrowed on me when I didn’t answer.
He brushed his lips along my throat once more. “And what would happen if I bit you here?”
At my silence, he tightened his hold in my hair. “Say it, Charlotte.”
I attempted to shake my head though I could hardly move against his grip.
“Why don’t you want to? Because the truth hurts too much? You know if I bit you here”—his nose grazed up my neck. I shivered—“you’d be deemed infected like some rat and discarded by the ones you love. Don’t you want to live freely, without the condemnation of others?”
He blurred as I blinked through the tears that welled up. He ran his hand through my hair in a way that was oddly comforting.
“I can see this will be harder for you to accept than I thought, but we just don’t have the time for you to come around.”
I frowned at his words, at what they could possibly mean.
“My darling, how free we could be,” he crooned.
My hands that were flush against his chest to push him away, began to curl around his coat, and I let him pull me in closer. As much as I wanted to deny it, bury his words deep in the woods, it was all true.
I thought back to his previous words.Some people can’t see the truth until drastic measures are taken. What was so hidden that I couldn’t see it and he could? I fought with myself, unsure if I was already within the throes of manipulation. My time with Sebastian had already shown me nothing was simple. My beliefs, my world, was crumbling all around me. Pretty soon I’d have nothing to stand on, and I didn’t know where to go.
But even if Alaric was trying to help me in some twisted way, that would never redeem him from all he had done, all the lives he hadtaken. And though I was coming to trust Sebastian, I didn’t think I’d ever be able to trust Alaric.
I was ashamed to say I was tempted to take his offer of freedom, but I grasped the first word I could form. “No.”
He let me go. His sudden absence was more jarring than it should have been. He glanced off into the dark, seeming to be deep in thought. I wondered if I could just walk backwards out of the stables, but his hawk-eyes landed on me once again. He stared. And all I could do was stare back. The longer he stared, the heavier it got, piling atop me, but I couldn't look away. It was as if he was punishing me, and for some reason I needed to take it. I couldn’t back away from his scrutiny, from his wrath that was steadily brewing within him.
“Alaric,” I spoke softly. He stilled at his name. “Please, tell me why you called me here?”
He came back to the surface as the faintest jolt ran through him. “Ah, yes.” He closed the distance between us once more, taking my last breath with it. He cupped the side of my face with his hand, sending a chill down my back. Each time his thumb moved to caress me, more blood drained from my face. The knot in my stomach tightened. He looked down at me as I gaped up at him. His eyes grew sleepy. And my nerves seemed to dissolve. I took in a breath. Our chests pressed together once more. My breath synced with his. He leaned forward to the side of my face opposite his hand that tightened ever so slightly. His lips grazed the shell of my ear. I shivered. He spoke softly into my ear, his cool breath slinking down my neck. My head became lighter, my knees weaker. “This is your final warning to stop your sleuthing. Things will only get perpetually worse from here. And I always make good on my promises. Do behave, darling.”
* **
Olivia’s door was closed. I opened it slowly, peeking in just enough to see her bed and her sleeping form through the dark, where she had been the entire time. Her wardrobe was closed, everything neatly stowed away. Her riding boots to the side, perfectly placed. I sighed in relief, though perturbed at the illusion and the heavy reality that I truly did not stand a chance against him.
